Gozzard Yachts ?

[Joncyn]

First post so here goes.....
We are very serious about purchasing a boat and have been looking for the past year, have sold off all things extraneous to us and now are just waiting for the house to sell so as I said before we are serious. have been looking in the 40' range but just stumbled across a late 80s Gozzard 36 and are quite impressed by the layout and construction but have been unable to find out how the boat performs under various conditions, problems, etc if anyone out there has any experience with this boat we would really appreciate some input.
By the way great forum have been reading for a number of years always worthwhile info and entertaining.

Thanks Jon

[CSY Man]

Talk to pblais, he just bought one of them Gozzard 36s.

[BoatTed]

I've always thought the H.T. Gozzard 36 is an exceptional boat and almost bought one after talking extensively with Ted while he was building them. You can get all the information about these unusual cutters by Goggling
H.T.Gozzard. There is a great story on the CY site, about the third one downl on the thread. The bunking arrangements on this boat are really innovative. Good luck on your purchase if you go for it.

[ronbo1]

Joncyn,
I had a 36' Gozzard and liked it so much I bought their 44.
Construction is first class. Many innovative design functions, it's fixed windshield design is finding it's way on new boat designs - like Perry's 38.5 Pacific Seacraft. Some may not like the long bowsprit but it effectively extends the horizontal sail plan out an additional 6 feet giving a larger total sail area. The boat's quite stiff and handles that sail area well. Good sea boats, in fact, just heard from a sistership that arrived in NZ. The open interior is unique and doesn't appeal to everyone but it feels like a much larger boat. The aft cabin can be used for the sea berth. The newer Gozzards have redesigned underbodies and perform better in light conditions.
If you like, put your email in your profile.
Ron

[Pblais]

We have a 1991 Gozzard 36 Hull 61 . The hull is the same as the 1980's versions and didn't change until they revised the hull and called it the 37.

In 91 they just made the aft berth a King sized berth by dropping the engine a bit to get some additional width. The layout is otherwise the same as the rest of the 80's boats. If you have seen any of the 1980's boats then you pretty much know what they are all about inside and the construction. Some have a few different options. Many cool things were standard however.

The very worst you can say about the performance would be just a few things and they are minor and some can be dealt with once you know. They are not the best at pointing (few cutters are). Second, the barn door rudder can get loaded if you heel too much. It makes you think it is weather helm but it's not. Reducing the heel improves it and my wife likes that. The same problem however means you won't get lee helm at all. The 37 fixed the rudder issue a with the new revised hull and the 37 uses some newer high tech materials unavailable then. As I said thats all the worst I can say. It handles well and always had a solid feel to the boat.

I would also agree with all Ron says on the good things. We did a little light air this fall and it did better than I expected, but it's made to carry a lot of stuff and has a 12 ft beam and at a net 13 tons it's not a light weight race boat but rather a Cruising boat you can carry lots of stuff with.

We took it home from Delaware where we bought it this fall all the way down the Chesapeake 250 miles with 25 - 30 knot winds the whole way and gusts to 40 knots. Thats all I'm willing to test it against on purpose and it did fine and I only had one day experience with it prior to that. I used all my CSY 33 cutter experience however. It wasn't a piece of cake but the boat behaved quite well. The rig is rock solid and the controls are handy when it's not easy to move around the cockpit like in these conditions. The big wood Edson wheel is just plain cool.

As far as being on it and handling lines and being below it's a very nice, attractive, and well designed boat. Lots of little special details you might miss until you start using it for several days at a time.

We looked at three other 36's from the 80's. This one has a few things the others didn't but I think we could have taken any of the others and made them into something great. Considering we could have paid a little less then added a little more they should work out a good value. We are redoing all canvas and upholstery as all the ones we looked at didn't wear in that area all that well. Our survey came back pretty clean and I would expect that to be more typical than not.

We did get to meet Ted Gozzard and the rest of the family at the Annapolis boat show this fall as well as a bunch of Gozzard owners. It's just nice to know that a family owned and operated business can still make it and produce a great product. They all actually work in capacities critical to the design, construction, and sales. If you bought a used one you would still have access to support services and information from the factory. The warranty of course is expired but many things can be had on a cost plus basis and the information access alone will help with the odd things that do come up with boats.

Ron, are you going to Goderich this May?

[ronbo1]

Paul,
Unfortunately I won't be making the Gozzard rendezvous in Ontario, it's a good opportunity for owners and would be owners to find out about Gozzards and visit the factory. You'll enjoy it. See you on the Bay.
Ron

[Efraim]

I know nothing of the sailing ability or the particulars of the different layouts, however the admiral and I have been seriously shopping for a new boat. We have visited several manufactures, both in NA and Europe, and can say without reservation that Gozzard are no nonsense no comprise builders. The choice of materials is excellent, the workmanship is very good, they don't rush production and they don't substitute junk for quality. Being smaller builders they can't afford to comprise, they pretty much have to please all their owners, not a bad thing.

We are not going to be buying one, however our decision has nothing to do with the quality of their products, which is more than we can say about some of the other "big" names.

[Joncyn]

Thanks for all the great info, it seems just when we have found the boat we think is going to work for us, we come across a beauty like this Gozzard and it make us stop and reassess our priorities.
Comfort at sea and at anchor is very important but somehow we have to reconcile the fact that we may lose some performance with a heaver boat.
We have sailed a C&C 34 for the past several years in Puget Sound and down the Washington coast so performance is something we do enjoy but cruising in a boat as tender as the C&C is not an option for long term.
Having never sailed a heavier boat we are kind of in the dark as to what to except from them in regards to lite air performance and miles per day under good conditions.
I've crewed on a recent delivery of a Norseman 40 from Seattle to Hawaii
We averaged around 155mi a day 20 to 30kt wind just abaft the beam, how might the Gozzard perform under similar condition.

