1985 hunter 28.5 sailboat review

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• Hunter 28.5

The Hunter 28.5 Sailboat

The lack of a backstay on this Hunter 28.5 sailboat tells us that it sports a B&R (Lars Bergström and Sven Ridder) rig.

Published Specification for the Hunter 28.5

Hull Type:  Fin keel with spade rudder

Hull Material:   GRP (fibreglass)

Length Overall:  28' 5" / 8.7m

Waterline Length:  23' 9" / 7.2m

Beam:  10' 6" / 3.2m

Draft:  5' 2" / 1.6m

Rig Type:  B&R

Displacement:  7,000lb / 3,175kg

Sail Area/Displacement Ratio:  17.5

Displacement/Length Ratio:  233

Designer:  Hunter Design

Builder:  Hunter Marine (USA)

Year First Built:  1985

Year Last Built:  1988

Number Built:  not known

Owners Association:   The Hunter Association

Published Design Ratios for the Hunter 28.5

Sail Area/Displacement Ratio: 17.5

Ballast/Displacement Ratio:  42.9

Displacement/Length Ratio:  233

Comfort Ratio: 18.8

Capsize Screening Formula:   2.2

read more about these all-revealing numbers...

Summary Analysis of Published Design Ratios for the Hunter 28.5

1. A Sail Area/Displacement Ratio of 17.5 suggests that the Hunter 28.5 will, in the right conditions, approach her maximum hull speed readily and satisfy the sailing performance expectations of most cruising sailors.

2. A Ballast/Displacement Ratio of 42.9 means that the Hunter 28.5 will stand up well to her canvas in a blow, helping her to power through the waves.

3. A Displacement/Length Ratio of 233, tells us the Hunter 28.5 is a moderate displacement cruiser, which means she'll carry all your cruising gear without it having a dramatic effect on her performance. Most of today's sailboats intended for offshore cruising fall into this displacement category.

4. Ted Brewer's Comfort Ratio of 18.8 suggests that crew comfort of a Hunter 28.5 in a seaway is similar to what you would associate with the motion of a coastal cruiser with moderate stability, which is not encouraging news for anyone prone to seasickness. 

5. The Capsize Screening Formula (CSF) of 2.2 indicates that a Hunter 28.5 would not be the wisest choice of sailboat for ocean passage-making owing to the lower resistance to capsize in strong winds and heavy seas that is associated with similar sailboats with a CSF of 2.0 and above.

More about the Hunter 28.5...

The Hunter 28.5 is rigged as a sloop with a split backstay and a B&R rig, which means that it has no backstay and uses swept-back spreaders to support the mast. The mast is deck-stepped and has a height of 12.6m (41.33 ft) above the waterline. The sail area is 36.9m² (397 sq ft), with a mainsail of 16m² (172 sq ft) and a genoa of 21m² (226 sq ft).

The boat is powered by an inboard diesel engine with a power of around 15 hp. The fuel tank has a capacity of 42 l (11 gal) and the water tank has a capacity of 102 l (27 gal).

The boat has a hull speed of 7.4 kn (8.5 mph) and a PHRF rating of around 180, which means that it is moderately fast and competitive in its class.

Accommodation The Hunter 28.5 has a spacious and comfortable interior that can accommodate up to six people. The layout consists of:

• A V-berth cabin forward with storage lockers and shelves.
• A head compartment to port with a marine toilet, sink, shower, and storage.
• A hanging locker to port aft of the head.
• A saloon with a U-shaped dinette to port that converts into a double berth, and a settee to starboard that can be used as a single berth.
• A navigation station to starboard aft of the settee with a chart table, electrical panel, and instruments.
• A galley to port aft of the dinette with a two-burner stove, sink, icebox, and storage.
• A private aft cabin to port with a double berth and storage.

The boat has plenty of natural light and ventilation from several opening ports and hatches. The cabin sole is made of teak and holly wood, which adds warmth and elegance to the interior.

Hull and Deck The Hunter 28.5 has a fiberglass hull and deck with wood trim. The hull shape is round-bottomed with a raked stem and a reverse transom. The keel is either a fixed fin keel or an optional shoal draft wing keel, both made of lead. The rudder is an internally-mounted spade-type rudder that is controlled by a wheel in the cockpit.

The deck is wide and flat, with non-skid surfaces for safety and ease of movement. The cockpit is large and comfortable, with high coamings, cushioned seats, and storage lockers. The helm station has an instrument pod, engine controls, compass, and cup holders.

