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About
Hunter Marine
The roots of Hunter
Marine actually began back in the 1800’s with a German immigrant
by the name of Henry Luhrs. He became involved in the outfitting of trading
ships and eventually owned a chandlery and then his own ship, The Sophia
R. Luhrs.His grandson, another Henry, was also in love with the sea and
continued the family heritage by building and repairing family cruisers
and fishing boats on the New Jersey coast. Before long, Henry and his
sons, John and Warren, were building over a thousand boats a year.
In 1965, the company, Henry
Luhrs Sea Skiffs, was sold to Bangor Punta, a large timber conglomerate.
John and Warren went out on their own. In 1969 they bought a small New
Jersey builder named Silverton Sea Skiffs and became very successful by
following the same techniques their father had shown them.
Warren, being an avid sailor, knew they could bring production line efficiencies
to the sailing industry and in 1973, launched their first Hunter sailboat,
a 25-foot Cherubini designed sloop. The boat was well accepted and Hunter
was well on its way to become a major force in the sailboat industry.
Warren became involved in ocean racing and set many records aboard Thursday’s
Child and Hunter’s Child. These floating test beds became the basis
for many of Hunter’s innovations including B & R rigs, arches
and water-ballast. The New HC 50 is based on the success of Hunter’s
Child, which provided veteran ocean racer, Steve Pettengill, the best
ever finish for an American in the last BOC Around the World Race.
Today, Hunter Marine Corporation
is part of the Luhrs Marine Group. It includes Silverton Marine Corporation,
builders of family inboard cruisers, Mainship Trawlers, and the Luhrs
Corporation, known for sportfishing boats.
All four of these companies share information, technology and buying power
to bring you the best value on the water. Hunter Marine currently produces
24 foot through 50 foot boats in the state of the art, Alachua, Florida
plant and builds 9 through 21 foot Advanced Composite Process trailerables
at it's Hunter Composite Technolgies, Inc.division in East Lyme, CT. The
Luhrs Marine Group has recently opened another facility in the United
Kingdom, Luhrs Marine Limited, which builds Hunter mid-size sailboats
for the European market. These innovative sailboats are now marketed in
over 45 countries throughout the world. They are also certified by the
NMMA and the Community of Europe and are in compliance with the ABYC.
Hunter Marine is also one of the first companies to achieve Marine Industry
Certification.
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