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About the Hunter Association

The Hunter Association aims to provide a means of bringing Hunter owners together for fun sailing and social events and to share knowledge and experiences.

It is open to anyone who owns, sails or is interested in a British Hunter. There are also a number of Hunter single class organisations in existence (see Useful Links), and this Association is not intended to conflict at all with their aims. Owners of these classes are, of course, welcome to join the Hunter Association, however, in the main, it is aimed at the remainder.

While we maintain close links with Lauren Marine, the builder of Hunter Boats, the association remains independent.

What we offer

As a member of the Hunter Association you will enjoy the following benefits:

• Getting together with other Hunter owners for rallies, cruises and social events. At least two rallies are planned in the Solent area most years, and a cross-channel long weekend cruise has been organised. There are also rallies on the East Coast. Fun races and other waterborne events may also be staged.
• Profit from our members' pool of knowledge, and share ideas e.g. on modifications or technical problems (however, note that The Select Yacht Group (formerly Hunter Boats) are always happy to be consulted on technical matters and encourage this).
• Gain mutual support from other kit-builders, discuss difficulties and get advice. Arrange to borrow and lend special tools.
• Contact other owners in your area, to arrange local events. This website allows you to search for members by area or by boat type.
• Get a printed magazine twice per year. This will include cruising and technical articles, social programme - and a copy will also be downloadable on the website, but the magazine will be useful to keep in your boat and will also serve our off-line members
• And when you finally want to move on, or buy a bigger boat, you can use the HA to advertise your boat - See details in the advertise your boat for sale on this website.

History of the Association

In the early days of Hunter Boats there was a Hunter Association which catered for all Hunter boat owners. This club fell into inactivity and decline in the late 1980s. A club called the "Wiley Wanderers" was formed for Hunter owners wanting to cruise in company and have weekend get-togethers.

Not long after this, in 1988, Hunters produced the Hunter 27 OOD, a one-design cruiser/racer. The Hunter 27 OOD Class Association was formed to cater for one-design racing in the Solent area. This was a lively organisation with a proper constitution and a full complement of officers. Eventually, members' boats were sold on and there remained not enough to warrant holding one-design racing.

It was decided in the mid 1990s to change the Hunter 27 OOD Class Association into the Hunter Association, and make it available to all classes of Hunter. At this point, the Wiley Wanderers then joined in with it.

This new Hunter Association continued for some years, holding regattas, with upwards of 50 boats, some pursuit races, and weekend get-togethers. There were up to 150 members on the mailing list.

Activity had died down by the early 2000s, with numbers in the 30s, and had been limited to one or two local Solent social affairs, with a regular "Folly Jolly" in May being the main event.

Current situation

In its 34 years, Hunter Boats has produced nearly 4,500 boats. About 1,700 of these are catered for by their own Class Associations, however that still left about 2,800 Hunter owners who may wish to share in an organisation.

In late 2003 we started looking at whether there was scope for a considerable enlargement of the organisation, allowing groups to get together for social events in areas other than the Solent, and providing a larger resource for anyone who may need advice, particularly for kit-builders. The feedback suggested that this would be worthwhile and thus the Association was relaunched and has undergone considerable expansion and enhancement since then. This website is a means for improving communications and offering membership to a wider audience. It also provides a wealth of useful information and a means for members to contact others who may be able to help them.

The active membership currently stands at 472, and numbers continue to grow year on year.

Geographical cover

This pie chart shows the area in which members' boats are berthed, while the map below indicates where they live.

Each pin on the map shows a postcode "outcode" (the first half of the UK postcode) within which at least one member lives. Click on a pin to see how many members live in that area. Please note that this map only shows members who have provided a UK postcode.