Thanks again for sharing your experience
Jon

[Pblais]

Noresmean 40 would have about 5 extra feet of water line over the Gozzard 36 so it does have advantage right across the start line. It also has a foot and a half deeper draft so better to point with and less slipping. West coast people don't have shallow water All those make nice qualities for pure performance. If you compared it to a Gozzard 41 it would be a closer compare the 41 would be a bit heavier yet.

On a close reach 20 to 30 knots we managed better than 7 knots most all the time this fall on our very first trip coming home. I think I could learn to sail it better. With that much wind I wasn't taking big chances on the first trip. Might have done better were we not on the Chesapeake where the wave frequency is hideously short and that much wind makes a good sized chop. We did 60 nm in 8 hour days three times. That includes motoring in and out of anchorages. The boat motors quite fast too. On flat water we can motor 8 knots. Overall I would say the extra 5 ft of water line would have won the race but not by many hours.

Heavy boats carry more stuff. Causers need lots and lots of stuff. A loaded light boat isn't as safe. Deep drafts don't like shallow water. Light boats may not always be comfortable. On the hook counts way more than you think. It's where you'll live most of the time.

There is always one trade off for the another but of course you can't give up all one thing for another. It's pretty hard to evaluate just a few criteria without looking at all the rest too. You get some things and lose some others with every boat. I like the Gozzard 36 because it has a lot of 40 ft features in a 36 ft package. It's a bit easier to maintain, insure, put in the slip, and a little bit less work. Every foot is a little more money and work. The 55 ft boat would be just about perfect except for all the extra feet.

In the end sometimes it comes down to money too. It has a way of reeling you back. Then it can come down to what boats can you actually buy when you are ready. Something that works for the right price is maybe the best rule. There are a lot of choices out there that really do work. I also think the crew is more important that which boat you put them on. You want a lot of things for a new home.

[ronbo1]

Jon,

Here in the mid-Chesapeake the dealer's marina has more Gozzards than anywhere else, 12 doesn't sound like much but they've made only maybe 120 of the 36/37 model over the years. They fare quite well against lighter boats in light winds but when the wind pipes, as it eventually does, you appreciate the extra stiffness of a cruising boat.

Gozzards have larger than normal engines, I believe the 36/37 is 63hp now. If the wind is light or on the nose, Ted's philosophy is found in an interview several years ago when Bob Perry reviewed the 44': "Ted Gozzard writes, 'People do know what they want and many will admit that they would sooner smell the roses or drift a Menger 19 into a heavenly cove rather than thrash around the Cape in a boat that some salesman has promised them can handle it. I enjoy the excitement of serious sailing, a powerful cutter rig, landfalls made to strange harbors and the wonderful people you meet, but I also like to cruise in style with the comfort of an 82 horsepower diesel resting below my feet for those days with no wind and places to go'".

[sevent]

I realize this post is a few years old. Wondering if the original poster wound up with a Gozzard and if so what they experienced. I am in the early stages of choosing a boat. I charter on the Chesapeake and enjoy the large cockpits of the typical modern production boats. But love the look of the Gozzard cutter rig and am attracted to the layout below deck and the quality. I also like the relatively shallow draft. Can anyone comment on the difference in performance sailing upwind between a Gozzard and Specifically the shoal draft versions of something like a Beneteau or Jeanneau? Sailing in the bay, even if I go with a fin keel sloop it will be shoal draft version and in my charter experience they are not so great up wind either. Also, how does a Gozzard manage in a crowded marina? I would imagine it is cumbersome? Thanks!

[bob perry]

Norseman 40 has some serious design problems. I do not recommend it. Maybe if you want to build up your upper body.

Gozzards are not rockets but they are very well, built and I have a friend who loves his.

[ronbo1]

Sevent,

My marina has all manner of sailboats. When watching them back into their slips, the helmsman determines how cumbersome a boat becomes.

Comparing a Gozzard to a Jeanneau/Beneteau is really comparing apples to oranges. As Bob Perry says, the build quality of Gozzard is high which accounts for their higher price. If you sail in the Chesapeake, and the wind and current is on your nose, fire up the engine, or wait awhile.

Ronbo

[rourkeh]

I have a buddy who had a Gozzard 36 that he bought in the early 90's in Toronto. He had the boat trucked down to the U.S. and I was on it before they took off for the islands. Nice really well put together boat. The two friends took off out of Beaufort NC for the Bahamas at night after drinking a wee bit and lost power going out the inlet in big water and big wind. They were thrown up on the rocks in the inlet and had no power to get off so the boat was pounded on to the rocks for 2 hours before the coast guard came and rescued them. These conditions would have sunk most bleach bottles they make, but the Gozzard came away with scratched gelcoat. I was truely impressed. They don't make many boats like that anymore. His boat ended up in the abaco's where he sold it I think.

[sevent]

Thanks guys. I realize it sounds silly that I am considering such fundamentally different vessels. It is, in large part, a matter of pleasing some of my crew (mainly my wife).

I get the impression one may be better off with a 15 or 20 year old Gozzard than a 2-5 year old Beni or Jenni, quality-wise....