1978 Hunter 25 Cherubini

[HurricaneJHaines]

Hello,
I am the proud owner of a 1978 Hunter 25 Cherubini. I bought it last May and was pretty hard on the poor old thing sailing from Delaware City, DE to Pocomoke City, MD and back north again to Taylor Island, MD. I now need to replace ALL of the cabin cushions, V-berth cushions, as well as find a mainsail for it. Can anyone tell me where or who may be able to help in these areas?

Thanks!

 

[Bill1565]

Hello, I am the proud owner of a 1978 Hunter 25 Cherubini. I bought it last May and was pretty hard on the poor old thing sailing from Delaware City, DE to Pocomoke City, MD and back north again to Taylor Island, MD. I now need to replace ALL of the cabin cushions, V-berth cushions, as well as find a mainsail for it. Can anyone tell me where or who may be able to help in these areas? Thanks!

Welcome to the group. John Cherubini II has a 25. As do others here. Im
sure you will find more advice than you can afford.

 

[HurricaneJHaines]

Haha!!!! For what I know and what I did... I NEED all of the advice I can possibly get! Lol! She's 4 years older than I am and so is the 9.9hp Evinrude. Long story, short version: In losing patience after 4 months of waiting to get anyone to teach me how to sail and what it entailed, I decided to take it south to show my grandfather as a surprise. It took me 9 days to sail there and I did it without a depth finder, no charts, no compass, still do not know how to navigate using coordinates, and never figured out how to use the talk radio a friend had lent me to use. The only thing I used was my cell phone. Even right down to believing I was sinking when I saw I was taking on water, my mainsail ripped in pieces, with 5ft waves in Hooper Straights just south of Hoopers Island - still didn't know to call the coast guard and had called a much more knowledgable person that told me to contact them if I got into trouble, lol! Looking back now, I fully understand the meaning of ignorance being bliss, hahaha! That was my maiden voyage and I learned how to actually get it sailing about lunch time of the third day.

 

[John60M]

Welcome to the site. I can't help you with your questions in your original post but as a retired member of the US Coast Guard I strongly urge you to take a few boating safety courses. You can find basic boating safety courses and even advanced courses such as navigations at www.cgaux.org. I also suggest that you load the phone numbers for the Coast Guard stations in the areas you plan on sailing in. Lastly, leave a float plan with someone responsible. It can be as simple as where you plan on sailing, the length and color of you vessel, it's name and home port, when you expect to return, any medical issues you may have and who to contact if you are late. I have over 32 years of boat experience and I leave a float plan each time I'm on the water.

Enjoy your boat/sailing.

John

 

[HurricaneJHaines]

Thank you, John! That is exactly what I will do in the trip back.

 

[braol]

Congrats on the boat. I'm actually jealous, I learned to sail on a Sunfish and kept capsizing the boat until I figured it out...at least you stayed dry! I now have a Hunter 27; just like your boat...but slower and heavier!

Do please at LEAST get a chart of your sailing area so that you don't run-aground...or worse. I'd probably get a hand-held VHF radio as cell coverage is not always ideal offshore. I'd also reccommend Don Casey's "Sailboat Maintenance Handbook."

 

[Canyonkeeper]

Welcome. I am redoing my 27 right now. For the cushions we cheated. We got the foam from a futon dealer. Then picked fabric from Joanne fabrics (they have sunbrella). From there we cut luan plywood to the shape of the v berth and settees. From there we wrapped the fabric and stapled to the board. Easy fix and cheap.

This year though we are getting mesh and zippers sewed in.

 

[stollo770]

Welcome. You are one lucky person. The fact that you didn't run aground at all while sailing inland is nothing short of phenomenal. I have charts/gps/abundant channel markers up here in Barnegat Bay NJ and I still scrape the keel every now and then. I'm also shocked you were brave enough to open your sails without knowing how to use them and by yourself no less. First time you heeled must have scared the sh*t out of you. Kudos though for gritting your teeth and riding it out. Definitely one of the more daring stories I have heard. Must be hard to sail and keep the boat balanced with those balls of steel weighing you down. Haha. The coast guard is on Channel 16 by the way, they always listen on the frequency so if your in need of help, send out a distress call there.

 

[Stu Jackson]

Buy and read Sailing for Dummies. You can probably find a used copy for next to nothing. It's a very good book.

Why people go out and unnecessarily do stupid life-threatening things when the information is so readily available to them remains beyond me.

Yes, we've all done stupid things with our boats, but most of us have done some studying or taken lessons before setting out.

What's your life worth to you? Or your family.

