THE near DEATH AND RE BIRTH
OF A
1979 HUNTER 37 CHERUBINI CUTTER
HUNTER 37 CUTTER
The Find
July 2009
St Mary's, Georgia
Got up at 5am and traveled to St.Mary's, Georgia. Just got the paperwork from Boat Angel and I was dyeing to see what king of pig in a poke I had purchased.
After a 5 hour drive, we pulled in into the boatyard. There laid many boats, some in great shape and some abandoned. You can tell the love cycle of the boat owner's by looking at the boats. Some owners are still very much in love and some just don't care any more.
We found the boat covered with leaves from all the Live Oaks in the yard. From port side, it looked great, however upon walking around it we saw the scratches and gouge marks on the hull.
I was told that the boat had been in a storm were it got loose and rubbed against the docks for some time. Never took on water and hull was not breached.
I was curious to see what the damage to the boat was. After a close inspection, we determined that it was mostly superficial. Of course, if you added up all the repairs needed at boat yard rates, the work would exceed the value of the boat, I am sure. The boat yard mechanic came by and while we were there and gave us a price of 4,000.00 just to repair the fiberglass, not including a new paint job. It was mostly dock rash and no holes were present, other than a broken toerail. I felt it would be a great candidate for a rebuild. Had good canvas, new cushion covers and the interior was dry. The engine was oily but had decent compression. Electrics were original. Woodwork was old, dry and delaminating, just the challenge I was looking for. Had an old furler with a jib and found the stay sail below. Main was missing.
Boat had a decent dodger, new bimini top along with the old one, wind damaged, boom covers and even weather cloths on the rails. Deck was solid but I am sure would need all hardware rebeded since you could see water stains in the lockers below from the chainplates. All lines were old and nay blocks and the sheaves missing or just broken.
The interior had new cushion covers. Curtains and covers had a striped sumbrella fabric. Wow. A lot of stripes. Looks like after making the cushions, there was a lot of fabric left and they decided to make curtains with it. Sole was dry but very worn. Bulkheads were decent and solid. Cabinets and doors were good. Galley had a new 110 princess stove. Looks like it was never used. Head was original and electronics were dated. A simple knot meter and depth meter. Cabin had 6 new large Grey Ports. Smaller ports are original.
