Hunton Gazelle 43, BLUEBIRD

Broker’s Comments

Jeff Hunton’s experience of the offshore endurance powerboat racing scene, and his six victories in the British Offshore Powerboat Championship, led him to design and then build some epic offshore hulls, and the Hunton Gazelle 43 (often known as the RS, or the later, stepped XRS43) is perhaps the most iconic of them all. Fame (or is that notoriety?) followed due to the 43 starring in the 2005 film Sahara, featuring a jet-drive 43 which, of course, out runs the baddies.

Yet the 43 will outrun pretty much anything.

With a slender 10’10” beam, she is a true bullet shape, with a 24-degree aft deadrise – sharpening midships to 28, translating into a fabulously cushioned ride, with exceptional handling.

Her long, lean dart of a bow is drawn aft to a graceful rise at her screen, and the cockpit wraps around her crew in another nod to her racing heritage. BLUEBIRD was fitted from new with a hardtop – so she has far more crew protection than the standard targa-style 43. Her deeply upholstered seating is beautifully trimmed, with a double sunpad aft, well-protected guest seating sunk low in her cockpit, and fabulous powered racing seats just aft of her main console. Chromed throttles fall directly to hand, and a simple dash houses white-carded engine gauges and black tachos. It is a properly snug driver’s environment, perfect for a boat that wants to be pushed, and rewards the engagement of her helm.

Below decks her arrow-like profile translates into a cosy saloon, with heads to starboard and a small, but perfectly formed, galley area to port. Forward of the heads and saloon is a separate double berth cabin, set into the delicious beak of a bow – and it is all beautifully done. Hunton even fit in a midships double cabin, with a door to port off the main saloon – so this performance hammer can function capably as a four-berth family cruiser. Whilst she is a true performance hull, she will cruise very happily with her twin Konrad sterndrive set-up and has been owned and enjoyed by a very experienced yachtsman, who is only her second guardian from new.

She is thus a fresh example of this iconic performance sportsboat and should be seriously considered by anyone who values being able to run at speed through weather that would hold lesser breeds in the harbour, with the comfort of a hardtop, heating, radar, and some proper creature comforts. Her galley benefits from a recent refit, her seacocks have been recently replaced, and her engines have only run some 30 hours since a full rebuild – so she is fully ready to go. Quite super!

Sales Video

Owner’s Comments

BLUEBIRD genuinely goes anywhere in comfort and safety. We have used her mostly for extended cruising, with many long distance runs to and from our base in the Hamble to Guernsey and Cornwall, the most notable being from the River Hamble to Port Pendennis (Falmouth) in a shade under 7 hours!

Confidence inspiring at sea and very easy to handle in marina, she cuts a dash everywhere you go.