The Heat is On

Late May 2021

What various things have happened! - it taxes the mind (as my dad would say) to even begin to describe this long strange trip.  Some weird combination of government subsidies, native frugality, the determination of one rapidly growing 'too old' to do what he has too long only meant to do, the love and support of lifelong friends, and the reflection gained from performing COVID-related charity work has manifested all of this - and more - into a degree of progress as-yet unforeseen in the history of this (very protracted) project.  And we have the support of several very gracious donors to the cause to thank as well.

And, so, here we are.

Funnily, Diana has never been physically closer to the water since she was moved up from the NJ Shore to begin this very long, extensive, rather expensive, and impassioned restoration operation.  In this picture from 14 May 2021 she is sitting just to the other side of Brian's Chapparal and across about 40 feet of picnic area from the Delaware River, a hundred yards from where her predecessor (my dad's Hunter 25 'Cacciatrice', whose hull was barely 4-5 weeks newer) was launched in spring 1974.  Diana remains the inheritor of that legacy (even bearing Cacciatrice's original stainless-steel mainsheet blocks) even while she is very much something very different entirely - essentially 90-95% an all-new boat.

I keep having to explain to boatyard skeptics that this isn't boat-polishing, which most boat owners consider of paramount importance around here.  It's boat-building, which is an entirely different thing, which most of them, sadly, do not comprehend.  

 

The wealth of components acquired since June 2020 reads almost like a whole bill of materials for building a boat from scratch:

• Topside paint, detail paint, bottom paint, boottop paint, interior paint, nonskid paint, epoxy, fiberglass resin, cushions, plywood, timber (mostly mahogany), varnish, sealer, sealants and bedding compounds, aluminum tubing, fasteners, much yacht hardware;
  
• TWO fiberglass dinghies (one of which shall be listed for sale after some minor repairs);
• Custom-ordered mainsail, new 135 genoa, small inner staysail to be flown from pole lift on foredeck, plus a never-used 1973 genoa - from an Essex 26! (perfect as a 150 genny for this boat);
• GPS, depthfinder, stereo and speakers, cabin fans, many lights and components with which to restore the original ones, marine wire, heat-shrink wire ends, LED bulbs for nearly everything;
• Remote-control kit for outboard motor;
• SS folding boarding ladder, customized for transom;
  
• Flexible water tanks, inline particle filters, galley faucet (completely custom), fresh-water hose;
• Evacuation pump for holding tank (replacing earlier one which was good only as bilge pump);
• Custom lifeline stanchions (8);
• Components for fabricating custom masthead tricolor light and custom-fitting steaming light;
  
• Much sailboat and deck hardware including several more (used, period-correct) chrome Lewmar winches;
  
• Genuine 1980s new-old-stock Simpson-Lawrence (NOT Lewmar!) Delta 14-lb primary anchor, two forward anchor rodes, each with over 20 ft of chain and 200 ft of 8-plait line;
• Half a dozen of what will be a wardrobe of about 18 flags, for various purposes, carried in flag locker.
  

 

Detailed blog entries will highlight each of these; but the following are all major developments since she went under Shrinkwrap in December 2018:

• Boat moved from the most expensive marina on the Delaware River to Burlington NJ, June 2020;
• Shrinkwrap peeled off, water-saturation damage identified and remedied, hull repainted;
• Motor sent out for rebuilding;
• Mast repainted, rebuilt with new hardware, halyards reeved through spar(s);
• Replacement cabin windows (properly called 'deadlights') installed using Life Seal, resolving matter of leaks;
• Port and starboard anchor-rode lockers constructed under V-berth (far aft and down low for seaworthy weight distribution);
  
• Much electrical wiring, components and circuitry installed and/or revamped;
• Much custom splicing of cordage including control lines, mainsheet and traveler, backstay adjuster;
  
• Much paint applied to topsides (hull), deck, cockpit, interior; 
• Unbelievable amount of mahogany cabinetry and trim varnished or revarnished, inside and out;
  
