Quote:
Originally Posted by Rubikoop
I own a 39' Express not the PH Freedom. A good friend owned a 32' Gulf for many years and single handed it into his late 60s. For living aboard the Freedom is going to provide much more space. The Gulf is definitely a solid boat but didn't seem to sail particularly well. The owner seemed to be forever chasing electrical issues. I don't know if that was caused by the age of the vessel or a poor initial installation from the factory. He did eventually have nearly all the wiring replaced with new breaker panels installed $$$. I believe the owner told me concrete was used for ballast. I would think that on all points of sail there would be a substantial advantage to the longer waterline of the F39PH. Tacking the F39 is much easier. I second all comments made by PAF above.
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Spent 7 years on a gulf 32, 3+ on a hook and never had a
single electrical issue, and the ballast is lead shot encased in concrete. Very comfortable
boat for me, being 6'8" the only boat I've ever found that I could both afford and stand up in. My biggest issue were the waste
storage tank de-lamed from the wall it was attached under the front v-berth, it wasn't a huge deal it just settled into the compartment no
leaks but it should have been better attached.
Also the
steering uses a keyed clamping setup that after single-handing from ventura to sd had loosened up to the point that I came into mission bay in a steady 20+ k
wind steering with my feet with a screwdriver jammed into the ruder post
emergency tiller attachment point, hint owning a emrg. tiller is no good if you can't reach/find it..
And as far as pitching, the only time I had issue was trying to leave sd harbor during the americas cup when caught between and Aircraft Carrier incoming and a cruise-ship outgoing and me in the middle.. sky.. sea.. sky.. sea.. f-this run for the shelter island
fuel dock, buy $10
fuel & $10 six pack, drink 6 pack..