Hunter 37 Cutter, Any one have any experience on one?

[PDixon]

In my long search for a good low priced cruising sailboat, I have begun to look at the Hunter 37 Cutter. I know that Hunter reputation is not held in high regard by many sailors, but I was interested in hearing the opinion of people who have had actual experience with this particular model which Hunter produced from 1978 to 1985.
Thanks for your responses

[paulk]

Haven''t sailed one, but have been impressed by the sensible & roomy layout below and wide decks for sail handling. The cockpit is big enough to be useful without being overly dangerous if pooped by a wave. I think I recall a bridge deck, which is a helpful safety feature in this regard as well as a good structural stiffener. Also of note - especially compared to other Hunters - is the inward-turning hull-deck flange and reasonably close spacing of bolts holding them together. This is a much preferred construction feature that costs more to do than out-turning flanges. Some of the forward sections of the topsides seemed somewhat large and flat -- possibly subject to oilcanning because there isn''t much support framing behind them. Your surveyor could explore this issue with you. Sailhandling equipment and rigging seemed to be strong enough to handle the likely loads, and the boat''s lines look good overall. One area of concern might be the plastic ports not closing well, but that''s something that could be fixed. The boat''s PHRF rating shows it''s not a racehorse, but isn''t a slug either, and should perform reasonably well. I believe she has a 5'' draft, which allows for access to many shallower areas while still providing reasonable windward ability. Overall, a pretty nice cruising boat if you can find one in good condition. I don''t know if I''d take one transatlantic in the wintertime, but depending upon your goals, she could be pretty nice.

[h37skipper]

There are many owners of the H37C that correspond regularly via e-mail and on the "Hunter Owner''s" website(http://www.hunterowners.com/), especially the Cherubini forum. We know of at least 800 serial numbers, most actively sailing. And they are all over the world and were sailed to those locations. I regularly single-hand my H37C, easily done being a cutter with no one sail being that difficult to manage. A very hard boat to beat considering the availability and price.

[R33]

I just delivered one on a 100 mile trip which was to windward in 20 true for about 70 of those miles. I found the boat to be dry, stable, and with a solid feel banging into 8 foot waves. We had good boat speed considering the solid 3 blade prop. The yanmar motor powered us along very nicely when called upon.

This particular boat has several soft spots in the deck, one big one in front of the mast, and leaking ports. The owner intends to restore the boat.

I know of one other 37 cutter rig in our club that has sailed from NY to Bermuda w/o incident. One caution, the rudder on that boat bent and according to the owner it happened in the past year. He he has no idea how. I would wonder if other 37''s have rudder problems. The boat I delivered did have alot of weater helm.

[Seazure]

I have been cruising in a 37' Cherubini Hunter Cutter for more than 14 years. Although there are some 'Hunterisums' in the boat, it qualifies as a medium weight cruiser at 17,800lbs. The lower 177 PHRF rating has to do with it's massive sail area, with the 50' stick, she is a taller rig than most 45' boats and the staysail adds to to the sail area, making her point upwind well. Unlike many other Cutters, this one was DESIGNED to be a cutter rig, with the mast placed slightly more aft than usual. The separate shower stall and comforable cahrt table are stand out features. With plenty of power in a 3QM30 Yanmar, hull speed can be achieved under motor at about 2200 RMP, and with the 40 gallon tank gives her a motoring range of more than 350 miles. The Lewmar plastic ports aren't the best and I recommend removing the pretty teak rub rail from the cabin housing or reaffixing it with 5200 and removed the screws. They just serve to support dry rot. The ice box, as with many production boats should be modified, as insualtion is relatively nonexisitant. I have also reaffixed the bulkheads with 5200 to reduce creaking.

I have sailed more than 14K miles in this vessel and although it would make a fine offshore vessel, tankage is a bit limited. The only way there is room for a generator is to mount your propane system on the rail and use a low line diesel one lunger.

She is a very adequate vessel, not subscribing to the 'Clorox Bottle with a mast' description of Hunters and Catalinas from the mid 80's. At the waterline there is more than 1.5" of glass and the vessel is hand laid, not chopper gunned, at least through 1981 models.

John Cherubini was a famed boat designer and the teak interior really adds to the vessel's charm. I've kept pace with boats 7' longer and newer over long periods of time and averaged hull speed from Turtle Bay to Cabo San Lucas in 12kts of wind over a 5 day period.

Fair winds!
SV Seazure La Paz, BCS

[Mobjack451]

We bought one a couple years ago because it fit two couples, is attractive, the biggest boat we could find that we could afford, looked and felt sturdy and seaworthy enough to sail home in a storm if necessary, and it is nimble in all but less than 5 knots of wind (but then you should either not be in a hurry or motoring anyway). In the 5 knots we have played with the assymetric spinnaker with ease. We sail on the Chesapeake Bay. We did get a PHRF rating and raced a few times. Racing is better in bigger wind.

We focused in on this model after looking for a while and comparing to several other boats between 34 and 40 feet. Ports are on our list of things to do. We are enjoying our classic Cherubini Hunter and happy with our choice. Its our place on the water and we can go where we want!

[eMKay]

Originally Posted by paulk

Also of note - especially compared to other Hunters - is the inward-turning hull-deck flange and reasonably close spacing of bolts holding them together. This is a much preferred construction feature that costs more to do than out-turning flanges.

This is how all Cherubini designed Hunters are built, including my 27.

[fiestaMojo]

you say all the Cherubini Hunters were built this way? I seem to recall reading a post by JeffH that not all the Hunters attributed to Cherubini were actually designed by Cherubini. I am about to look at a 1981 33' Cherubini Hunter, and from what I have been able to dig up on a couple of web sites the 33 was one of his. Do you know?

[sailingdog]

If you're curious whether Cherubini designed a particular boat, you can probably find out at the Cherubini website, as his family is still in the boat building business.

[fiestaMojo]

SD - this is one of the sites that I had checked out which attributed the 33 to Cherubini, but reading the authoritative JeffH dispute this left me wondering what the real story is. . .