Hunter Boats
The first Hunter boat was built in 1969 and for over half a century the name has been associated with some of Britain's most succesful production cruising and racing boat designs.
History
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Beginnings
1969
The company was founded in 1968 and the first design produced by the new company was the Squib, an open keelboat designed by Oliver Lee in 1967.
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David Thomas Joins
1975
In 1975 David Thomas became the main designer producing the iconic Hunter Sonata and Impala 28 Cruiser Racers which to this day continue to offer competive One-Design racing and have their own National Championships.
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Racing Yachts
The 70s
Throughout the 70s the company produced many racing yachts including the Formula 28 and HB 31 designs by Steven Jones. The HB 31 was the first production boat to use kevlar laminates in its hull construction.
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Move to Cruisers
The 80s
By the 80s the company started building cruising yachts with the Hunter Horizon 26 and 32 Models winning the Best Production Boat of the Year and Best Production Cruiser of the Year awards respectively.
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Return to Racing
1995
1995 saw the company build the Hunter 707, a highly succesful sportsboat which went on to win the Yacht of the Year awards the following year.
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The present
2009-20
Hunter Boats was bought out in 2003 by the Select Yachts Group and in 2009 Lauren Marine of Southampton purchased the rights, moulds and tooling for the Hunter range of boats including five designs.
List of Hunter Yachts
Listed below is a summary of boats built by Hunter.
| Type | Designer | Built | No in HA | Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Channel 245/Ranger245 | David Thomas | 1997 - Present | 44 | |
| Channel 27 | David Thomas | 1999 - Present | 15 | |
| Channel 31 | David Thomas and Ken Freivokh | 2000 - Present | 33 | |
| Channel 32/323 | David Thomas | 1991 - 2001 | 43 | |
| Codling | 1974 - 1993 | 0 | ||
| Crusader 30 | David Thomas | 2 | ||
| Delta 25 | David Thomas | 1980 - 1986 | 18 | |
| Duette | David Thomas | 1986 - 1989 | 21 | |
| Formula 28 | Stephen Jones | 1984 - 1987 | 1 | |
| Formula One | Stephen Jones | 1982 - 1986 | 0 | |
| HB31 | Van de Stadt | 1983 - 1985 | 0 | |
| Horizon 21 | David Thomas | 1992 - 1996 | 20 | |
| Horizon 23/232 | David Thomas | 1989 - 1998 | 93 | |
| Horizon 26 | David Thomas | 1984 - 1988 | 57 | |
| Horizon 27 TK, 272, 273 | David Thomas | 1989 | 69 | |
| Horizon 30 | David Thomas | 1993 - 1998 | 26 | |
| Horizon 32 Wheelhouse | David Thomas | 1988 - 1991 | 8 | |
| Hunter 19/Europa | Oliver Lee | 1972 - 1982 | 14 | |
| Hunter 20 | David Thomas | 1 | ||
| Hunter 27 OOD | David Thomas | 1988 - 1995 | 4 | |
| Hunter 490 | Oliver Lee | 1972 - 1977 | 4 | |
| Hunter 701 | Oliver Lee | 1971 - 1975 | 2 | |
| Hunter 707 | David Thomas | 1995 - 2000 | 0 | |
| Impala 28 | David Thomas | 1977 - 1984 | 2 | |
| Landau 20 Cruiser | David Thomas | 1999 - ? | 2 | |
| Landau 20 Walkaround | David Thomas | 2000 - ? | 1 | |
| Landau 29 Continental | David Thomas | 2004 | 0 | |
| Liberty 22/23 | David Thomas | 1980 - 1986 | 1 | |
| Medina 20 | David Thomas | 1979 - 1982 | 23 | |
| Minstrel | David Thomas | 1987 - 1993 | 1 | |
| Mystery 35 | Stephen Jones | 2003 - ? | 1 | |
| Pilot 27 | David Thomas | 1996 - 2005 | 58 | |
| Ranger 265 | David Thomas | 1994 - 1999 | 58 | |
| Sandhopper | Oliver Lee | 1975 - 1980 | 1 | |
| Scout | David Thomas | 1992 - ? | 1 | |
| Sonata | David Thomas | 1975 - 1990 | 8 | |
| Squib | Oliver Lee | 1971 - 1987 | 1 | |
| Tracer | Oliver Lee | 1977 - 1984 | 0 |