Three Hatch Cherubini Hunter 36?

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Jun 21, 2007
2,117
Hunter Cherubini 36_80-82 Sausalito / San Francisco Bay
For General Interest:

I stumbled across a "For Sale" listing in the SF Bay area for a Cherubini H36. In the pictures (attached and apologies to the owner for borrowing the pic), a hatch on the foredeck between the anchor locker and slope of the raised cabin caught my attention.

My boat, and other pictures including from the original Hunter brochure, show only two hatches on the cabin top; one forward and one aft of the mast.

Maybe a previous owner added the extra hatch. But all three hatches look to be a matching set and they don't look new. I can't imagine why someone would change out some time ago two good quality factory hatches and then add a third. However, as I am learning, Hunter changed features from time-to-time. Maybe a custom factory order?

Anybody else seen a three hatch Cherubini Hunter 36?
 

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Dec 2, 1999
15,184
Hunter Vision-36 Rio Vista, CA.
Rardi: My guess is this was a very early model. If you look at the brochures there is always a warning the models are subject to change.

There were some H'30's from this era that had a hatch in the cockpit for engine access too.
 
Jun 21, 2007
2,117
Hunter Cherubini 36_80-82 Sausalito / San Francisco Bay
Steve:

My H36 has one of those hatches on the cockpit floor. Took some modification after I bought it to bring the rain water leakage under control. Also, I screwed/epoxied a stiff piece of oak on the hatch's bottom skin to stiffen the hatch from flexing.

But what a great feature this hatch is! Takes only about two minutes to undo the screws and lift the hatch. Then oodles of wide open engine access awaits below.

The only drawback is that the hatch must be removed to add oil (but this not a problem yet since my engine doesn't seem to burn any between changes). I've thought about installing a small access "hatch" in the hatch to correct. That's way down on my to-do list however.
 
Jun 2, 2004
5,802
Hunter 37-cutter, '79 41 23' 30"N 82 33' 20"W--------Huron, OH
Are you certain that it is a Hunter? Seidelmanns for example look a lot like our boats. Sure looks like one though. I suppose the original owner could have added the hatch right after purchase. Then they all three aged together. Maybe he raced it and needed a better hole for jib changes.
 
Jun 10, 2004
135
Hunter 30_74-83 Shelburne
My guess is indeed this owner or a previous one added that third hatch. And given the boat is 27 to 34 years old, I see no incongruity with the hatches "matching" and looking the same age. That's a long time and look (below) at what some of them came with! My '76 30's hatch didn't make it into the 1980's and my low budget yard made replacement was replaced with another low budget homemade replacement, whose replacement (a real hatch finally!) is now 5 years old and is starting to look, dare I say it, a little old! BTW the midships hatch went through similar but not perfectly time aligned iterations, the current one is a match to, and was installed the same day as my current forward hatch.
 

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Dec 2, 1999
15,184
Hunter Vision-36 Rio Vista, CA.
It does not appear to be an add-on. Notice that they left (what appears to be gelcoat) the non-skid back from the edge. I cannot imagine that someone would have done this.

My guess is this was an early model and they found that the hatch was: in the way or leaked because of it's placement.
 
Jun 2, 2004
5,802
Hunter 37-cutter, '79 41 23' 30"N 82 33' 20"W--------Huron, OH
Disagree Steve. It has a finished look with the gelcoat and non-skid because it has all been redone I think.
 
Jun 21, 2007
2,117
Hunter Cherubini 36_80-82 Sausalito / San Francisco Bay
Ed:

Definitely a Cherubini Hunter 36. The posted pic and others on the seller's listing site match mine in all design elements. (However, I'm a lot more partial to the interior fabric choice I've got than the fabric on the boat for sale. Just a matter of opinion.)

rardi
 
Jan 8, 2007
8
- - Punta Gorda FL
I have not seen a third hatch on any H-36 since they first came out. My H-36 came out of the mold in 1982 and was one of the few last ones built. The major change on mine vs the earlier years was the addition of an aft quarter bunk on the starboard side. I would say it is an add on.

Hunter also came out with a kit version of the boat, called it a Quest 36. It used the same hull, but a totally different interior as that was part of being a kit boat..the inside was a DIY.

Ernie
 

Benny

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Sep 27, 2008
1,149
Hunter 320 Tampa, FL
Not a good place to install a hatch on a flat deck, much less a plastic one. In heavy seas a boat will likely dip its bow into waves and water will washes the foredeck.
 
Jun 21, 2007
2,117
Hunter Cherubini 36_80-82 Sausalito / San Francisco Bay
Ernie:
Thanks for the insights that variations to Cherubini H36 did happen.
 
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