The US-American series shipyard Marlow Hunter is presenting its world première at boot Düseldorf. The Hunter 31, the smallest ship from the Florida shipyard, surprises with its very voluminous hull, which, contrary to the name, is not actually 9.45 metres long, but 9.73 metres long and a full 3.61 metres wide and also has a lot of space in the stern. The very low chines aft are striking, almost giving the sailboat the lines of a motorboat at the stern.
With this boat, the shipyard has focussed on great living comfort with plenty of space and features such as a spacious bathroom including a separate shower, a separate forward cabin with cupboard space, a generous longitudinal galley and a wide aft transverse berth. In addition to the sheer volume, the Hunter is characterised below deck by a solid-looking interior with hardwood flooring and robust cherry wood fittings.
On deck, too, the primary aim is to appeal to family crews and emphasise safety. The cockpit is very large and even wider than it is long. The dykes are far outboard, and the coaming even protrudes past the side of the superstructure. All lines can be operated from the standard wheel. The mainsheet runs on a targa bracket and is therefore out of the way, the boom is set high. A bimini can also be rigged on the boom. The mast does not need a backstay. The jib overlaps only slightly, which makes it easy to handle.
The Hunter 31 is available with a 1.65 or 1.35 metre draft. It weighs at least 5.38 tonnes, which is more than a Bavaria Cruiser 34, for example. The sail carrying capacity of the boat from the USA is correspondingly low with the (non-reference) value of 4.2 even with the standard sails.
The boat costs 143,000 euros from Bremerhaven and is therefore well above the expectations of large European shipyards. However, it is also very high quality and well equipped: sails, 21 hp engine, four winches, rod kicker, mainsheet bracket, cockpit table, aft cockpit seats, six folding cleats and the shower are included as standard. Nevertheless, the list of options remains long and the competition is fierce.
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Fridtjof Gunkel
Deputy Chief Editor YACHT