Stay safe, enjoy your boat. Do some homework and research. We can't do that for you.

 

[HurricaneJHaines]

I used 3 apps I had downloaded to my phone to help me along my way. I wasn't totally sailing it blindly. I spoke with many people in the marinas I would stop in and received tons of info about the waters in the area. (Except for Hoopers straights... Lol! Nobody told me about Hoopers straights.) Stollo, as far as the balls of steel making it difficult, I wouldn't know. My ovaries are pretty sturdy though and only made me leery for one uncomfortable adventure riding my bike to the grocery store through a not nice part of town, lol! In regards to doing stupid things with my life, as I said before, ignorance is bliss. A person only knows they are doing something stupid when they have been around or involved in such things to obtain a bit of knowledge regarding it; stories, experiences, heard things others have gone through, witnessed other's experiences, etc. I grew up on an egg farm and was never around boats at all in my life until I bought mine last May. As far as my family, as I said, I was trying to surprise them by taking it to them. I do not claim to be a smart person by any stretch of the word, however, I am highly intelligent and learn acutely well from my mistakes very rapidly. Currently, I need to replace my mainsail and cabin cushions in order to continue my adventure to bring my boat back home. At the moment, it is a 2 hour drive away from me. Canyonkeeper, thank you very much!!! I will try to see about making the cushions like you had done using the board as backing. So far, with what tools I have available to work with at my house, that is the most doable way I have come acrossed for making my own. I will let you know how they turn out!

 

[HurricaneJHaines]

 

[Stu Jackson]

1 .......ignorance is bliss.

2 A person only knows they are doing something stupid when they have been around or involved in such things to obtain a bit of knowledge regarding it;

1. I tried that once, and my friend said "Yeah, and you're the happiest person I know!" :dance:

2. Not really. One option is to read FIRST not after.

I am more concerned for your safety than anything else. All I could respond to was what you originally wrote about your trip. Sorry to take you literally, but your OP didn't mention any nav aids or anything you filled in later. That happens on forums sometimes, but don't shoot the messenger (me) if the original text was incomplete.

Have you bought the book?

 

[braol]

Buy and read Sailing for Dummies. You can probably find a used copy for next to nothing. It's a very good book.

Why people go out and unnecessarily do stupid life-threatening things when the information is so readily available to them remains beyond me.

Yes, we've all done stupid things with our boats, but most of us have done some studying or taken lessons before setting out.

What's your life worth to you? Or your family.

Stay safe, enjoy your boat. Do some homework and research. We can't do that for you.

Wow, no need to pull my sharp knives out of the drawer today!

 

[HurricaneJHaines]

I have a sample until I am able to buy the actual book.

LOL Braol!

 

[ggrizzard]

Google "Used Sails" for replacement main sail.

Google "Used marine electronics" for VHF.

Cheap alternative to new.

 

[HurricaneJHaines]

I guess what I am trying to ask, what key points should I be looking for in a used sail? The quote I received on a new one from north sails was $996.00. The one that came with mine didn't even last me 6 months and was told that I should have gotten 2-3 years out of it. I am fairly sure I have a wedge top and don't know if steel or aluminum would be best for example. I've read about 2-ply vs 3-ply, etc. I don't want to put out money on something that ends up being a waste of money.

 

[braol]

Google "Used Sails" for replacement main sail./quote]

The nice thing about a used sail for a cruiser is that it doesn't have to be a boat-specific design. All that's really important is that the sail does not exceed the dimensions of your rig, i.e. foot not longer than boom length, luff not taller than boom-to-halyard sheave distance, etc... Other than that, it's all about condition.

 

[HurricaneJHaines]

Can anyone give me the dimensions for the cabin cushions and v-berth? Trying to get marina board today to start working on making the cushions.

 

[HurricaneJHaines]

Can anyone give me the dimensions for the cabin cushions and v-berth? Trying to get marina board today to start working on making the cushions.

-got them!

 

[DianaOfBurlington]

HurricaneJHaines: 1978?

Hey Hurricane, stupid question: are you sure that is a 1978 or could it possibly be a 1977 titled as a '78? As I recall the trunk cabin and deck were altered for the '78 model year; I could be wrong and so hence my question!

Or; in other words, could you share your hull number? :neutral:

BTW congratulations on:
1. getting a nice boat for yourself;
2. surviving at least part of the ICW without going hard aground, which is perhaps the greater accomplishment

About the site, here: we're all here to help each other. Or, in other words, the only question too foolish to ask is the one you're too foolish to ask. :dance: