Hunter 28
The Hunter 28 is a 28-foot boat, with model years from 1985 to 1993 in the listings we track. Across 24 listings we have observed (model years 1985–1993), the median asking price is $9,500, with most boats asking $6,500 to $13,000. The engine we see most often on this model is Marine diesel inboard (Yanmar / Cummins / Universal).
BoatVerdict market snapshot
These are asking prices. No free or public source publishes US used-boat transaction prices, so nobody — us included — can honestly show you what these boats sold for. What we can show you is what 24 sellers are asking, which is the number you are actually negotiating against.
24 priced listings across 12 states. Enough for a range, not enough to be precise about any single year.
Method: Asking prices from active listings, de-duplicated so a re-posted boat counts once (72 raw listings collapsed to 24 distinct boats). Quartiles, not averages, so one outlier cannot move the band. Rounded to $500.
Coverage: Model years 1985–1993, 12 states, 17 metro areas. New-boat listings excluded.
Sources: BoatVerdict market observations (craigslist) · US state vessel registries (565 registered Hunter hulls)
Looking at a Hunter 28 for sale?
Paste the listing and we will score that specific boat against everything on this page: asking price versus our observed range, engine and hours risk, the known issues for its model year, and a negotiation position. The verdict is free.
Get the free verdict →No account needed. The paid Deal Report is optional and comes after.
The BoatVerdict take
- Recall (USCG/CPSC)
9 federal recall campaigns on file touch this builder. Check the specific hull against the recall list below before you put money down; remedies are free but only if the work was actually done.
- BoatVerdict inference
Diesel power shows up in our sample for this model. Diesel keeps its value and its hours better than gas, but a bad one is a five-figure repair — survey and oil analysis are not optional on a diesel boat.
Each point is tagged with the evidence behind it. Nothing here is a claim we cannot trace back to a counted listing, a federal record, or a named analyst judgement.
Hunter 28 prices by model year
Show the numbers by model year
| Model year | Boats | Middle half of asks | Median ask |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | 2 | too few to show | - |
| 1988 | 1 | too few to show | - |
| 1987 | 2 | too few to show | - |
| 1986 | 4 | $9,500 to $10,000 | $10,000 |
| 1985 | 2 | too few to show | - |
11 distinct boats, listed now or since taken down, re-posts counted once. Years with fewer than 3 boats show a count only. Asking prices, not sale prices.
What a used Hunter 28 is worth
We have seen 11 distinct Hunter 28 boats for sale between Jun 14, 2026 and Nov 14, 2026, model years 1985 to 1993, in 8 states. The median ask is $8,500 and half of all asks sit between $7,500 and $10,500. Asking prices fall about 6.3% for each year of age (28% over five years), measured on these 11 boats and steadied with the 4.7% rate we measure for the class.
What moves the price of a 28
- Horsepower. Doubling the power for the same class and length adds about 16% to the ask.
- Engine hours.Higher hours than typical for the age lower the ask.
- Region.West +12%, Midwest +5%, South +2%, Northeast -1% against the national level.
- Brand.Hunter boats in this class ask about 16% less than the class average for the same age and length.
Fitted on 1,325 distinct boats in this class (log asking price on age, length and brand; refit nightly, last on 2026-11-14). These are effects on asking prices.
Recent Hunter 28 asking prices
| Year | Model | Length | HP | Hours | State | Asking | Seen | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1985 | 28 | 28 ft | - | - | MD | $5,000 | Jun 14, 2026 to Nov 14, 2026 | listed (20 posts) Craigslist |
| 1987 | 28 | 28 ft | - | - | DC | $4,000 | Jun 14, 2026 to Nov 14, 2026 | listed (5 posts) Craigslist |
| 1986 | 28 | 28 ft | - | - | CA | $10,000 | Sep 22, 2026 to Nov 14, 2026 | listed Craigslist |
| 1985 | 28 | 28 ft | - | - | GA | $6,500 | Aug 31, 2026 to Oct 8, 2026 | taken down (2 posts) Craigslist |
| 1987 | 28 | 28 ft | - | - | IL | $8,000 | Aug 15, 2026 to Sep 29, 2026 | taken down (4 posts) Craigslist |
| 1986 | 28 | 28 ft | - | - | FL | $10,500 | Aug 9, 2026 to Sep 23, 2026 | taken down (3 posts) Craigslist |
| 1986 | 28 | 28 ft | - | - | RI | $8,500 | Jul 20, 2026 to Sep 12, 2026 | taken down (4 posts) Craigslist |
| 1993 | 28 | 28 ft | - | - | OH | $15,000 | Jul 2, 2026 to Aug 31, 2026 | taken down (3 posts) Craigslist |
| 1988 | 28 | 28 ft | - | - | MD | $8,000 | Jun 14, 2026 to Jul 22, 2026 | taken down Craigslist |
| 1986 | 28 | 28 ft | - | - | RI | $9,500 | Jun 21, 2026 to Jul 19, 2026 | taken down (5 posts) Craigslist |
| 1993 | 28 | 28 ft | - | - | OH | $12,000 | Jun 30, 2026 to Jul 1, 2026 | taken down Craigslist |
The 11 most recently seen of 11 distinct boats. These are asking prices, not sale prices: no free source publishes US used-boat sale prices. A boat re-posted several times counts once, at its latest ask. "Taken down" means the ad disappeared; that can be a sale, a seller who gave up, or an expired post.
Hunter recalls and accident record
Of 393Hunter boats in USCG accident records: fire or explosion 5%, flooding or swamping 7%, capsizing 3%, total loss 5%, at least one death 5%. Accident records reflect how and how much boats are used, not only how they are built. Only accidents above the USCG reporting threshold are recorded. Personal watercraft are left out.
