What is the overall concensus on Gulfstar boats?

[GoneIsland]

We have both! We live on a 1973 Gulfstar 43 trawler and just purchased last September a 1979 Endeavour 37 A plan. The Gulfstar is built on the sailboat hull, his sons did not like sailing and took their fathers sailboat hulls and turned them into trawlers until 1978 when they started to make dedicated powerboat hulls. I have nothing but praise for the traditional looks and build of the Gulfstar. The major problems are the decks, but that is not the fault of Gulfstar, it is the lack of maintenance throughout the years!! No one rebeds the fittings and water gets into the balsa core. The hull is nice and thick and have had no issues with blisters(knock on wood) but have heard of some problems like almost all the boats out there. Fit and finish will most likely depend on previous owners. I had open up and replace The entire deck (96 feet) and replace with marine ply because I'm insane and I want a solid boat. This was going to be the forever boat to go down island until my wife FINALLY got bitten by the sailing bug, thank god! So now we are rehabbing the Endeavour and having a blast sailing the crap out of her(that is when we get the chance between all the projects). I believe you find the sailboat that you love and are willing to put in either the sweat equity like myself or a crap load of money for something that is already done. No boat is perfect and everyone can find things that need improving, the important part is falling in love with it or your not going to have the fortitude to finish it.
So long ramble shorter, if ya like the Gulfstar get it, sure there will be some updates that need to be done, but enjoy her along the way!

[GoneIsland]

Oh, forgot to mention, if you have specific questions about either of our boats, pm me and I'll flush out any of the repairs for ya and try to answer if you have anything specific.
John

[Manos1955]

I had a gulfstar 43 center cockpit sloop 1978 the two cabin version with an 85 HP volvo penta
Great boat - very roomy - solid - I had several encounters with nasty East Med weather without the slightest problem
I sold her after nine years because I was bored to have the same boat for so long
Prior 1975 need some attention in the keel section after 1976 boats are build in a different way more qiluality work
Good luck

[scgilligan]

Originally Posted by Manos1955

I had a gulfstar 43 center cockpit sloop 1978 the two cabin version with an 85 HP volvo penta ...

The one I have recently seen that got me asking this question was a 1973 41' Sloop center cockpit. Looks like a nice boat, was just wondering if there was not much of a market for it since the price was fairly low for the size. Or so I think..I could just be wrong, as I have a tendency to be sometimes. But seems to me a 40+ foot boat for under 30K is cheaper than I would expect.

[reed1v]

A lot of the old charter trade boats are very low in price due to lack of demand. People want fast weekend boats nowadays, by and large. Big, heavy long distance cruisers are out of fashion. Plus anything older than 30 years is hard to finance and very difficult to insure. Boat US is about the only game in town for insurance(Progressive). Otherwise, no structural issues that we are aware of with these boats.

[JTHAW]

I am insuring my 40 yr old beauty with Foremost, they seem to be excellent!
their rates are very reasonable
overall consensus on gulfstars is decent to good...though you won't win any races as generally... the sticks were on the short side.
the 36' hood looking design sloop of '80-'82 (yrs. approx.) is beautiful...only about 40 made though, the 50 ft cc late 70's is very nice...and sails well...
the early '70's were by and large piggy motorsailers, with decent construction
as with each and every boat; a detailed inspection is the only way to make a particular vessels seaworthiness known

[JBPohle]

We used to owned a Center cockpit ketch rigged Gulfstar 50, "Cygnus" and cruised from San Francisco to New Zealand from 1997 to 2000. We had two children on board and it was a well built sturdy boat. We had hull number 1. It was heavy and steady. With a long cutaway keel and skew hung rudder, she did NOT go to weather well, but we sold her in NZ... You know what they say "Nothing goes to weather like a 747".

Great boat and we've got no regrets. The folks that bought it from us went around the rest of world I think and still live aboard in Wellington today.


