Hunter 31
Hunter Marine
- Production years
- 1983–1987
- Designer
- Cortland Steck
Dimensions & rating
- LOA
- 31' 4"
- Beam
- 10' 11"
- PHRF
- 168↗
- Displacement
- 9,700 lb
The quick verdict
The 1983-87 Hunter 31 is a cheap, roomy and easy-to-sail coastal cruiser, with 1980s examples listed from roughly $9,000 to $27,500. Before buying, pay a surveyor to check the compression post and crossmember, deck coring around the mast, chainplate mounts, rudder, and water trapped under the liner. Reef early and treat it as a coastal boat, not an offshore one. Don't confuse it with the 2006 Hunter 31 or the 2015 Marlow-Hunter 31, which are different boats.
Very roomy interior for a 31-footer; Easy to sail and to singlehand; Good engine access and quiet engine compartment; Simple systems that are easy to maintain; Good value as a used boat; Sails well in light air
Needs an early reef, around 12-15 knots; Build quality criticized and not as rugged as some production boats; Somewhat tender; Tight quarter berth and small chart table; Small fuel and water capacity limits range; Hard to heave to; Compression post and crossmember rot under the mast; Balsa-cored deck delamination around the mast; Water trapped under the liner, with shower and icebox drainage problems; Rudder condition and chainplate tie-rod mounts need checking; Leaky hatches and windows; No fuel gauge and substandard winches
Find out whether this design suits your sailing plans with The Boat Picker.
Standardized sailing characteristics
Speed
Lower PHRF means a faster racing handicap. Rig, keel, and region affect ratings.
Reference source ↗Comfort at Sea
Raw Brewer Motion Comfort Ratio, a comparison of design motion at sea. It does not rate cabin space or guarantee comfort.
Measurements
Rig diagram & sailing measurements
| SA/D · SAIL AREA TO DISPLACEMENT | 16.11 Below 16 is considered conservative sail power, 16–20 moderate sail power, and above 20 high sail power. |
|---|---|
| D/L · DISPLACEMENT TO LENGTH | 239 |
| S-NUMBER | 2.19 Calculated from SA/D and D/L (Brewer) |
| CSF | 2.05 Above 2.0: generally does not meet the traditional offshore screening guideline (not a seaworthiness rating). |
| Ballast/displacement | 41.2% ↗ Below roughly 30% can suggest a more tender boat, around 35% is common for cruisers, and 40% or more can suggest greater resistance to heeling. Keel depth, ballast placement, and hull shape also matter. |
| Waterline length | 26' 3" |
| Ballast | 4,000 lb |
| Advertised sail area | 458 ft²↗ |
| Air draft | 47' 4" |
| Foretriangle area | 251.52 ft² ↗ |
| Mainsail triangle | 204.31 ft² ↗ |
| Estimated forestay (published standard rig) | 43.6 ft ↗ |
Rig dimensions by configuration
| Published model reference | I | J | P | E | 100% triangular sail area |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Published rig | 41′11″ | 12′ | 37′5″ | 10′11″ | 455.8 ft² |
100% triangular sail area = (I × J + P × E) / 2. Source ↗
Construction & Equipment
Production history
Original
- Only one version of the design is documented, so there are no marks to compare. A shoal-draft keel was offered as an option.
- Shoal keel draft is 4.0 ft, and displacement rises from 9,700 lb to 9,900 lb with that keel.
- Standard power was a 16 hp Yanmar diesel.
- Published figures: length overall 31.33 ft, waterline 26.25 ft, beam 10.92 ft, draft 5.3 ft, displacement 9,700 lb, ballast 4,000 lb, sail area 457.8 sq ft.
- Sources disagree: Sailboatdata gives a sail area of 458.00 sq ft (reported) and 457.81 sq ft (calculated). A for-sale listing gives draft as 5.0 ft against 5.3 ft on sailboatdata and Wikipedia. The PHRF figure of 168 is a Wikipedia averag
Full specifications
Every figure links to the page it came from. Anything not shown is not yet confirmed by a published source.
Identity
Hull measurements
Construction
Rig and sails
Ratings and safety
Engine, propulsion, systems
Accommodation
Calculated from the figures above
Surveys and Market Value
No surveys have been contributed for this boat yet.
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