The deck hardware includes two self-tailing two-speed jib sheet winches, two halyard winches on the cabin top, traveler on the arch above the companionway, genoa tracks and cars on the side decks, bow pulpit, stern rail, stanchions, lifelines, anchor roller, anchor locker, cleats, chocks, handrails, swim ladder, etc.

The boat comes standard with a 110% genoa on roller furling system and a mainsail with two reef points on lazy jack system.

The above text was drafted by sailboat-cruising.com using GPT-4 (OpenAI’s large-scale language-generation model) as a research assistant to develop source material; we believe it to be accurate to the best of our knowledge.

Other sailboats in the Hunter range include:

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• Sailboat Guide

Hunter 28.5

Hunter 28.5 is a 28 ′ 4 ″ / 8.7 m monohull sailboat designed by Hunter Design and built by Hunter Marine between 1985 and 1988.

• 2 / 9 Houston, TX, US 1986 Hunter 28.5 $12,500 USD View
• 3 / 9 Houston, TX, US 1986 Hunter 28.5 $12,500 USD View
• 4 / 9 Houston, TX, US 1986 Hunter 28.5 $12,500 USD View
• 5 / 9 Houston, TX, US 1986 Hunter 28.5 $12,500 USD View
• 6 / 9 Houston, TX, US 1986 Hunter 28.5 $12,500 USD View
• 7 / 9 Houston, TX, US 1986 Hunter 28.5 $12,500 USD View
• 8 / 9 Houston, TX, US 1986 Hunter 28.5 $12,500 USD View
• 9 / 9 Houston, TX, US 1986 Hunter 28.5 $12,500 USD View

Rig and Sails

Auxilary power, accomodations, calculations.

The theoretical maximum speed that a displacement hull can move efficiently through the water is determined by it's waterline length and displacement. It may be unable to reach this speed if the boat is underpowered or heavily loaded, though it may exceed this speed given enough power. Read more.

Classic hull speed formula:

Hull Speed = 1.34 x √LWL

Max Speed/Length ratio = 8.26 ÷ Displacement/Length ratio .311 Hull Speed = Max Speed/Length ratio x √LWL

Sail Area / Displacement Ratio

A measure of the power of the sails relative to the weight of the boat. The higher the number, the higher the performance, but the harder the boat will be to handle. This ratio is a "non-dimensional" value that facilitates comparisons between boats of different types and sizes. Read more.

SA/D = SA ÷ (D ÷ 64) 2/3

• SA : Sail area in square feet, derived by adding the mainsail area to 100% of the foretriangle area (the lateral area above the deck between the mast and the forestay).
• D : Displacement in pounds.

Ballast / Displacement Ratio

A measure of the stability of a boat's hull that suggests how well a monohull will stand up to its sails. The ballast displacement ratio indicates how much of the weight of a boat is placed for maximum stability against capsizing and is an indicator of stiffness and resistance to capsize.

Ballast / Displacement * 100

Displacement / Length Ratio

A measure of the weight of the boat relative to it's length at the waterline. The higher a boat’s D/L ratio, the more easily it will carry a load and the more comfortable its motion will be. The lower a boat's ratio is, the less power it takes to drive the boat to its nominal hull speed or beyond. Read more.

D/L = (D ÷ 2240) ÷ (0.01 x LWL)³

• D: Displacement of the boat in pounds.
• LWL: Waterline length in feet

Comfort Ratio

This ratio assess how quickly and abruptly a boat’s hull reacts to waves in a significant seaway, these being the elements of a boat’s motion most likely to cause seasickness. Read more.

Comfort ratio = D ÷ (.65 x (.7 LWL + .3 LOA) x Beam 1.33 )

• D: Displacement of the boat in pounds
• LOA: Length overall in feet
• Beam: Width of boat at the widest point in feet

Capsize Screening Formula

This formula attempts to indicate whether a given boat might be too wide and light to readily right itself after being overturned in extreme conditions. Read more.

CSV = Beam ÷ ³√(D / 64)

Shoal draft/wing keel: 4’/1.21m

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Hunter 28.5 Concerns!!

