Built at the Cherubini family boatyard on the New Jersey side of the Delaware River, the design has a modest bowsprit, a curvaceous clipper bow, a beautiful sheer, and a curved, aft-angled transom. Cherubini Yachts built only 35, making this a rare but coherent expression of late-1970s cruising aesthetics paired with a serious passage-making hull.
Design and Construction
The original Cherubini 44 combined a fiberglass hull and molded cockpit with cold-molded marine-plywood decks and cabin top, and solid-mahogany cabin sides, all either cold-molded or sealed with epoxy resin. This wood-on-glass construction preserved a traditional topside structure without making the boat entirely wooden. The builder was confident enough in the design to offer a lifetime hull warranty.
In 2007, Cherubini’s nephew introduced the Mark II as a 30th-anniversary update. It had a fully molded fiberglass deck and deckhouse built with a foam core and vinylester resin, along with a slightly higher cabin trunk, slightly higher bulwarks, and system improvements over the original. The Mark II modernized the structure without changing the underlying hull shape that defined the class.
Hull Form and Performance
Designed with serious cruisers in mind, the 44 has an on-deck length of 44 feet 2 inches and a 40-foot waterline. Its narrow beam of 11 feet 6 inches keeps the boat long and slim for fast passages.
The keel contains 12,000 pounds of lead ballast, providing stiffness and stability as the wind increases. A shoal keel with centerboard gives a minimum draft of 4 feet 10 inches and a maximum of 8 feet 10 inches, offering flexibility for gunkholing and tracking.
With a displacement-length ratio of 195 and a sail-area-displacement ratio of 19.7, the boat is a heavy-displacement cruiser that still carries enough canvas to move. Its theoretical hull speed is 8.47 knots.
Owners proudly recount a one-time win over the famous Running Tide in a Ft. Lauderdale-to-Key West SORC race. The Cherubini 44 also earned a more recent first-place finish in the 2007 Marion-Bermuda race.
Rig and Deck Layout
The Cherubini 44 is ketch-rigged, with the mizzen mast stepped in the forward cockpit. Its double-headsail ketch rig offers numerous possible sail combinations, allowing the crew to balance the boat in nearly any condition.
The helm is separate from the main cockpit. In practice, the arrangement creates an elliptical steering cockpit aft and a rectangular crew cockpit forward, with the mizzen dividing the two. This separation keeps sail handling away from the wheel and suits a cruising couple or short-handed crew who value distinct working and steering areas.
Broad side decks and substantial bulwarks provide secure footing. The long, low trunk cabin is well lit and ventilated by watertight bronze portlights.
Accommodations
From the cockpit, the companionway leads into an aft cabin and navigation area. Moving forward, there’s a head with shower to starboard and a U-shaped galley to port. The main saloon has port and starboard settees arranged around a centerline drop-leaf table. Farther forward, the forward cabin provides hanging lockers and drawers on each side, with a V-berth in the bow. This general interior arrangement appeared across the model.
Most Cherubini 44s were built on a semi-custom basis, allowing input from their original owners. Interiors therefore vary slightly, although they follow the same basic plan. The boats also included custom built-down lockers and cabins.
Auxiliary Power and Known Issues
Over the years, Cherubini 44s have carried diesel engines from several manufacturers, ranging from 37 horsepower to the present 75-horsepower Yanmar. Early models with less than 50 horsepower were underpowered.
Engine access is good once the navigation station has been removed. If necessary, the engine can be removed quite easily through the companionway hatch.
The boat’s relatively low freeboard can produce a wet ride when it’s pushed hard in rough conditions. That is a trade-off of the low-profile deckhouse and slim hull.
Verdict
The Cherubini 44 is a small-series, Herreshoff-inspired ketch for buyers who want a classic profile and shoal-draft flexibility without the upkeep of a wooden hull. The Mark II addressed the original boat’s plywood-deck maintenance question with a molded composite structure. Meanwhile, the narrow beam and 40-foot waterline make the design a quick, seakindly cruiser in the right hands.
Pros
- Rare John E. Cherubini design with direct lineage to Herreshoff’s Ticonderoga
- Shoal keel and centerboard, with draft ranging from 4 feet 10 inches to 8 feet 10 inches
- Ketch rig with the mizzen in the forward cockpit, allowing many sail combinations
- Lifetime hull warranty offered by the builder
- Good engine access after removal of the navigation station; the engine can be lifted through the companionway
Cons
- Early engines with less than 50 horsepower were underpowered
- Low freeboard can mean a wet ride when the boat is pushed hard
- Only 35 were built, so finding a boat—and the necessary context for sourcing spares—takes patience