• Motor mount dismantled, rebuilt, reinstalled on transom;
• Boarding ladder installed on transom, not as designed (this involved lots of redesign effort);
• Topsides received final coat of white Brightside;
• Graphics artwork realized as high-quality appliques;
• Hull graphics including waterline stripe painted on, and custom logo appliques applied;
• All standing rigging and spar fixtures finalized;
• Mast stepped, rigging (preliminarily) tuned;
• Lifeline stanchions installed, awaiting final lifeline rigging;
• Traveler mounted with ball-bearing car and Cacciatrice's original 1974 Schaefer fiddle blocks attached;
• Most of the navigation instruments installed;
• Motor rebuild completed, motor sent back in for fitment of remote controls;
• Solar-array rack designed, preliminarily assembled;
• Original ash-mahogany tiller stripped, coated in epoxy, varnished;
• Custom rudder-shaft collar fabricated, installed;
  
• Original motor bracket repaired with welding and new hardware;
  
• Mahogany foredeck hatch repaired after winter(s) storage and revarnished;
• Bunk cushions and backrests custom-shaped, sent off to specialist for completion;
• All contact with regional custom-railing fabricators terminated due to lack of interest on their part, so scavenged pulpit (from another junked boat, since stored in attic) will have to do (actually fits really well);
• US 50-star flag begins being flown of mainmast halyard every day skipper is present, in anticipation of launch within first two weeks of June.

 

Progress continues apace, with a surprisingly little bit of important things left before boat can safely and conveniently go into the water.  What remains:

• Application of additional barrier coat, including sanding off the 'overflow' of white paint under the stripe;
  
• Application of 'final' white and cream deck paint;
• Fitment of winches and cleats (waiting on above); 
• Completion of freshwater-service system, installation of tanks - and one connection in the holding-tank overboard-discharge system;
  
• Fitting and installing of little Dorade boxes at the forward corners of the hatch hood; and the hatch-hood trim that can only be done when the boxes are done (this has been rather annoying for me but they'll look terrific);
• Fabrication of fiberglass shell for mounting GPS screen; 
• Mounting stereo and speakers (mainly stereo, for some reason never got round to it;
• Mounting TV, after making a pretty mahogany frame for it;
• Fabrication of double-leafed cabin table, to include hideaway compartment for laptop computer;
• Molding of fiberglass icebox/refrigerator bin, fitment of drains, completion of surrounding woodwork (I keep forgetting to do this!);
  
• Fitment of mahogany deck handrails (which are just like what my dad designed, not like the simple teak stick Hunter supplied);
• Installation of outboard motor and its associated fuel line, electric wiring, throttle and shift cables, and after that the fuel tank can go back in;
• Mounting of pulpit;
• Fabrication of dodger frame over companionway hatch (this can be covered later, though this is summer now and sooner works fine too!);
  
• Final assembly of solar-array rack, after which lifelines can be cut and installed;
• Riddling-out of dinghy-towing bridle and stern-anchor tackle;
• Cheek blocks, halyard stoppers and winches installed for deck lines;
  
• Acquisition of the rest of the flags, including state courtesy flags, a few necessary code flags, and ordering the custom family-crest and personal-ensign flags;
• Good overall cleaning of everything and application of StarBrite UV-barrier PTEF polish (no compound!);
• Launch, commissioning, shakedowns, christening ceremony and party.
  

 

In related developments, I 'jumped off the bridge' - made a commitment - regarding the apartment, which I shall vacate for good by the end of June 2021, when I will have to have relocated semi-permanently aboard.  Select furniture, books and housewares go into storage; the guitars, family artwork, electronics and my dad's drawings archive shall go into a (to-remain-undisclosed) climate-controlled vault, awaiting some point in future when I may return for that stuff... or not, as events may develop.

 

This blog, originally dedicated to the restoration work, shall continue with detailed information about the boat itself - keep it bookmarked to see further updates of the progressing developments and intimate views of the boat as she shall turn out.

 

As ever, all encouragement, support, and positive vibes are appreciated!

 

 

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Hibernation 2018-2019

Poor Diana waits for the season - Shrinkwrapped beautifully by Jer Masey of JDoc Marine.  I had the mast put up as a ridgepole in case the opportunity presented itself to move her out of the most expensive marina on the Delaware River. The fastest and easiest thing seems to be to get the heck out of here ASAP.

All offered assistance and donations are deeply appreciated!