• Thread starter Eric Grant
• Start date Dec 25, 1999
• Hunter Owner Forums
• Mid-Size Boats

Help!! Am in the throws on making an offer on an 85' Hunter 28.5, subject to survey. Have just received an E-mail from a third party indicating this boat sails and motors like a pig! After reading owners reviews on this boat, I got no sense of negative handling qualities, except downwind dificulties with sail handling due to swept back spreaders/shrouds. Perhaps handling characteristics not problematic in bays/lakes, such as reported, would be much more severe off our coast in the North Atlantic. While I have no illusions of this being a "blue water craft" I don't want something that can't handle well in a blow/swell, or point decently. Need feedback here as deal closes in early Jan/00!!Thanks, and best of the SeasonEric grant  

Personal Experience Eric, I have owned my 28.5 (87) for about 8 years. We have have her to the Bahamas a number of times and really enjoy her. I have had her in 6 to 8 foot seas, and although it was not particularly comfortable, I never felt unsafe. We have also raced the boat locally with respectablesuccess. She is very maneuverable, both under power and sail. Easy to dock. The stearn will walk a little to port in reverse, but if you take it easy on the power, it is perfectly managable an can be used to advantage. She is not a stiff boat, that is she overpowers easily. The key to keeping her on her feet is to reef early and let out the traveller as needed. She will drive very well under the 110% jib. I highly recommend agressive use of a cunningham and outhaul to keepthe draft shallow and forward when the wind picks up. Moving the geona cars aft will also help keep her on her feet in a blow. The 2GM20 Yanmar is one of the most reliable engines around, almost impossible to kill!  I added dual anchor rollers to the bow for quick release of the anchor. We are very happy with our 28.5. Indeed, not a blue water boat, but I think that you would be happy with her. E-mail me, or for that matter, any of the other 28.5 owners, if you have any questions. We are all happy to share our views and give help. Good luck and enjoy your new boat!  

A fine boat I bought a used 1985 Hunter 28.5 in 1994. She’s a great boat for our purposes (bays and light intracoastal cruising). The only negative is that she has a strong weather helm in winds over 15 knots (even when reefed). But I’ve had her keeled over 35 degrees and was never worried that she couldn’t handle it. (NOTE: I was never worried. My wife and mother-in-law, who were onboard at the time is another story that I won’t go into here).In moderate winds she sails beautifully. She can turn on a dime. Visibility from the cockpit is good. Maintenance is easy, and the engine is about as accessible as any I’ve seen.She and her engine are very reliable. A fine boat for the money.Mike BatesZenith II[email protected]  

Ernie Scott

Good Boat I'll echo the other replies: I've had my '85 28.5 for about 2 years and have become quite comfortable taking her out in winds to 30kts and seas 6-8ft (as indicated, however, comfort in the integrity of the boat and actual seaway comfort are not necessarily the same...)Learn when to reef her and trim accordingly and your knuckles won't be white. A recent trip from Canaveral to the Keys and back via the ocean route we averaged 5.5 to 7.5kts (the higher end compliments of the Gulfstream). We don't race but, on the other hand, we don't get passed very frequently by other boats under sail.Comfortable and affordable - my family of 4 does up to 2 weeks at a time on board without mutiny.Good luck.EScott5406@AOL  

h28.5 I owned an '86 28.5 for 5 yrs. All the previous posts are correct, it is a good boat and a big boat for her size. Much bigger than a Catalina 27 and almost as big as a C-30. I don't know where your "third party" got his info but my 28.5 sailed, motored and steered like a dream. I could easily stay with C-30s when sailing. Most 28.5 owners replace the stock %110 jib with a %125-%150 genny and then she will really move. For downwind get a cruising spinnaker. The 2GM20 is a great engine, never had any trouble with mine. The rig is tall so learn how to reef and don't be afraid to do it.  

H28.5 good boat I have had a 28.5 since purchased new in '86. Good boat and good Yanmar engine.Boat tends to be a bit elastic(jumpy) in a light to modest puff in the first 0 to 15 degrees then stiffens up very well having converted the wind to forward motion. Keep the trav center to slightly windward or one tends to burry gunnels in a blow.Since yours is one of the first built, I'd make sure that it had its fuel box and bubble box "upgraded"!. Initially these boats had a "TV dinner pie plate" molded in approach to making these two adjacent items out of fiberglas with a "fiber cover over both of them. Since the seal on both wasn't a good seal it was "boxing" exhaust bubble box water into my fuel box. It took a season of searching before we found out how my fuel was getting watered. Hunter did me right by sending a drop-in poly fuel box insert and a separate bubble box. After that no problem. So make sure yours is upgraded.Also check the hot water hoses that run from the 2GMF engine under the floor boards to the heater box in the front of the "U" set tee seat. In some cases I seen (other 28.5) that the cabin floor screws were driven thru these hoses!. In my case, a friction over the years cause the drill holes thru which the hoses were run forward thru the ribs to cut into the hoses. Now I pulled out the heater and relocated it to the rear of the cockpit locker and ran the hoses to that location- didn't have to buy extra hose either -worked with the good section of what I had.  

