This Cherubini 44 Ketch has seen a major refit in the last year including a new engine, fuel tank and all-new running gear. Her varnish gleams and she has been reviewed from stem to stern. She offers a 2-stateroom 2-head layout with a huge salon and galley in a traditional Herreshoff interior. Enjoy gunkholing with the shoal draft keel drawing only 4' 10" with the board up, and seakindly open ocean passages with a full 8' 10” draft board down. Sappho is hull 22 of 35 built, and she shows the superb fit and finish details of Cherubini craftsmanship. A desirable aft cockpit ketch for offshore sailing, this medium displacement cruiser tracks very well and handles heavy weather with ease. Her SA/D ratio of nearly 20 shows that she has a powerful rig to drive her 14-ton displacement. Her B/D ratio of nearly 43 translates into a stiffer boat able to stand up to the wind. She has been built and maintained to a high standard and is intended for blue water cruising, with an acceptable turn of speed. Storage is far better than most modern production boats, she has a real bilge, ventilation is good, and fuel and water tankage are very good. Sappho is ready for new adventures.
Sappho’s interior joinery and attention to detail are simply unbelievable. After Cherubini constructed her hull, under-deck and cabin, her first owner shipped her to Maine to be finished by a specialty yard in Mt. Desert Island (where many of her fittings were custom made by Hinckley), and then to Wayfarer Marine in Camden. Below decks, every inch of her fiberglass hull is covered with wood. Her teak and holly cabin sole is splined, solid hardwood. White painted bulkheads and overhead (with mahogany beams) in classic wainscot planking makes the cabin light, bright and warmly traditional. Cold-molded knees of laminated mahogany-stained ash add significant strength to the cabin and overhead and are just one of many examples of her very rugged structure and traditional beauty.
Fine details can be found throughout, such as Lexan-backed stained-glass doors in the deep settee cabinets, Ash inlays in every drawer front and drop-front, dovetail joints throughout, beautiful louvers or paneling for all doors, cabinets and hanging lockers, and hardwood fiddles throughout complete the craftsmanship. A butterfly hatch above the main saloon is both functional and beautifully dovetail crafted. All hardwood is finished either bright or with multiple coats of varnish hand-rubbed to a soft satin gloss finish. All storage areas and hanging lockers are lined with cedar or varnished spruce ceiling and traditional white wainscot planking. Among her very special custom features, her hull is completely insulated, from her forepeak to aft-machinery bulkhead, and from her cabin sole to deck underside, with ¾” soft Airex Foam, all covered with either white painted Mahogany or varnished spruce ceiling. This boat avoids being damp below, and she’s impressively quiet below.
There are 12 opening “all weather” manganese/bronze Herreshoff portlights (with storm inserts). These unusual portlights may be left open in rain (and underway unless the seas are very rough) creating a welcome fresh air environment below. She has three overhead hatches along with the main butterfly hatch, all varnished bright and with heavy duty tinted Lexan. All cabins are temperature controlled by newer reverse cycle A/C system.
Walking below from the cockpit, a double berth is to starboard with a storage cabinet, and a series of drawers and cedar-lined hanging closet/locker to port. Also to port is a wet locker for foul weather gear. Just aft of the companionway steps is a very well-lighted nav station with complete navigation instrumentation with easily accessible chart storage beneath the large tabletop. This cabin has a privacy door forward and a private entryway door into the guest/day head.
Located forward of the double berth and to starboard, the day/guest head features a separate shower stall with hot/cold pressure water. When not showering, a sink vanity slides out (inboard) from the cabinetry.
Moving forward is the galley to port with a U-shaped countertop. A deep, twin-basin stainless steel sink is aft, which has hot/cold water pressure, filtered water, manual fresh water, and manual salt water. An automatically pumped gray-water tank insures excellent drainage. The gimbaled stainless-steel oven, with separate broiler, and the stovetop with four large burners are top quality. When the stovetop is not in use, a cover slides outboard flush with the countertop, adding more space. A propane gas sniffer is installed for safety. Facing forward in the galley is a top-access freezer outboard and top-access large refrigerator inboard fully covered with a 2” butcher-block top. Freezer and fridge are individually temperature controlled. Separate refrigeration system compressors are driven either by the engine, or shore power. Ample storage can be found underneath and above the sink, and outboard in two large cabinets. Additional storage in the galley is athwart ships in four deep drawers.
Forward of the galley is the main salon with a centerline gimbaled (lockable) mahogany drop-leaf table, mounted through the sole to bronze backing plates with hidden 5/8” bronze bolts. This uniquely engineered mounting is incredibly strong structurally. This beautifully finished table has four ash inlaid drawers (two each end), adjustable fiddles, and a deep center locker with flush hatch cover.
