What is the overall concensus on Gulfstar boats?

[scgilligan]

I have seen a few for sale for decent price/foot numbers. Are there any looming issues that are standard to the make? What are hull/deck problems if any? I am not likely to be crossing oceans anytime soon..Probably be mostly a coastal cruiser and possible liveaboard in the South East US.
I have done a few searches, both here and on the internet at large..don't see a whole lot of information, but it is not an obscure mfr. so I was expecting a bit more. Seems like I recall some rotting issues, but I cannot recall if that was Gulfstar or Endeavor that I heard about..I see a lot of Endeavor's for sale also..

[Perstarebob]

Depends on the year , size and model . My opinion , early boats had pretty good hulls but the fit and finish was not up to snuff. Such things as hinges and latches , some hardware were cheap . All of those probs should have been cured many years ago . If ya see something that you like ???. I really think the Gulfstar 50 was a nice boat . I like the early boats , before the oil embargo . Just my opinion !

[thinwater]

Originally Posted by scgilligan

I have seen a few for sale for decent price/foot numbers.

What is the price per foot of a car?

[Rock-Head]

Originally Posted by thinwater

What is the price per foot of a car?

What kinda car?

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[Fiveslide]

http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...d.php?t=113455

I've heard of two Gulfstar 50s, that includes the one in the thread above, with serious delamination issues near the keel. I'm not trying to condemn the entire make, just make sure you're getting one of the good ones.

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[DDabs]

Gulfstar's have achieved a bit of a cult following. I have never sailed a Gulfstar, but have been aboard quite a few, including some of their larger models, the 50 and 60, and they are built pretty damn solid.

[stevebein]

I bought a Gulfstar 50 in Florida and then sailed it to Mexico , Belize and Guatemala. I had second thoughts just after buying, but met someone at the boat yard who had delivered one from Florida to Japan. Mine was the two stateroom version, not the charter three stateroom model. I took about a year on that trip. It was a great boat and I was pleased with it. Mine was built in the late 70's and served me very well.
After the trip, I shipped it to California and lived aboard for two years. If you find one in good shape after a careful survey and you like the price, you will be very happy.
Good luck.

[W3GAC]

Brother has had a 53' Gulfstar since mid-80s. It has held up well, but with a balsa core you have to inspect all your fittings, hatch edges for moisture intrusion/ wetting and take appropriate action. Now days moisture meters are inexpensive/ accurate in detecting if they're is an issue. Fixes are relatively easy/ straight forward if not neglected too long. Gulf Stars are very roomy, idea cruising/ Liveaboard boats and I would shy away from them, but it's a boat really worth having a good surveyor go over the determine if their are any advanced issues. And if purchase one... recommend you purchase your own moisture meter and inspect around all hull fittings/ hatches to protect your investment/ minimize future issues.


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[oldsalt_1942]

Years ago (early 80s) I was working at a repair yard in New Orleans. A Gulfstar trawler came in to have some minor thing done to it. The trawlers were really just the sailboat without the rigging. Everybody at the yard went aboard to look at it because whoever designed it must have had to work on boats at sometime in their lives. You could get to virtually EVERYTHING without having to bend over some other piece of equipment or take something apart to get to what you needed to work on.

The boat had twin engines. There was standing headroom between the engines and sitting headroom on the outboard side of the engines and you didn't have to be a contortionist to get to the outboard side, either. All that was in the engine compartment were the engines, the sea water strainers and the Racor filters. Period!

Ahead of the engine compartment was the generator compartment. It set athwartships and there was plenty of sitting headroom all around. All that was in this compartment was the generator, the Racor filter, the sea water strainer and the electrical panel. Period!

The boat was marvelously thought out. I can't speak to the level of the glasswork, but from an engineering point of view it was fantastic. I'd previously run a 65' Hatteras and to tighten the port stuffing box it was necessary to dismantle the water strainer. I always used to say, if you spend a million dollars for a boat like this you shouldn't have to do this. The Gulfstar was less than half the cost of the Hatt...

[belizesailor]

Generally good solid boats. A lot of boat for the money at todays values.

I used to captain a Gulfstar 50 (Mark II?). Good looking boat, comfortable, sailed well too.

[artisanmach]

I own a 1976 Gulfstar 37, I love this very solid boat.

[Starblossom]

I owned a 44' Gulf Star. Sturdy, heavy, motored a lot, needed a lot of wind to sail. No major problems. Has some osmotic blistering. Ground everything down, put on new barrier coat and had no problems after that.
Very spacious for its length. Would recommend for a liveaboard, don' enter any races.
Good luck

[MAJICDAN]

I own a 1974 Gulfstar 53 Motor Sailer. Ketch. I bought the boat after its return from a 10 year, around the world cruise. I think it is a wonderful, solidly build boat. I put in a bow thruster. The hull plug they cut out was 1.5 inches thick. When it was new it was advertized to have a 2000 mile max range on diesel, plus the sails. It holds 500 gallons of diesel and 350 gallons of water. I would recommend this model to any one who wanted a heavy, over built, practically indestructible liveaboard cruiser.

[pwmullins]

I have owned an Endeavour 42 since '89 and haven't heard of any rotting problems. Great boat, roomy, easy to sail. Lived aboard for 2 years about 10 yrs. ago, and cruised up and down the East Coast for the last 20. Less than 4,000 hrs on the Yanmar. Boat is located in Charleston, SC and I'm getting ready to put it on the market this fall. If you want any further info, email me at: pwmullins@aol.com.

[reed1v]

A lot of boat for the money. Easy to modify. Great liveaboards. Consider them motorsailors.