My quest for a Cherubini hull

[skipper_wannabe]

I have a lack of terminology for sailing and equipment. I can however sail, ie. maintain coarse, trim sails and such. I have been sailing much of my younger life without instruction. I am learning things that i need to know through forums such as these. My inquiry today is, I have found a 1981 H37 Cherubini for sale on the Gulf Coast. After much reading about cherubini I think it would be a wise choice if I decide on a Hunter. I have at my disposal a master of fiberglass and fiberglass boat building. My concerns with the boat are the plastic port lights. I have not had the opportunity to look at the boat but if they are leaking, how severe can the damage fbe to the deck and surrounding areas. And can these issues be resolved by me. The boat is well equipped and has lots of extras still in the box.

On a further note. I do plan on a 5 day ASA bareboat certification coars. This should help me with the gaps in my sailing knowledge. Any info about the boat or otherwise is welcome

Thank you,
Seven

And yes I do own a powerboat right now.....
Can't blame anyone but myself for that.

 

[Steve Dion]

Seven:

Those ports are readily available for replacment. You will not know if they have leaked into the core until you remove them. Just because they have leaked into the interior does not necessarily mean that they have leaked into the core.

These are really nice boats. They have problems like any boat of that age, but generally they are a good investment. I think when the market returns to "normal" these boats will show some appreciation.

Read the owners reviews and you should get a good evaluation on the problems that need to be looked at.

 

[Bill1565]

a while ago, a bunch of 37c owners spent BIG DOLLARS on New Found Metal ports. Not worth it in my opinion. Shiny stainles or bronze, but no better than Beckson in my opinion, lousy customer service from the company, snotty switchboard operator,

 

[skipper_wannabe]

The owner has replaced a few ports with new found metals stainless...My concern is wether he is checking for rot or anything like that and how much trouble it would be for me if I do have a problem. If I understand correctly, you can only tel if the core is wet is to remove the ports and look. Would there be soft spots or anything like that?

Thanks again

 

[Steve Dion]

You can always have him put a couple thousand bucks in escrow for 30-45 days while you check it out. If they turn out to have rotten wood, he pays for the repair. If no rot he gets the rest of his money.

 

[Seattle Scott]

Previous port light replacement projects on these boats, have not reported significant problems with wet core http://hunter.sailboatowners.com/in...&cat_id=38&aid=7383&page=article&mn=37-cutter

http://hunter.sailboatowners.com/in...&cat_id=38&aid=7206&page=article&mn=37-cutter
You can also do the rubber hammer test, tap, tap, tap, thud, tap, tap, tap.

 

[Steve W]

I have to chime in in defense of New Found Metals! I purchased a complete set (10 or 11) of the Tri-Matrix ports for my old Cherubini '81 H33. Their customer service was OUTSTANDING and I loved the ports - a MAJOR improvement over the Bomar OEM ones or replacements for those OEM ports.

I haven't had any experience with the stainless ports but the Tri-Matrix are winners. The only problem is they're only made as replacements for two sizes of the orignial Bowmar Hunter ports.

 

[rivettw]

Cherubini ports

Had some port leaks in the cabin on my '79 37C. The old plastic. Pulled one on each side to check it out. Had a little moderate core rot on the bottom of each but easily dug out and epoxied then re-placed the same ports. Will do nicely 'til I replace all with something a little nicer. Mr. Ed Shenk on this forum has some awesome pictures of his re-do. Great old boat. Handles well in light or heavy air. Mine is sloop rigged for the moment. Wife likes layin out where the staysail goes. Old 2QM20 Yanmar still goin'. I'm wearing out faster than that thing.
Good luck in your search around Houma. Found mine in Slidell.
Wally

 

[SamLust]

Several years ago I replaced all 11 of the crappy plastic ports on my Hunter 33 with NFM stainless. I did have quality problems with them however. The female threads on all of the mounting bosses were barely formed. About 70 threaded holes. Rather than send the ports back and loose another season I tapped the threads myself with tap sets they sent me. A normal tap and a blind hole tap. Installation was a plain and simple nut buster. Their instructions were simply wrong and impossible to implement. You could not use a jig for hole placement because each port was hand made by a different person and no two were the same. Even the outside trim rings were numbered to each port as a matched set. More recently their quality control has improved significantily and you can borrow a jig for hole placement.

All of the above taken into consideration, I still love my NFM's. When I close them the water stays on the outside where it belongs and I know it will continue to do so for a long time to come. The only thing I might change would be to go with the Tri-matrix. Easier installation and quite a bit less money.. I have never had a problem dealing with NFM. They have always been pleasant and helpful, even when I was being crazed over the threaded hole problem.