Buying an offshore yacht doesn’t have to be expensive: depending, of course, on your notion of what constitutes an offshore yacht.

Many newcomers today would balk at the idea of going far out of sight of land in anything less than about 10.7m (35ft).

Most would want full standing headroom, hot and cold running water, a shower, a fridge, a full set of electronic navigation aids, a reliable diesel engine and much more besides.

To get all that you would indeed need to find a reasonable lump of cash – not just to buy the boat, but also to maintain it and keep everything working.

Alternatively, you could spend around £1,000 on a Hunter 19.

This slim-hulled speedster from the 1960s was designed specifically to allow the owner of the first boat to compete in JOG (Junior Offshore Group) races that often took the fleet across the Channel to France.

A few years later, another owner entered the OSTAR (Observer Single-handed Trans-Atlantic Race) from Plymouth to Rhode Island.

Despite being battered by weather that forced the retirement of many larger boats, David Blagden’s Willing Griffin finished and, in so doing, became the smallest boat ever to complete the course.

That says a lot for the little yacht built by Hunter Boats as a development of Oliver Lee’s successful one-design keelboat, the Squib.

Even in those days of brave men doing remarkable things in small boats, it was unusual for a 19-footer (5.8m) to cross the Atlantic, and this achievement helped establish the Hunter as a go-anywhere sports cruiser for those who liked to cruise or race quickly on a small budget.

Her speed meant that, although her crew were denied the creature comforts enjoyed by those on larger boats, they often had the satisfaction of reaching port first.

There they could relax in the Hunter’s cabin with its full crouching headroom before stretching out on bunks that would let a crew of three catch up on sleep after a night passage.

Those who really wanted to pamper themselves would install basic cooking facilities. Other conveniences might include a bucket and a small outboard engine.

Life was a lot simpler in those days – less comfortable, perhaps, but less expensive and infinitely less complicated when it came to things that could break down or go wrong.

For all the boat’s offshore capabilities, most owners of the Hunter 19 have never aspired to cover long distances.

In the early days they were typically dinghy sailors wanting the extra comfort, safety and protection afforded by a keel, a cabin and a self-draining cockpit so they could take the family away for the weekend or enter cruiser races with the big boys.

They could still trail the boat home for the winter or between sailing areas because she was small and light enough to sit happily behind a
1970s estate car.

And despite her fixed fin keel she could still be launched and recovered from her trailer given a suitable slipway and the use of an extension bar on the car’s tow-hook.

In those days it was by no means unusual for trailable boats to have fin keels.

That’s what proper cruising yachts had and there was no shortage of swinging moorings that provided the necessary 1m (3ft 3in) of water at low tide.

Fixed fin keels were – and still are – simpler and less expensive than lifting alternatives as well as leaving the middle of the boat clear of cases, rams, struts, winches and lumps of smelly wet iron.

If you have seen a Squib or a fleet of Squibs, you will have an idea of how they sail.

While not competing in terms of pure boat speed with the current generation of knife-stemmed, dagger-keeled, carbon-rigged lightweight flyers they’re quick, close-winded and responsive race boats that continue to race in highly competitive fleets, including at Cowes Week, more than 40 years after their launch.

Ralf Teubert started in Squibs, buying his first in the early 1970s when living in Germany. It was the only one in the country, brought over by Hunter Boats and left there because, so the story goes, the builder didn’t want to bring it home again.

Ralf enjoyed a good deal of racing success with it before campaigning a quarter-tonner and later joining the crew of a Sigma 33.

He was less happy on the Sigma because he wanted to do more himself and didn’t like being ‘a little cog in a big wheel.’

On moving to England he sailed on another Sigma, then living near Newhaven gave him the chance to get back into a Squib.

His was the boat to beat for a number of years until he decided that he’d rather have something ‘with a lid and a self-draining cockpit’.

The waters off Newhaven can get pretty rough, and one experience of filling the Squib with water was enough.

Finding a buyer for the Squib was easy. Ralf had a complete spare rig, because Newhaven is an area where there’s always a chance of being dismasted, and he kept it together with the lightweight (4.5kg/10lb) rudder and tiller assembly from Milanes Foils.

The rudder and tiller are now used on the Hunter 19, which he bought on eBay for £950.

Knowing the Squib well he had no qualms about buying it unseen, though he took the precaution of asking the seller in Cornwall to deliver the boat halfway so he knew the trailer was in working order.

For his very modest outlay, Ralf acquired a sound boat complete with a trailer, a 5hp outboard – far too large, and replaced with a 2hp
alternative to save weight – a VHF radio and an echo-sounder.

His first job was to remove almost everything, including the mattresses and the hull lining in the cabin, and reassemble the boat ‘the way I
wanted it’.

As an experienced sailor as well as a dinghy/keelboat instructor and club race coach, he knew what he wanted to go where and reorganised the deck hardware as well.

The Hunter 19 has a masthead configuration, and in many ways, it’s a pity that Oliver Lee switched from the tunable, tried-and-tested
fractional rig on the Squib to a shorter masthead rig on the Hunter 19 – but masthead rigs were the fashion of the day on yachts with offshore pretensions.

It was a similar story when David Sadler designed the Contessa 26, based on the fractionally-rigged Folkboat.

The Hunter 19 is not the only example.