Winter 2018-2019

For those still interested - boat DID NOT get painted, due to lack of help. Now earliest launch date is late May. That’s how it goes - you miss a three-week window, you wait 9 months.

Yes; basically this means I had $350 to have the boat covered but could find no-one to help paint. I shall hire the lads at the yard to help as soon as I can take off the wrapping. They'll take my money.

Pics do not show it but progress is being made. What you do not see here:

I have been buying and trading sailboat hardware on eBay for years but lately it has become most productive.  Most recently I acquired outhaul blocks and blocks for running backstays.

I designed the in-boom outhaul-rigging system and figured out where and how to cut off the back of the boom (it was designed to reach the aft end of the cockpit, where the mainsheet would go; but having installed a bridge deck for the traveler I no longer need so long a boom and will cut it off more in keeping with the E measurement which is 8 ft.).  You'd better believe I won't cut it off till I have the boat actually rigged with sails on though!

I designed the tang for jiffy-reefing line and for topping lift.   Machinist extraordinaire John Steinmacher promises to help with this.

I have enough winches.  This is important because they all have had to be 1970s-1980s chrome-plated Lewmars, in keeping with the boat as a ‘period piece’; and most people do not replace these - as they are too small to come in self-tailing models, so what would be the point?  Two of the ones I have need to be replated.  Anyone know any decent plating shops?

I cleaned out the whole boat.  This is incredible progress.   The poor boat has been a toolbox/woodshop for so long it’s actually kept work from being done.  Of course everything now is scattered all over the steps of my house; but the truth is I have very little major woodwork left to do and am no concentrating on finishing the plumbing and electrical system, ripping out and replacing a rotten bulkhead to fit in a refrigerator box, and finishing a few things on the deck as well as can be done under the Shrinkwrap.

The daunting storage bill is the worst problem.   Anyone know better places for crowdfunding than GoFundMe?

- JC2

The story of the Wood That Got Away (Almost)

It's spring and I was still driving around with too much stuff in the car from the house-clean job I got in January.  So I spent the whole morning on Thursday cleaning out the car, including wood I had meant for the wood mill (my brother's place), the guitar pickguard material for the switch plates, tools and other parts.  I set the wood on top of the car to load later... and then forgot it, got into the car and drove off.

Without watching my speed I hit about 55 MPH on River Road, then of course slowed down.  I turned to go over the tracks, stopped at the market for iced tea (and crisps), and then turned, went over the tracks again, straight down Chester Avenue and then along the river (as I often do) to the marina.  Upon turning in to the marina I heard this rattling on the roof.

'Oh; I am an idiot! --I forgot that was on there!'  Over the next two minutes I just mulled it over, talking to myself.  'Maybe it's still on there.  Maybe it's back by the side of the road.  Maybe it's in the yard beside the house....'

Stopping the car at the boat I got out to look.  The plywood for the galley cabinet was there, half-jammed into the roof rack.  One of the mahogany planks was there, simply lying at an angle atop the plywood.  The longer of the two mahogany planks was gone.

I worked the whole day (too poor to waste fuel on two trips) and worried about it.  I even looked about the boat and searched my mind for any way of replacing it with other wood: but there isn't.  I had these planks milled at Edgewater Building Supply about 4-5 years ago, just for this application.  They're for the underside of the cabintop to both serve as backing blocks for the handrail bolts and to trim off the edges of the foam-backed headliner material.  They want only a notch cut along one edge to receive the foam stuff, which is not installed yet, but I wanted to fit them for length on the two sides and get some finish on them as they're still raw and beginning to look it.  So now I was out of luck.

Worse, sap that I am, I worried about the poor piece of wood outside in the drizzle we had in the afternoon.  Well; now even if I could recover it, it'd be waterstained (this shows through most varnish unless it's sanded down pretty far first).

Towards evening I was still at the boat and my mother called and invited me to supper.  (I am a sucker for any free supper.)  I kind of expected this and was saving what little fuel I have left for the trip home for a shower and back down (past the boat again) for her place. On the way home I took the right lane, went slowly, and kept my eyes across the road for some forlorn-looking piece of mahogany with maybe tire-tracks across it.  Sadly, I did not see it, went home, had a shower, turned around and started back along the same route for my mom's.  I thought I saw it (off the road) and made a U-turn, drove by, decided that wasn't it.  Then I saw it! --far off the road, parallel to the train tracks.  I made a quick U-turn (in a parking lot with a sign: No U-Turns) and ran across the road to see it.

