Hunter e36

The new deck and cabin top features a sleeker profile with elongated side windows and flush hatches, giving more interior light. The cockpit retains its sturdy table with small drink locker and at the stern, the enlarged swim platform means the telescopic stainless steel ladder has moved to the starboard transom side.  The sturdy binnacle holds the optional Lewmar folding steering wheel and Raymarine C90 plotter and autopilot, with the waist-high throttle lever close to hand as well.

Other Lewmar gear includes all winches with smallish Lewmar 40s by the helm for genoa sheeting and a pair of 30s on the cabin for halyards and running rigging. Apart from unlocking the furling mainsail on the mast, all lines run aft under gutters and stored neatly in recesses. Hunter’s distinctive stainless bimini houses the mainsheet track, keeping it clear of the cockpit but the double-ended mainsheet design allows control from the cabin top as well.

Confirming her cruising credentials the optional dodger and bimini coverings give good weather protection which is further enhanced by high coamings, ensuring the e36 should be a pretty dry boat.

Moving up front is easily done thanks to wide decks and a strong stainless grab rail. Reflecting the low maintenance design, no teak is apparent. Other functional features included moulded toerails with mid-ships cleats, the latter always handy for short-handed mooring. Again showing good cruising credentials, a vertical Quick capstan and windlass is fitted, slightly protruding from the shallow anchor well, with nearby foot controls.

Across the hull, adjoining the toilet/shower cubicle, a navigation table faces aft and houses the electrical control panel (with pop-out circuit breakers) alongside the bulkhead-mounted electronics. It’s a functional looking setup for the navigator who sits on the end of the lounge bench.  A Raymarine instrument package was fitted throughout with wide screen C90 plotter, 6002 autopilot and ST60 wind and speed readouts on the cabin top bulkhead. Powering all the gear is via a 60amp hour alternator on the three-cylinder shaft drive Yanmar, with both house and starting batteries sealed in a plastic box in the main cockpit locker. Engine access is easy via gas-strutted companionway steps with the only unknown being the diesel filter which I couldn’t find but side access is limited.

Moving to the bow, across the hardwood laminated flooring, the tall topsides of the e36 and shallow anchor well allow for a roomy V-berth. Cabinetry throughout is adequate for a modern 36 footer. Moving back aft, a similar story applies to the master cabin. The longer cockpit has given some more volume to the aft cabin with greater headroom (to compliment the 1.96m in the saloon) and the bed fills the full width of the hull. Ventilation is also good thanks to plenty of hatches including a large cockpit opening one. The only downside might be privacy and noise from the cockpit.

The inside shrouds on the two-spreader Selden rig strongly attaches to an internal grid moulded into the hull, with Hunter’s signature B&R rig of swept-back spreaders and no backstay completing a well-proven design. As standard, the keel is a winged cast-iron item but the Performance Version comes with a lead option and big-topped mainsail for club racing. Steering is via cable which controls the balanced spade rudder that sits on a stainless shaft, and for emergency use the quadrant is accessed through a cockpit sole hatch.

The low-cut mainsail and elongated boom helps to lower the centre of effort which is just as well as the e36 heeled over quickly in the 15-knot breeze until adjustments to the track and mainsheet were made. But with a conservative sail area to displacement ratio of 16.4 the Hunter should be reasonably stable yacht. It’s the kind of boat that benefits from being kept reasonably upright and with a bit of time on the helm I settled into a groove, managing a respectable 6.2 knots SOG hard on the wind at 40 degrees.

Tacking was slightly marred by the new Lewmar handles sticking in the sheet winches but handling felt nimble and the deck-mounted genoa track gave a good angle of attack for windward work. When gybing I was keener than crewman Matt Hayes to centre the long boom but several gybes went off without incident; aided by the double-ended mainsheet allowing cabin top control by crew while the steerer focussed on the turn. Off the wind (the type of sailing most cruising sailors aim for!) the e36 excelled with good tracking and speeds of up to 7.4knots.

Under power, the fixed triple-bladed propeller and 29hp Yanmar combination worked well enough to push the boat to 7.4kts while retraining a neutral feel on the rudder.

The overall feel from the Hunter e36 is that of a user-friendly boat, ideally suited to the wide variety of sailors who might be found in a group ownership scheme, which was the destiny of our review boat.