Among the drawbacks of a rig like the Hunter’s is that the mainsail is smaller and the foretriangle larger than on the Squib or other typical fractional equivalents that allow you to de-power quickly and easily.

On the Hunter 19 there’s little you can do before having to change to a smaller headsail. That takes time, involves trips to the foredeck and
results in a cabin full of wet sails.

Having to go to the bow is the bit that concerns Ralf because, as he says, ‘there’s no point in having a safer cockpit and then spending half the time on the foredeck!’

All these factors have combined to make him consider doing what at least one owner has done: to put a Squib’s rig on the Hunter 19.

In the meantime, he’s determined to get to grips with what he has. ‘It’s something else to master, working out what makes this thing go – but I still prefer the other rig.’

Hunting the breeze

Even if the rig might not be what either Ralf or I would choose, it doesn’t spoil what by any standards is a remarkable boat.

In light airs and a lumpy sea left over from the previous night’s gale, the Hunter 19 slipped along beautifully and proved a pretty even match for the Squib that accompanied us as a yardstick.

There’s a lot to be said for a fixed keel and a one-piece rudder-and-tiller assembly: no slop or play anywhere.

All too often with lifting-keelers you get banging and thudding, especially in steep seas and when the pressure comes off the keel downwind, while wobbly rudder blades and sloppily-fitting tillers can seriously spoil the helming experience.

With her light, slim, well-balanced hull the Hunter 19 was a delight to sail despite sails that were well past their prime.

We tried both No1 and No2 genoas as well as the full-size spinnaker. Ralf normally uses a Squib’s spinnaker when racing.

It’s easier to manage single-handed because it’s substantially smaller and allows the genoa to be left up, whereas the Hunter’s proper spinnaker is an appreciably larger sail that gives her a distinct edge downwind in light conditions.

Being used to a Squib, Ralf is conscious of not being able to centre the crew weight amidships, over the keel.

The cockpit isn’t long enough, so he simply makes sure he sits as far forward as possible.

Sitting too far aft isn’t only slow: it also encourages water to flow in through the cockpit drains.

Directional stability is remarkable. Even without the self-steering gear, a length of shock cord running across the cockpit and hooked to the tiller will often keep the boat on an upwind course for a couple of miles.

Not many fin-keelers will behave like that.

Balance is hard to fault partly because, in typical Oliver Lee style, the hull has sections that stay remarkably symmetrical at heel: the waterline is narrow, there’s an almost indiscernible turn to the bilge and the canoe body is relatively deep.

The result is minimal wetted area and a hull with a natural inclination to sail in a straight line.

Combined with the Hunter’s light weight, this shape means that initial stability isn’t particularly high but step-on stability is better than you might imagine because of the modest beam.

When the wind picks up the keel, which accounts for half the boat’s weight, it exerts a significant righting moment and helps the boat to keep powering upwind.

Lee was ahead of his time in giving the keel a bulbed tip to keep the centre of gravity as low as possible. The IOR (International Offshore Rule), which penalised stability, had yet to be introduced.

Accommodation on the Hunter 19

There’s really not a great deal to say about the Hunter’s cabin. Ralf uses his as a workshop and storage space, though in due course he might make it a bit more habitable if he starts using the boat for coastal cruising.

As long as somewhere to sleep and space for a few other basics is all you need, you won’t feel deprived.

For maximum head and elbow room, make sure you buy the development of the Hunter 19, the Hunter Europa, with its higher topsides and plusher finish.

Verdict on the Hunter 19

The Hunter 19 rates alongside the fin-keel version of Ian Proctor’s Prelude as a sports-cruiser that’s faster, better mannered, more capable, more responsive and more enjoyable to sail than almost anything else in this size range – quite apart from being a better all-rounder, regardless of how much money you’re prepared to spend.

To be fair, £1,000 is the bottom end of the price range and you might need to spend three times that to get an example that’s newer, more carefully maintained or better equipped.

Either way, you’ll get a lot of fun for your money.

Points to look out for when buying a Hunter 19

• As orthophthalic resins are more prone to water absorption than are the newer isophthalics, the under-water surfaces of any boat that has spent long periods afloat should be carefully inspected.
  Boats of this size are easy to lift ashore, however, so are less likely than many to suffer from osmosis.
  Crazing in the gel coat on the deck is the most common cosmetic problem, while the lid to the locker in the stern should also be checked to make sure it will keep water out.
  Boats of this size and price are often maintained on a tight budget, so hardware, rigging and sails will probably warrant close attention and might well need replacing. The same goes for the trailer.
  Buying advice
• Boats of this age and size are worth as much or as little as you’re prepared to pay for them. Tatty examples have been advertised for a few hundred pounds, but expect to pay a few thousand for one that has been well cared for. Europas tend to sell for more than the original Hunter 19 because they’re newer and roomier.
  Construction
• All Hunters of this era were built with the strong and simple combination of chopped strand mat and orthophthalic resin.
  Laminates were substantial, as anyone who has tried installing skin fittings or adding deck hardware will testify. The boat’s
  light weight is accounted for principally by its slim lines and simple fit-out.
  On the whole, problems likely to show up on the Hunter 19 are those that typically affect other boats of similar vintage; there are few, if any, weaknesses specific to the class. In general terms, they’re both tough and easy to repair.