How it managed to fly 35 feet from the road and land perfectly parallel to the road (and tracks) can be attributed only to the fact that I was doing 55 MPH, right at about this point.  The board is indeed waterstained; but I can sand that out.  Best of all the corners are all intact.  How did that happen? --I can only guess that it blew so far off the car that it never hit any tarmac at all but landed neatly in this grassy area.  I've seen pieces of plywood go flying and they usually end up as ovals (no corners) from cartwheeling as they land.  This piece survived in perfectly-usable condition.

Now there is yet another piece of this boat with a funny story.  Someday (soon) I'll be showing people over the boat and point up at it and say, 'That was the one that almost got away.'  If there's any nicks or stains showing it'll only be proof of the story and not considered 'ugly'. (There is really nothing on this boat that's 'ugly'.)   It'll be like the backing plate under the foredeck, the ladder/cooler assembly, the 'extra' locker after of the quarter berth, and the 'Uncle Joe' sticks on the cabin sole-- just one more part of Diana's composite personality.

(See here for more of the same....)

I've used so much reclaimed and repurposed mahogany on this boat that it's kind of a motif.  Most of the mahogany that looks like it doesn't match is from older boats, such as one C44 that got a major interior-remodeling project done to it.  It's mostly 1970s-era wood, which, used in Diana, lends an authentic look.  Diana doesn't look newly-restored.  She looks like she was always meant to be that way, indeed like she was always that way all along.  My cabinetry fits aren't perfect (see Steve for that kind of work - https://www.facebook.com/Notcher-Designs-227378264271864/?fref=ts) but overall Diana has a 'factory' look to her.

Think of her as a Hunter 25 built by Cherubini Boat Company!  You'll see when the commissioning party happens!

- JC2

Press release

for general distribution

Family boatbuilding business association breaks up for good

Burlington, New Jersey
22 June 2015


After a long, productive history, John Cherubini, Jr., and Cherubini Yachts, LLC, of Delran, NJ, have severed all professional associations, sources close to both sides report.   John, Jr., whose father designed the landmark Cherubini 44 double-headsail ketch and Cherubini 48 staysail schooner, had worked with his cousin David’s business almost since its onset in 2003.

John, Jr.’s history with the original Cherubini Boat Company began at Burlington, NJ, in 1973, with the lofting and planking of the original Cherubini 44 plug with his father, John, Sr., brother Steve, uncle Frit (Leon), and cousin Lee.  This family group remained, in spirit and in substance, the nucleus of the boatbuilding concern that hand-built 42 boats through the 1990s.  John, Jr., worked in direct labor, production control, purchasing, sales support and marketing, payroll, and especially in design and component engineering, being responsible for devising custom-made deck hardware, tanks, and brackets that made the Cherubini 44 unique.  With Lee he designed the long-popular two-stateroom interior plan, giving the C44 a spacious galley and roomy head compartment at a time when such features were reserved for much larger yachts.

After his cousin David resurrected Cherubini boat production, John, Jr. served throughout the hierarchy of the business, variously as a contractor, direct employee, and encouraging friend.  Taking on his late father’s role, he worked closely with the staff on design and engineering issues to conservatively modernize the C44 design.

David, ten years younger than John, had not the hands-on experience nor the technical education that comes from growing up with a gifted yacht designer as a father.  ‘I had hoped that Dave would want to benefit from my expertise,’ says John.  But, amid family and professional differences, the two fell out for good in spring 2015 and John was constrained to remove his own Hunter 25, Diana, from his cousin’s yard where he was always so proud to have kept it.

John’s complete departure from Cherubini Yachts marks the finale of the surviving family core who began the business in 1975.  His brother Steve and cousins Lee, Rick, Brian, and Mike have all been, to one degree or another, rendered redundant as employees, contractors, vendors or associates of their family’s legacy, leaving David the sole Cherubini at Cherubini Yachts.

