Design and Construction
Hunter Marine built the 36 in the United States as a Cherubini-designed monohull with a fin keel and spade rudder, a beam of 11.08 feet, and a draft of 4.92 feet built by Hunter Marine (USA). The 13,500-pound displacement and 6,000-pound lead ballast give a ballast-to-displacement ratio near 44 percent, which places her firmly in the heavy, stiff end of the mid-size cruiser spectrum for her day. Her hull speed works out to roughly 7.28 knots from the 29.5-foot waterline. The Cherubini 36 is a solid-fiberglass-hulled boat with a solid fiberglass deck, built before the later balsa-cored deck practice the marque adopted on other models — a construction choice that avoids the cored-hull blister and fatigue questions entirely. What distinguishes her in the used market is the name: though the builder stamped her a Hunter 36, owners rarely say that now and instead say "Cherubini 36," a small but telling sign of how the design, not the brand generation, stuck in memory.
Rig and Sail Plan
The Cherubini 36 is a masthead sloop carrying a substantial working sail area. The foretriangle measures 46.5 feet on the I dimension and 14.75 on the J, with a mainsail luff of 41 feet and foot of 12.75, yielding a main of about 270 square feet. The standard jib options run from a 95 percent LP working jib near 302 square feet up to a 115 percent genoa at 331 square feet, while the larger reaching genoas push past 450 to 512 square feet and an asymmetrical spinnaker of 846 square feet and a true spinnaker of 1,046 square feet round out the offwind inventory. A storm jib of 119 square feet at 60 percent LP sits at the other extreme. The sail-area-to-displacement ratio of 17.04 and a displacement-length ratio near 235 describe a boat that is no featherweight racer but carries enough canvas to move in modest air without feeling undercanvased. The rig's mast height from the waterline is 50.5 feet.
Accommodations
Below, the Cherubini 36 is defined by her teak-rich interior, a warmth that period owners value and that sets her apart from the lighter-wood liner interiors of later production cruisers. The 11.08-foot beam gives her the roominess expected of a 36-foot hull of the early 1980s without the bubble-trunk volume of 1990s designs. The cabin is a traditional cruiser layout rather than a modern open-plan saloon, and the teak throughout means the interior reads as classic rather than utilitarian.
The Verdict
The Cherubini 36 is a small-production, Cherubini-designed cruiser that earns quiet respect for seaworthiness and traditional construction. Her solid fiberglass hull and deck, fin keel, and teak-rich interior make her a straightforward boat for an owner who wants a 1980s bluewater-capable sloop. The limited run of about 250 boats means she is rarely on the market and is known by her designer's name more than her builder's.
Pros
- Very seaworthy Cherubini-designed cruiser
- Solid fiberglass hull and deck, no cored-hull blister risk
- Teak-rich traditional interior with 11-foot beam roominess
- Fin keel and spade rudder under 13,500 lb displacement
Cons
- Only ~250 built (1980–1983), so scarce on the brokerage market
- Teak interior demands ongoing cosmetic maintenance
- Named "Cherubini 36" by owners, not "Hunter 36" — brand confusion with later Hunters