The drop leaves are large enough to accommodate a crowd. Flanking the saloon table, to port and starboard, are two straight settees that measure 6’4” in length, which are pullman berths. Beneath and behind each settee is extensive storage. Three large storage cabinets are just above each settee with traditional Fleur-de-lis patterned, lexan-backed stained-glass doors (12 throughout). Just aft of the starboard settee is the second companionway with an additional hanging locker and sea-safe wine locker. This second companionway allows access to the deck from the main salon. Additional storage is forward including library shelves port and starboard and there is a beautiful bulkhead-mounted brass and stainless vented fireplace.
Furthest forward is the owner’s cabin with large tinted Lexan opening hatch and ensuite head. The V-berth, which has a filler piece, is surrounded by mahogany storage cabinets and also has spacious separated storage lockers below. An additional storage cabinet has 3 large drawers and there is a cedar-lined hanging closet. This cabin provides excellent privacy between owners and guests. The ensuite head can also be used as a shower. The head is an electric flush, and the sink vanity has hot/cold water pressure.
S.A. / Displ.: 19.74
Bal. / Displ.: 42.86
Disp: / LOA: 195.31
Comfort Ratio: 38.37
Capsize Screening Formula: 1.58
S#: 2.95
Hull Speed: 8.47 kn
Pounds/Inch Immersion: 1,715.09 lbs/inch
Rig and Sail Particulars
I: 56.80 ft / 17.31 m
J: 22.00 ft / 6.71 m
P: 51.00 ft / 15.54 m
E: 17.40 ft / 5.30 m
S.A. Fore: 624.80 ft² / 58.05 m²
S.A. Main: 443.70 ft² / 41.22 m²
S.A. Total (100% Fore + Main Triangles):1,068.50 ft² / 99.27 m²
Est. Forestay Length: 60.91 ft / 18.57 m
Mast Height from DWL: 63.00 ft / 19.20 m
When art and naval architecture intersect, the result is obvious to those who prize boats with timeless lines and enduring appeal. The Cherubini 44 certainly meets those criteria.
In 1938, 17-year-old John E. Cherubini was a student of naval architecture in the Westlawn School of Yacht Design, one of the many schools then on the leading edge of distance learning.
Cherubini would subsequently go into aviation engineering, but he also built small outboard-powered boats at a family-owned business, which speaks to his breadth of talent. When he drew the lines for the Cherubini 44, the first of which was launched in 1977, he was already well on his way to becoming a successful designer.
He had already designed the Hunter 25, which his friend, Warren Luhrs, had turned into the first Hunter production sailboat in 1972.
Cherubini and Hunter continued their relationship for years, with Cherubini responsible for many of the Hunter designs that followed, including the 27, 30, 33, 36, 37 and 54.
The Cherubini 44, however, was not built at Hunter, but at the Cherubini family boatyard on the New Jersey side of the Delaware River. It has been said that Cherubini took inspiration for the Cherubini 44 design from L. Francis Herreshoff's Tioga II, later known as Ticonderoga.
From its modest bowsprit and curvaceous clipper bow, the 44's beautiful sheer line finished aft in a curved and aft-angled transom. The helm was separated from the main cockpit, where the mizzen mast for the ketch rig was stepped. The long, low trunk cabin was well-lit and ventilated with watertight bronze portlights and included custom built-down lockers and cabins. The boat featured a fiberglass hull and a molded cockpit, with a cold-molded marine plywood deck and cabin top, plus cabin sides of solid mahogany.
Designed with serious cruisers in mind, the Cherubini 44 featured a 40-foot waterline with a theoretical hull speed of 8.47 knots. A narrow beam of 11 feet, 6 inches kept the boat long and slim for fast passages. An in-keel lead ballast of 12,000 pounds provided stiffness and stability when the winds increased. And a shoal keel/centerboard underwater configuration with a maximum draft of 8 feet, 10 inches, and a minimum draft of 4 feet, 10 inches, melded deep water performance with shallow water versatility for those headed to tropical destinations.
Cherubini Yachts built 35 of the 44’s. Watching one of them glide through the waves on a modestly windy day is a sight to behold.
Engine and generator hours are as of the date of the original listing and are a representation of what the listing broker is told by the owner and/or actual reading of the engine hour meters. The broker cannot guarantee the true hours. It is the responsibility of the purchaser and/or his agent to verify engine hours, warranties implied or otherwise and major overhauls as well as all other representations noted on the listing brochure.
Listing MLS by Yachtr.com