John, Jr.’s future in the boating industry remains uncertain.  He has declared an intention to offer reproductions of his family’s artwork, including drafting work by John, Sr., for consumer markets.  It is doubtful if any of the Cherubini 44 and 48, as designed by his father, will ever be built again.

 

- Cherubini Art & Nautical Design

* * *

Listening to WXPN 88.5's '885 best and 88 worst songs ever' countdown

24-25 October 2014

I delayed all work to prepare for this radio event, of which the 'worst songs' part was simply hysterical.  'XPN's program director Dan Reed deserves much credit, firstly for being an excellent DJ, providing information, context, and witty banter (as well as interviews with artistes and persona guests), and secondly for actually enduring all seven hours of the worst songs ever.

One thing I had to do was to move the speakers out to the cockpit to continue work on the hull.  On our Raider 33 Antigone we had cockpit speakers which my brother Steve made for his old Fiat, which had come with none.  They were nifty little white-overlay-plywood boxes with aluminum grilles and Sparkomatic 6x9s in them.  I came up with the idea (which I don't remember if we actually did) of mounting a Herreshoff-style cleat on the top of each one, to serve as a handle and a place to wrap the cord.  We just took these out and stood them on the cockpit seats whenever we wanted them.

For Diana I'm doing the same thing, likely with these nice little speakers which come from a 1980s Sony component portable stereo (which is currently in the boat).  I have already run the speaker cables back to the lazarrette but have yet to decide if I want to install connection points in the side of the little Dorade box or just to leave them below.  I hate how I screwed this little box to its mounting cleats; I should have used the cleat-on-cleat method that CY's Ziggy uses all the time as it hides the fasteners (provided there is interior access).  I will most probably plug these holes and add the cleats inside to do it that way... after the cover goes on and I remove the box for varnishing inside.

The Sea Dog low-profile vents are meant for the Dorade boxes on the cabintop.  The ones back here should be the taller traditional kind but as yet I have only ordered the low ones from Defender.

The one shown installed (and not totally pushed-in) is the one that vents through the Dorade box  and through a hose to the foot of the quarter berth.  It works great.  The other one leads directly through a hose to the bilge, where I have yet to fit a bilge blower for the gasoline vapors.  It is plugged here because, as Diana is not now swinging to weather on a mooring, I can't keep the cowl trimmed as an exhaust vent.

The patched hole in the cockpit was where I installed the Whale manual bilge pump, one of the first things I did when I got this boat as the cabin windows leaked like a sieve.  I decided to relocate it to the inside of the coaming, both because it's easier to operate while steering and because it'll free up access through this cockpit-seat locker.

WXPN is at xpn.org

The 'XPN radio event was really a lot of fun and I helped clog up Twitter with many comments.  As a result of the event's effect on listeners, '@885countdown' was the number-4 most-Tweeted event in the US on 24 October, easily number-1 in the Philadelphia region, and the station's own website crashed due to too much traffic.  Truly an event for the ages!

BTW: the number-one favorite song, as it had been at the last countdown in 2004, was Springsteen's 'Thunder Road'.  The worst one, on this, the first-ever worst-songs countdown, was Starship's 'We Built This City' (I am not making this up!).  And here I had thought 'Billy, Don't Be A Hero' was a shoo-in.

- JC2

* * *

Interlux Brightside

I chose the Primekote 404/414 as primer because, at the time, I had not decided between Brightside and Perfection.  I have long referred to Perfection as 'the poor man's Awlgrip' and to Brightside as 'the poor man's Perfection'.  All three share similar qualities: they are rugged, hold up well to UV and to seawater, go on very well with a minimum of application effort (just roll on and take care) and are somewhat compatible in that primer for any one of them can be used with the lower grades of paint.  If you can't afford Awlgrip or a guy like Jeremiah at CY to apply it for you, your next bet is to apply the two-part epoxy Primekote and then pick either Perfection or Brightside.

Jerry, from the C44 Second Alarm, has been my boatyard neighbor for two seasons now.  He very generously offered to assist me with the application and did most of the rolling of both the Primekote and the Brightside himself.  I defer to his expertise in applying surface finishes as he's completely redone the hull of his 1981 boat from bare fiberglass to finish gelcoat, almost entirely on his own.  We readily share concerns, advice and encouragement and so he was a natural and welcome partner in this vital chore for Diana.