These numbers are for the builder, not this model. Check the specific hull with a HIN lookup for recalls and reported accidents.
Recalls affecting Hunter
9 federal recall campaigns on file. Recalls are issued against hull-identification ranges, so a campaign listed here may or may not cover the specific boat you are looking at — check the HIN. Remedies are free from the builder, but only if the work was actually performed, and there is no central database that proves it was.
- ⚠ Recall
010135T8/20/2001CHAIN PLATE FAILURE
- ⚠ Recall
060053T8/12/2006THRU HULL BALL VALVE
- ⚠ Recall
800196S7/7/1980PERSON CAPACITY
- ⚠ Recall
980127T7/31/1998RUDDER HEAD ASSEMBLY
- ⚠ Recall
930114T7/2/1993STEMBALL EYE FITTING
- ⚠ Recall
000109T6/8/2000FUEL TANK - CORROSION
- ⚠ Recall
000083T5/26/2000ELECTRICAL SYSTEM - IGN
- ⚠ Recall
06R1204S4/4/2006HULL ID NUMBER; LABEL; CAPACITY
- ⚠ Recall
960033T4/16/1996ELECTRICAL - SHOCK HAZARD
Method: Matched to the builder by normalized company name and MIC. A campaign is shown when it touches this builder; the model and year columns say how narrowly it applies.
Sources: US Coast Guard recall database · CPSC recalls
Engines we actually see on the 28
- Marine diesel inboard (Yanmar / Cummins / Universal)
Conventional shaft-drive marine diesels (Yanmar and Cummins especially) are the most durable propulsion in pleasure boating — 5,000–10,000 hours is normal with maintenance. On sailboats, a repowered modern diesel replacing a legacy gas Atomic 4 adds significant value.
Service reality: Judge on oil analysis, coolant condition, and service records over raw hours. Check the heat exchanger, mixing elbow (on the exhaust), and motor mounts.
Full Marine diesel inboard (Yanmar / Cummins / Universal) reliability profile →
Method: Engine family matched from the listing's engine fields and title text against BoatVerdict's engine-family profiles. Prevalence is share of our sample, not factory fitment rates.
Sources: BoatVerdict market observations · BoatVerdict engine-family profiles
Hunter 28 specifications
| Length (median listed) | 28.0 ft | Our listing data |
|---|---|---|
| Model years traded | 1985–1993 | Our listing data |
| Hunter hulls in US registries | 565 | TX + NY open data |
Rows marked "our listing data" are measured from listings, not published by the builder, and will differ from a brochure. Rows without a source we can name are not shown at all.
What to inspect on a used Hunter 28
- Marine diesel inboard (Yanmar / Cummins / Universal): Judge on oil analysis, coolant condition, and service records over raw hours. Check the heat exchanger, mixing elbow (on the exhaust), and motor mounts. Seen on 1 of the 24 28 listings we track.
- Get the hour meter reading and divide by the boat's age. Above 300 hours a year is heavy use for a Marine diesel inboard (Yanmar / Cummins / Universal). Threshold from BoatVerdict's engine-family profile for Marine diesel inboard (Yanmar / Cummins / Universal).
- Assume saltwater service unless the seller can prove otherwise: pull the engine cowling and look at the powerhead, check trim-cylinder rams for pitting, and open the battery and fuse boxes for green corrosion. 82% of the listings we observed for this model are in coastal states.
- On the older hulls, core moisture is the deal-breaker: sound the transom and the deck with a plastic mallet, and treat any soft or dull-sounding area as a survey-stopper rather than a bargaining chip. We observe listings back to 1985, so boats over 41 years old are actively traded in this model.
This list is specific to this model: analyst items for the hull, plus items driven by the engines and the regions we actually observe on 28 listings. It is not a generic pre-purchase checklist, and it does not replace a surveyor.
What a 28 costs to own
$4,750 – $14k per year
- 28 ft hull, the median observed length for this model
- Saltwater berth, based on where most listings we see are located (MD)
- Includes insurance, storage, routine service, fuel at moderate seasonal use, and a reserve for wear items
- Excludes loan payments, major engine replacement, and refit work
This is a modelled band, not observed spend. Real cost swings hard on where you keep the boat and how much you use it.
Method: The same ownership-cost model BoatVerdict's paid Deal Report uses: boat class and length set the base band, then saltwater berth and size adjust it.
Sources: BoatVerdict ownership-cost model
Where 28s are for sale
- MD 5
- OH 3
- NY 2
- NJ 2
- RI 2
- CA 2
- OR 2
- FL 2
- NC 1
- MO 1
Counts of distinct boats we observed per state, from 24 listings in 17 metro areas. We publish the distribution, not the listings themselves.
What else buyers cross-shop
- Sea Ray 280 Sundancer
- Boston Whaler 280 Vantage
- Bayliner 2855 Ciera
- Sea Ray 280
- Sea Fox 288 Commander
- Bayliner 2855
Chosen by measured similarity — same builder first, then comparable length — and limited to models whose own page meets our evidence bar. No paid placements, no filler links.
Hunter 28 FAQ
How much does a used Hunter 28 cost?
Are there recalls on the Hunter 28?
What engine does the Hunter 28 come with?
What does it cost to own a Hunter 28 per year?
Looking at a Hunter 28 for sale?
Paste the listing and we will score that specific boat against everything on this page: asking price versus our observed range, engine and hours risk, the known issues for its model year, and a negotiation position. The verdict is free.
Get the free verdict →No account needed. The paid Deal Report is optional and comes after.