H28.5 concerns- one more thing Re:The fellow that says the boat is a pig. The boat does suffer if you don't keep the bottom clean of growth. Speed will drop and converting a puff to speed will be significantly hampered. In motoring with a dirty bottom, you will "boil water" rather than make expected hull speed. and you will see vibration at that point. If it vibrates otherwise I'd check my cutlass bearing condition and my alignment.That's it.  

Don't buy it just yet.... Eric,I have something that you will definitely want to know before you buy...email me @ [email protected] and I will fill you in!!!James-  

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Hunter 28.5?

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I got a call from a broker today who just got in a 1988 Hunter 28.5. He's pushing me to look at it right away because it "will sell real fast" because of its great condition. I'm going to take my time, because there are lots specimens of this boat out there. He does seem to have a good price on it vs. Catalinas, O'Days, and other production boats - but it's a Hunter, so that's what I would expect. (A quick check on Yachtworld puts the asking price about in the middle, but if the condition is as good as he says that would be a good price. I need to do more research on this.) He said it has had a complete epoxy barrier coating of the hull and (he thinks) the keel. I've heard so many "things" about Hunters that I'm reluctant to even give it a look. We got on a couple that had real problems a few weeks ago, and that left a very bad impression, especially with my wife. If you have good things to say to encourage me to look at this model of boat, please post them here. If you have bad things to warn me about, please send me a PM. (I don't want to start open Hunter bashing up here.) I'll be looking at some Hunter websites this evening.  

Nah..hunters are good boats! many newer Hunters have Iron keels so the joint can be a bit of a prob down the road. Like Catalina they are still in biz.  

Hunters get a bad rap, probably some of it deserved, but they are not bad boats. I think the newer ones are of better build quality than the old ones. Or maybe the problems just havent shown up due to the lack of age. A visual inspection will tell you most of what you want to know about the boat.  

Boat Review by David Pascoe - Hunter 28 Commentary about this review can be found in other threads.  

The Pascoe review was one of the first things I found. To be fair, he reviewed the 28, not the 28.5. How similar are the boats? There is a part of me that says I would not buy any model of boat from someone who made such huge mistakes on another model, but not sure how fair that is. My pet peeve is the swim ladder. The top rung is about 1" away from the stern, with no tread attached - just bare SS. Very easy to slip off, especially when wet. That bad impression was indelibly etched into my brain when I had to climb on one on the hard, 10' up from ground level on a rainy day. Scared the crap out of me. From pics on the web, it looks like they all have this problem.  

RhythmDoctor said: ...My pet peeve is the swim ladder. The top rung is about 1" away from the stern, with no tread attached - just bare SS. Very easy to slip off, especially when wet. ..... Click to expand...

Ya gotta read a lot of Pascoe and you will find he trashes anything the average person can afford  

Yeah, and Fool up there likes to post this useless crap when anyone looks at ANY Hunter, I for one am tired of his BS, which is why I rarely even post here anymore. As for the 28.5, I looked at a couple and it's still on my short list of boats for my next boat. It seems to be well built, roomy, and sails well.  

swim ladders are easy to fix or modify. very easy. that's all?  

Dock and YC mate has one of this.....Frankly, they are VERY happy with there boat. Sails reasonably well, plenty of room etc. Now a Hunter is not my 1st choice of boats..........but, it is not the boat brand of rumours etc that put it at the bottom of the pile. More the what type/style of boat I personally like......I prefer boats in the race/cruise category vs cruise category. A bit on the slow side, and I also like to race, not that one could not race a Hunter and be successful. I also know of three others with Hunters from that era, ALL love their Hunters! If it will suit your needs, go for it. I also recall finding a "hunter owners" site/forum one time online also. Marty  

