Hunter 25 Mk II
The boat in question is what I have been referring to as a 'Mk 2' and will have the squarish-looking little trunk cabin as opposed to the streamlined deck/cabin arrangment my dad and we two sons called the 'Spitfire-canopy' or 'blister' version. The hull, rig and keel choices are the same. The boat was designed in 1972 at 24'11" to be eligible for MORC and rated 19.2 under the 1968 IOR (most 25-footers were too big to rate 18 for the quarter-ton class). My dad did the design legwork, input on the rig and general arrangement on the boat coming from Bob Seidelmann who carries a co-credit on this boat (only). The 1972-75 'Mk 1' version is the first Hunter model and I believe Bob had been asked to take the commission originally but then got in touch with my dad over it, so in a way it is Bob S who got Hunter and Cherubini together. The boat is properly registered as a 'Hunter'. The Cherubini name has little to do with the actual construction of the boat, but I would say the earlier ones built in Marlboro, NJ, were heftier because in that period Hunter was going almost exclusively on what my dad and the shop guys were advising them to do. When production moved to Alachua, FL, my dad's input dropped off (for obvious reasons). The designs changed only slightly, but my dad the worry-wart would have insisted on higher build standards where he could, and I know that did not happen as much in Florida. What I refer to as the 'Mk 3' is the one from about 1980 to the end of production with all portlights down the side of the cabin; this was a Hunter revelation enabling them to use standard purchased/off-the-shelf portlights instead of fabricating a plexiglass window, thus saving money and time (typical of Hunter then). By this time my dad had little input on this model; Hunter were doing a lot of revision work themselves and were ready to phase out the boat. What they built after that I know nothing about. I can say that the Mk 1 and Mk 2 get plenty of praise in these BBs for being refreshingly robust boats that stand up to plenty of weather and use/abuse. From the start they were intended to be real 'yachts' and not merely 'little boats' like their daysailer-happy designer preferred (he's drawn day boats 40 ft and bigger). The 25 is a boat with sufficient ability to be used like those half again as big and even bigger. Treat it well but don't be afraid to push it a little, and you will see what I mean. JC 2 Cherubini Art / Nautical Design Org.
