The Hunter 426 is an American

sailboat A sailboat or sailing boat is a boat propelled partly or entirely by sails and is smaller than a sailing ship. Distinctions in what constitutes a sailing boat and ship vary by region and maritime culture. Types Although sailboat terminolo ...

that was designed by Glenn Henderson as a cruiser and first built as a 2003 model. It was produced in two versions, the 426 AC (Aft Cockpit) and the 426 DS (Deck Salon). The Hunter 426 DS was developed into the 2003 Hunter 44, with a redesigned aft cabin.

Production

The design was built by Hunter Marine in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

starting in 2003, but it is now out of production.

Design

The Hunter 426 is a recreational

keelboat A keelboat is a riverine cargo-capable working boat, or a small- to mid-sized recreational sailing yacht. The boats in the first category have shallow structural keels, and are nearly flat-bottomed and often used leeboards if forced in open w ...

, built predominantly of

fiberglass Fiberglass (American English) or fibreglass ( Commonwealth English) is a common type of fiber-reinforced plastic using glass fiber. The fibers may be randomly arranged, flattened into a sheet called a chopped strand mat, or woven into glass clo ...

. It has a fractional sloop

B&R rig The B&R rig is a variant of the Bermuda sailboat rig, designed and patented by Swedish aeronautical engineers Lars Bergström and Sven Ridder. It employs swept spreaders that are usually angled aft, together with "stays" running diagonally dow ...

, a nearly

plumb stem The stem is the most forward part of a boat or ship's bow and is an extension of the keel itself. It is often found on wooden boats or ships, but not exclusively. Description The stem is the curved edge stretching from the keel below, up t ...

, a walk-through

reverse transom A transom is the vertical reinforcement which strengthens the stern of a boat. This flat termination of the stern is typically above the waterline. The term was used as far back as Middle English in the 1300s, having come from Latin ''transvers ...

with a swimming platform and fold-down ladder, an internally mounted spade-type

rudder A rudder is a primary control surface used to steer a ship, boat, submarine, hovercraft, aircraft, or other vehicle that moves through a fluid medium (generally air or water). On an aircraft the rudder is used primarily to counter adve ...

controlled by a wheel and a fixed fin

keel The keel is the bottom-most longitudinal structural element on a vessel. On some sailboats, it may have a hydrodynamic and counterbalancing purpose, as well. As the laying down of the keel is the initial step in the construction of a ship, in Br ...

or option shoal draft wing keel. It displaces and carries of lead ballast with the fin keel and of lead ballast with the wing keel. The boat has a draft of with the standard keel and with the optional shoal draft keel. The boat is fitted with a Japanese

Yanmar is a Japanese diesel engine, heavy machinery and agricultural machinery manufacturer founded in Osaka, Japan in 1912. Yanmar manufactures and sells engines used in a wide range of applications, including seagoing vessels, pleasure boats, cons ...

diesel engine The diesel engine, named after Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which ignition of the fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to mechanical compression; thus, the diesel engine is a so-ca ...

of . The fuel tank holds and the fresh water tank has a capacity of . Factory standard equipment included a 110%

roller furling Roller furling is a method of furling (i.e. reefing) a yacht's staysail by rolling the sail around a stay. Roller furling is typically used for foresails such as jibs or genoas. A mainsail may also be furled by a similar system, whereby the ...

genoa Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian census, the Province of ...

, steel

mainsheet In sailing, a sheet is a line (rope, cable or chain) used to control the movable corner(s) ( clews) of a sail. Terminology In nautical usage the term "sheet" is applied to a line or chain attached to the lower corners of a sail for the purpos ...

arch, four two-speed self tailing winches,

marine VHF radio Marine VHF radio is a worldwide system of two way radio transceivers on ships and watercraft used for bidirectional voice communication from ship-to-ship, ship-to-shore (for example with harbormasters), and in certain circumstances ship-to-a ...

knotmeter Pitometer logs (also known as pit logs) are devices used to measure a ship's speed relative to the water. They are used on both surface ships and submarines. Data from the pitometer log is usually fed directly into the ship's navigation system. H ...

depth sounder Echo sounding or depth sounding is the use of sonar for ranging, normally to determine the depth of water (bathymetry). It involves transmitting acoustic waves into water and recording the time interval between emission and return of a pulse; ...