If it between a Hunter and Catalina, there is a reason Catalina's retain their resale value better than Hunters. If you are now set on moving from the 25ft range to the 27-30 foot range, look at tartans, C&Cs, and sabres also. Their fit and finish is much better as is their structure. They are a level up on the production boats while they still made quite a few of them, their attention to detail and equipment tends to be over sized and higher quality. In the era of boats you are looking at their should be quite a few of those three out their. There are important things to compare on this size boat. Engine hours for one. Hull and blisters. Condition of sails, headroom. bilge depth, storage space, chain plates and rigging (both running and standing (wire vs rod) Winters will primarily have Hinters and Catalina's for sale as they trade up wards there. Look at other brokers again in the Chesapeake for more of a variety. Let all the different brokers educate you on the differences between Hunters, Catalina's, Benetaues, Tartans, Sabres and C&C's and go on a lot of boats. When you do you will know when you've found the "right one" The have a survey done. Again take your time, do not rush into it and you choose well Dave  

RD - We had an '89 H28. Loved it. Personally, if I got a call from "a broker" PUSHING me to buy, I would seriously be considering his motives (and likely running away). If it is a good deal, he will have NO trouble selling it and will not need to brow-beat anyone into the purchase. Sounds more like it is his mortgage payment that can't be missed. That "gotta buy it before someone else does" is one of the oldest tricks going. Brokers are just like everything else, there are good ones and bad ones. Look at all boats in your price range (and a little above), see so many that you start to go cross-eyed, Take pictures and make lists on each one you see (30 boats from now, details will start to get a little muddled). Go back and see the ones you like, maybe a couple of times. This is a buyers market. You can take your time. If you miss a good deal, so what. Another will be along shortly. It is easy to get discouraged, we lost count of the number of "pristine" boats that we drove hours to see, only to find they were trash. You will know the right boat when you find it.  

I own a 1986 hunter 28.5 and think they are built pretty solid. The only thing that I would like different is the spreader is offset to the back a bit so when you want to go downwind wing on wing, it does not let you extend the boom out a full 90 deg so you have to adjust your angle a bit, unless you use a spinnaker for downwind sailing. I had it in a storm 2 years ago in lake michigan where I took 70 mph winds (no sails up at that point) and she held together just fine and stays high enough to deal with the 7-8 ft waves. She sails fast and efficient for normal crusing, I can get speeds 5 kts from a 7.5 wind. We enjoy sailing her and there is plenty of standing room, rear quarter berth is a bit tight, fine for kids. If you do alot of long trips, the waste tank seem to fill up faster than I would like. The diesel yanmar runs forever on 12 gallons. Regards, Mark N.  

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• Boat Type : Monohull Sailboats
• Quantity: 1
• Horse Power: 15
• Type: Diesel
• Hull Material : Fiberglass
• Beam : 10'6"
• Length : 28'
• Net Weight : 7400 lbs
• Looking for the Boat Manual? 1985 Hunter Boats 28.5 SL Request Boat Manual Now

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Review of Hunter 28.5

Basic specs., sailing characteristics.

This section covers widely used rules of thumb to describe the sailing characteristics. Please note that even though the calculations are correct, the interpretation of the results might not be valid for extreme boats.

What is Theoretical Maximum Hull Speed?

The theoretical maximal speed of a displacement boat of this length is 6.5 knots. The term "Theoretical Maximum Hull Speed" is widely used even though a boat can sail faster. The term shall be interpreted as above the theoretical speed a great additional power is necessary for a small gain in speed.

The immersion rate is defined as the weight required to sink the boat a certain level. The immersion rate for Hunter 28.5 is about 154 kg/cm, alternatively 866 lbs/inch. Meaning: if you load 154 kg cargo on the boat then it will sink 1 cm. Alternatively, if you load 866 lbs cargo on the boat it will sink 1 inch.

Sailing statistics

This section is statistical comparison with similar boats of the same category. The basis of the following statistical computations is our unique database with more than 26,000 different boat types and 350,000 data points.

What is L/B (Length Beam Ratio)?

Maintenance

Are your sails worn out? You might find your next sail here: Sails for Sale

If you need to renew parts of your running rig and is not quite sure of the dimensions, you may find the estimates computed below useful.

This section shown boat owner's changes, improvements, etc. Here you might find inspiration for your boat.

Do you have changes/improvements you would like to share? Upload a photo and describe what to look for.

We are always looking for new photos. If you can contribute with photos for Hunter 28.5 it would be a great help.

If you have any comments to the review, improvement suggestions, or the like, feel free to contact us . Criticism helps us to improve.

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Hunter 28.5 1985

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