Camaraderie,
Glen Henderson arrived at Hunter in 1998. He and his team then began re-designing their entire
line of keel boats, culminating this spring with the launch of the 49 to replace the 46.
To quote from a Cruising World article on the 2005 Boat of the Year, "For several years, BOTY judges have noted the growing influence of Hunter's in-house designer, Glenn Henderson, and nowhere has his sailorly touch shown through more clearly than in this boat. For these and other reasons, the Hunter 38 wins this year's award for Best Production Cruiser Under 40 Feet."
To quote from a Cruising World article naming the Hunter 41 DS the 2006 Boat of the Year - Production Cruiser 40 to 44 Feet: . "I liked this boat a lot. It certainly represents a lot of bang for the buck. The systems upgrades over earlier Hunters I've looked at were just phenomenal. They've improved exponentially, in my opinion."
As far as comparing them to other boat builders, let me just say that contrary to my observations in other builders yards and plants, at Hunter I saw no forcing, pounding or winching badly fitting components into place; everything appeared to fit easily together by workers specialized in their own phase of construction. I saw specialists on the production
line, rather than Jacks-of-all-trades.
The employees with whom I spoke were all very knowledgeable in their particular part in the process, and they seemed to enjoy sharing their knowledge and insights. I would suppose that the employee ownership program makes them feel much more committed to the part they play in the company.