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Garage, Galley & Hangar
GG&H
Technical Owner's Manual
Hunter 34FIG. 1
34' 5"
HUNTER MARINE
Hunter 34
The Complete Owner's Reference
REV 1.0 · 140 PP
SAILBOAT · 34' 5"
GARAGE, GALLEY & HANGAR
9 chapters · 49-term glossary · 184-entry index
Sailboat · Hunter Marine

Hunter 34

A Cortland Steck design from Hunter Marine's early in-house era (1983 to 1987), the 34 is a fast, roomy, affordable coastal cruiser that packs a lot of interior volume and a tall masthead B&R rig into 34 feet, best suited to a coastal sailor who values space and value over custom finish. It is a genuinely capable boat once sorted, but this reference does not soften its weak points: buried mild-steel chainplate anchors that can drop the rig, a deck-stepped mast whose wooden beam can crush, plywood side decks that drink water, and a cast-iron keel that never stops asking for attention.

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A sample of what's inside

Specifications

Length overall34 ft 5 in (34.42 ft)
Beam11 ft 7 in
KeelDeep fin 5.5 ft or shoal fin 4.25 ft, cast iron, ~5,000 lb ballast
RigMasthead B&R sloop with a standing backstay (not backstayless)
EngineYanmar 3GMF diesel, ~22.5 hp; earliest hulls a Westerbeke 21
Used market~$15k to $35k, condition-driven

Known issues, covered honestly

  • The signature failure: buried mild-steel chainplate anchors rust from the inside where no inspection reaches, and in the worst cases the tie-rod nut pulls through and drops the rig.
  • The deck-stepped mast lands on a wooden beam that rots or crushes when the step leaks, checkable in five minutes with a straightedge but rig-threatening if ignored.
  • Plywood side-deck core soaks up water at every leaking chainplate, stanchion, and port, the boat's slow, labor-intensive killer.
  • A cast-iron keel shipped with poor protection rusts and cracks the keel seam (the 'Hunter Smile'), demanding perpetual grinding, sealing, and bolt checks.

…and the full survey guide, service schedules, systems, and parts sourcing in the complete volume.

Custom Edition

Make it your boat.

We fold in your year, your engine, your electronics and refits, your hull number, and your vessel name and your own boat's photo on the cover. The book stops describing the boat that left the factory and starts describing the one in your slip.

$260
personalized to your vessel