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Originally Posted by camaraderie
I'll wait for a Practical Sailor review myself!
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Practical Sailor reviewed the 49 in their October issue. To quote from their Conclusions: "The design of the 49 impresses us as much more streamlined than many previous models from this builder. And Hunter has fulfilled most of its self-imposed mandate regarding this boat. This vessel makes significant strides toward easier maintenance. For a boat of this size, the H49 is easy to manage under sail. And many elements of the design will enhance on-the water safety (the kick-out panel in the aft cabins, the two watertight bulkheads, and easy access to the head of the rudder post for using the emergency tiller offer strong testimony to that notion).
"Hunter is clearly taking great measures to ensure that this boat lives up to its bluewater billing (Pettengill personally drove the prototype into the beach 10 times at up to 9.5 knots with the mainsail drawing). In our opinion, the 49 offers moderate passagemaking potential with sufficient comfort, and relatively low maintenance ..."
Those familiar with Practical Sailor reviews will know about their Hits and Misses and their Pros and Cons. The boat they tested was the shoal draft, in-mast
furling, short mast, standard
jib version, and, of course they found the light air performance "lacks umph". Several of their Misses and Cons seemed misguided or nitpicking: their Con on the
anchor well was "only one
cleat". In the well is a
cleat and a beefy U-bolt, and beside it on deck are two mooring cleats. Their Con on the
rig: "Fixed staysail can interfere with tacking the genoa", seems to me to be a general statement on all cutter
rigs. Their Miss: "Front-loading fridge and freezer are relatively inefficient." misses the fact that there are also two large independent top loading freezers.
Practical Sailor's test boat was hull #1, and Hunter has already modified design specifications on subsequent boats, either through their own discovery during test saliing or to address reviewers' comments and critiques.