, AM/FM radio

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...

and

CD player A CD player is an electronic device that plays audio compact discs, which are a digital optical disc data storage format. CD players were first sold to consumers in 1982. CDs typically contain recordings of audio material such as music or audio ...

anchor An anchor is a device, normally made of metal , used to secure a vessel to the bed of a body of water to prevent the craft from drifting due to wind or current. The word derives from Latin ''ancora'', which itself comes from the Greek ἄ� ...

roller, two fully enclosed heads with showers, private forward and aft cabins, a dinette table that converts to a berth, complete set of kitchen dishes and bedding,

microwave oven A microwave oven (commonly referred to as a microwave) is an electric oven that heats and cooks food by exposing it to electromagnetic radiation in the microwave frequency range. This induces polar molecules in the food to rotate and produce ...

, dual stainless steel sinks and a two-burner

gimbal A gimbal is a pivoted support that permits rotation of an object about an axis. A set of three gimbals, one mounted on the other with orthogonal pivot axes, may be used to allow an object mounted on the innermost gimbal to remain independent of ...

liquid petroleum gas Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG or LP gas) is a fuel gas which contains a flammable mixture of hydrocarbon gases, specifically propane, propylene, butylene, isobutane and n-butane. LPG is used as a fuel gas in heating appliances, cooking ...

stove and oven. Factory options included a

liferaft A lifeboat or liferaft is a small, rigid or inflatable boat carried for emergency evacuation in the event of a disaster aboard a ship. Lifeboat drills are required by law on larger commercial ships. Rafts ( liferafts) are also used. In the m ...

and

EPIRB An Emergency Position-Indicating Radio Beacon (EPIRB) is a type of emergency locator beacon for commercial and recreational boats, a portable, battery-powered radio transmitter used in emergencies to locate boaters in distress and in need of ...

, a double aft cabin,

Bimini top A Bimini top is an open-front canvas top for the cockpit of a boat, usually supported by a metal frame. Most Biminis can be collapsed when not in use, and raised again if shade or shelter from rain is desired. Bimini tops differ from dodgers ...

air conditioning Air conditioning, often abbreviated as A/C or AC, is the process of removing heat from an enclosed space to achieve a more comfortable interior environment (sometimes referred to as 'comfort cooling') and in some cases also strictly controlling ...

, clothing washer and drier, ice maker, in-mast mainsail furling and an electric anchor winch. The design has a

PHRF Performance Handicap Racing Fleet (PHRF) is a handicapping system used for yacht racing in North America. It allows dissimilar classes of sailboats to be raced against each other. The aim is to cancel out the inherent advantages and disadvantages ...

racing average handicap of 117. It has a

hull speed Hull speed or displacement speed is the speed at which the wavelength of a vessel's bow wave is equal to the waterline length of the vessel. As boat speed increases from rest, the wavelength of the bow wave increases, and usually its crest-to-t ...

of .

Variants

;Hunter 426 AC :This model has a conventional aft cockpit. ;Hunter 426 DS :This model has a raised coach house roof and larger ports, giving more headroom and light below decks.

Operational history

In a 2003 review, written by famed naval architect, Robert Perry for ''Sailing'' magazine, he wrote, "The styling of this Hunter is strong. The variety of windows and port shapes has a big effect on the overall look of the boat, as does the prominent hull-to-deck joint feature. It's a unique look that obviously continues to find favors with Hunter's clientele." In another 2003 review in ''Cruising World'', reviewer Darrell Nicholson praised the accommodations and sailing qualities, finding little to fault apart from a "a persistent squeak caused by the exhaust hose". He concluded, "For the kind of cruising that most people do, either version of the Hunter 426 would be a great platform for fun. Whether coastal cruising, island-hopping through the Bahamas, or skating across the bay for a weekend getaway, the Hunter 426 AC and 426 DS offer value that’s rare today in a comparable boat of this size with such standard amenities."

References

External links

Official brochure
{{Hunter Marine Keelboats 2000s sailboat type designs Sailing yachts Sailboat type designs by Glenn Henderson Sailboat types built by Hunter Marine