Taking the time to do it now

I took the better part of two days off from work for this.  To some this sounds irresponsible; but, to me, a boat is like a pet.  If it needs you now, it needs you now; and you are irresponsible to put it off till a situation becomes unhealthy.  I don't consider boats mere things, like that.  They have spirits and souls and feelings and needs.  Sail one and you know what I'm talking about.  I saw it during the Sandy storm-- with 68,000 boats in New Jersey having insurance claims filed, you just know that some of them were owned by people who said, 'It's only a boat.  It's insured.'  I could use the money anyway.'

Forgive the harsh opinion; but these people clog up the insurance-claim process and annoy and delay those of us who truly care.  I saw BOATUS and many others come through like knights in shining armor for boat owners who truly cared-- and I worked very hard on restoring several of those boats myself, if only because of two things:

1. I know what you feel like when your boat needs work, since I love my boat as much as you love yours.

2. I want to see your boat happy and sailing again as much as I want to see mine happy and sailing again.  This is what I do, and this is why I do it.

So I was grateful to Jerry for his help but I knew he knows how I feel about it because I know he feels the same way about his boat.

Brightside lessons

Since this is me, I have to delve into the bad news first!

I uploaded these two pics in a large format to illustrate how the first coat of Brightside goes on.  Formerly both of these places on Diana were repaired, using a combination of Evercoat 27 and WEST epoxy with filler.  The first one, below, had some significant pitting in the gelcoat and, being on the shaded, close-quartered side of the boat when it was in The Swamp, I did not get the chance to finish fairing these.  In truth I didn't really see them that well there.  So Jerry and I decided, what the heck? --and we painted over them to see what we'd get.  I don't think you can notice in this picture but the Brightside does not cover imperfections very well, if at all.

So, Lesson #1 with using Brightside:

It is not latex house paint.  It is not 'high hiding'.  It changes the color and seals the surface; it does not fill divots at all.

The second pic, below, illustrates what I call 'the thin white panties problem'.  (You get no further explanation of the name.)  This was where I filled the factory-installed galley-sink drain hole (relocating it, with seacock, to the bilge).  I was anxious to see how well Brightside would cover over darker-colored stuff like the WEST epoxy with gray and tan filler in it.  The result was that one coat did pretty well.  This would disappear completely on the second coat.

So, Lesson #2 with using Brightside:
It does change color; but when it's white over dark, it'll take two coats.  This is in line with pretty much any other paint; but here I believe it is a factor of the thin application layer of Brightside.  You don't put it on thick; you do multiple coats.  (In other words, it's not Bilgekote!)

At the end of the day, the guys from the shop were coming out and saying things like 'Hey!  John has a shiny boat now!'  I doubt they realized what this meant to me-- it may be the first time I have received any kudos from others on my work with this boat at all.  Naturally I replied that it was all down to Jerry-- for his constant encouragement, invaluable assistance and almost-paternal admonishing me to keep moving.  This is a guy who supervises urban firemen-- he knows how to motivate people and in my case has done it well.

We got the second coat done the following day, after I spent the whole morning (18-20 hours' drying time) sanding this coat with 320.  We had one egregious error (mine, I am sure) where we had to retouch a place where I missed tipping (probably due to intense sun glare that side).  The attempt to get it on and all smooth was not successful.  It ended up being covered but as a lump that looks like a bulkhead pressing through.

So, Lesson #3 with Brightside:
You have about five minutes, and no more, to finish rolling and tipping applied paint.  Don't hesitate-- get it right now, and keep moving on.  You won't be able to go back and fix it; it'll mean another whole coat if you let it go.

This is all well anyway, as I'd like to redo a few places on the transom and resolve the matter of a few divots.  I'll do the third coat in the spring (as well as another barrier coat on the bottom).  For now, Diana's going under a shrink-wrapped cover so I can focus on the engine, the electrical system, and a few odds and ends that can be fit to the boat and finished in the shop.

Thanks again to Jerry for all his work; for this is really all down to him here.

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