# Hunter Sonata

The Hunter Sonata 7 is a 7 m (23 ft) small racer-cruiser yacht built in Britain from 1976 to 1990 by Hunter Boats Limited (now British Hunter). The twin-keeled version is known as the Hunter Duette.
The Sonata was designed by David Thomas, and is a One-Design, Cruiser-Racer Class. It has a glass-fibre hull, with a low-profile glass-fibre deck, a Bermuda rigged aluminium mast, and an iron keel (or keels). It has a relatively large sail area and the rig is a fractional one. When fitted for cruising it has four berths, with two further occasional bunks. Mechanical power is provided by a demountable outboard motor mounted on a sliding bracket on the port side of the transom.
The Sonata was built in several forms, with a fin keel, a lifting keel, and as a bilge keeler (with twin keels), when it was called the Hunter Duette. The Duette was fitted out for cruising rather than racing. The Duette was also available with a lifting keel. The same hull was used later with different deck mouldings for other models, including the Hunter Horizon 23. The 6 m (20 ft) Hunter Medina is a scaled-down trailer sailer version of the Sonata design.

## Key dimensions

* Length (LOA): 6.90 m
* Length on waterline: 5.60 m
* Beam: 2.60 m
* Sail area: 19.5 m²
* Draught: 1.37m (fin keel)
* Weight: 1115 kg

## Racing

The Sonata is a National class in the United Kingdom and is raced across the country. The class is governed by the National Sonata Association in conjunction with the Royal Yachting Association.

### Fleets

There are at least 17 fleets in the world, 15 of which are in the United Kingdom
* Abersoch
* Brightlingsea
* Brixham
* Burnham-on-Crouch
* Christchurch Sailing Club
* Loch Lomond Sailing Club
* Clyde
* Cowes
* Dublin
* Hong Kong
* Isle of Man
* Itchenor
* Medway
* Moray Firth
* Poole
* Scarborough
* South Coast (Hamble & Solent)
* Strangford Lough Yacht Club
* Sunderland
* Tay
* West Mersea
* Windermere
* Whitby

### UK National Champions

| Year | Championship Location | Owner | Boat |
| 1977 | | B L Waples | More Sparks |
| 1978 | Island SC, Cowes | P White | Parady |
| 1979 | Clyde | C Phillips | Thingummyjig |
| 1980 | East Coast | H Sellars | Cimaruta |
| 1981 | Hayling Island SC | M Harrison | Jiminy Cricket |
| 1982 | | G Evans & C Penfold | Scherzo |
| 1983 | | R D Jorpe | Duette |
| 1984 | | M J Forbes | Mickey Finn II |
| 1985 | | | |
| 1986 | | P Marchant | Mariba |
| 1987 | | P Marchant | Mariba |
| 1988 | | E Witherow | Oh Puss One |
| 1989 | | I Gray | Ghostbuster |
| 1990 | | MJ Young & JW Dudley | Aeolian |
| 1991 | Scarborough | I Gray | Ghostbuster |
| 1992 | Windemere | M Hart | Jabiru |
| 1993 | Island SC, Cowes | M Hart | Jabiru |
| 1994 | Clyde | Steve Goacher | Eric the Boat |
| 1995 | Dabchicks S.C, West Mersea | Steve Goacher | Eric the Boat |
| 1996 | Windemere | Steve Goacher | Eric the Boat |
| 1997 | Hamble River SC, Solent | Steve Goacher | Eric the Boat |
| 1998 | Clyde | Steve Goacher | Eric the Boat |
| 1999 | Dabchicks S.C, West Mersea | Steve Goacher | Eric the Boat |
| 2000 | Strangford Lough Y.C, Killinchy | Steve Goacher | Eric the Boat |
| 2001 | Medway Y.C, Rochester | Steve Goacher | Eric the Boat |
| 2002 | Royal Tay Y.C, Dundee | Steve Goacher | Eric the Boat |
| 2003 | Royal Southern Yacht Club, Solent | Tom White | Pizzicato |
| 2004 | Strangford Lough Y.C., Killinchy | Steve Goacher | Eric the Boat |
| 2005 | Abersoch, Wales | Steve Goacher | Eric the Boat |
| 2006 | Dabchicks S.C., West Mersea | Steve Goacher | Eric the Boat |
| 2007 | Sunderland Y.C. | Steve Goacher | Eric the Boat |
| 2008 | Strangford Lough Y.C., Killinchy | Dave Boatman | Blue Tack |
| 2009 | Poole Y.C., Poole | Dave Boatman | Blue Tack |
| 2010 | Helensburgh, Clyde | Steve Goacher | Eric the Boat |
| 2011 | Dabchicks S.C., West Mersea | Simon Farren & Marc Purdie | Camel Toe |
| 2012 | Medway Y.C., Rochester | Joe Cross | Presto |
| 2013 | Strangford Lough Y.C., Killinchy | Andy Tunnicliffe | Eric the Boat |
| 2014 | Brixham Y.C., Brixham | Steve Goacher | Eric the Boat |
| 2015 | Helensburgh, Clyde | Steve Goacher | Eric the Boat |
| 2016 | Poole Y.C., Poole | Steve Goacher | Eric the Boat |
| 2017 | Strangford Lough Y.C, Co. Down | Steve Goacher | Eric the Boat |
| 2018 | Medway Y.C., Rochester | Joe Cross | Exposition |
| 2019 | Helensborough S.C, Clyde | Steve Goacher | Eric the Boat |
| 2020 | COVID19 | NOT | HELD |
| 2021 | Island S.C, Cowes | Max Richardson | Little Scarlet |
| 2022 | Colne Y.C, Brightlingsea | Jonny Hewat/Lucian Stone | White Noise |
| 2023 | Parkstone Y.C, Poole | Tony Woods | Frankie The Rhino |
| 2024 | Medway Y.C, Rochester | Joe Cross/ Russell Wheeler | Duette |
| 2025 | Castle Cove S.C, Weymouth | | |
| 2026 | Royal Southern, Hamble | | |