Sent from my iPad using Cruisers Sailing Forum

[Madehn]

i have a gulfstar 51 ( it is a 47 with a 4 foot factory extension)
plus- great room, great storage, great tankage, super headroom, built like a tank
, center cockpit is roomy, safe with a nice walkthru

minus- early in mast roller furler can be an issue at times, heavy boat with a lot of beam so it sails a little slower-- great livaboard, great cruiser if you are not in a hurry, fairly easy to work on.

we probably went on 50 or 60 boats before we settled on this one--( very understanding broker plus we lived right on the docks) i have only seen one or two other boats that i would trade it for -- one of those was selling for well over 400k and the other was an Irwin 51 that i like a lot.

[tinkrman69]

I've sailed the gulfstar 50 CC it's not fast and doesn't go to weather well sailed and worked on two 37 staysil sloops a little faster very comfortable for live a boards the skeg hung rudders have a bolt on aluminum skeg both boat owners hadn't kept up with the anode one skeg was salvageable the other had to be replaced. Lazara quit building the gulfstar and went power and is now shut down altogether. So we had one made for 1200. if you go for the 37 check the skeg well. make sure its solid with no fillers. i was a little dismayed with that design...I guess it was a weight issue.

[Madehn]

John Kretchmer listed the gulfstar 50 as one of his top ten boats to sail around the world with his family -- pretty good endorsement

[artisanmach]

It really depends on which model you have. some were motorsailers, the 37 is a great sailing boat

[TMT2]

We own and live aboard our 1975 Gulfstar M53 Ketch. We love it! Re-powered with a big John Deere turbo and a 16KW Phasor Genny. Yes, as per previous posts - she's heavy (and a motor-sailer) but roomy, comfortable and stout. We own the last M53 (hull # 27). No blisters or delamination - she's been well cared for. Ours is the charter version with 3-cabins, two heads and a full-size nav station - we draw 5 ft on the full keel with skeg-mounted rudder. Classic interior - lots of dark wood and nicely done cabinetry.

Sailing coastally - we handle her as a cruising couple pretty well. Off shore - we take on crew for the watch schedules and extra hands in the event of rough weather.

If you find a Gulfstar and the survey confirms that the hull and decks are in good shape - its a lot of boat for the money! We've now loaded ours up with all of the off-shore gadgets and an advanced sail plan and she has done well in open ocean (Gulf Stream).

Anyone interested in specifics about this Gulfstar model - please PM (I'm a fan)...and yes- I've seen/heard of the "chopper gun" stories; the blister woes, and the Balsa-core blues. We didn't have those experiences with this hull #.

I have the original builder's drawings on hand; a full previous owner history log; and have learned a lot about this 40 year old vessel...I am willing to share with others considering purchase of a Gulfstar.

TMT2

[reed1v]

Originally Posted by TMT2

We own and live aboard our 1975 Gulfstar M53 Ketch. We love it! Re-powered with a big John Deere turbo and a 16KW Phasor Genny. Yes, as per previous posts - she's heavy (and a motor-sailer) but roomy, comfortable and stout. We own the last M53 (hull # 27). No blisters or delamination - she's been well cared for. Ours is the charter version with 3-cabins, two heads and a full-size nav station - we draw 5 ft on the full keel with skeg-mounted rudder. Classic interior - lots of dark wood and nicely done cabinetry.

Sailing coastally - we handle her as a cruising couple pretty well. Off shore - we take on crew for the watch schedules and extra hands in the event of rough weather.

If you find a Gulfstar and the survey confirms that the hull and decks are in good shape - its a lot of boat for the money! We've now loaded ours up with all of the off-shore gadgets and an advanced sail plan and she has done well in open ocean (Gulf Stream).

Anyone interested in specifics about this Gulfstar model - please PM (I'm a fan)...and yes- I've seen/heard of the "chopper gun" stories; the blister woes, and the Balsa-core blues. We didn't have those experiences with this hull #.

I have the original builder's drawings on hand; a full previous owner history log; and have learned a lot about this 40 year old vessel...I am willing to share with others considering purchase of a Gulfstar.

TMT2

They are indeed excellent value for the money. Few fiberglass boats were laid up with chopper guns. Chopped mat was used to finish off the rough weave and not used as a structural component, except for the real cheap stuff(i will not mention the boats since folks seem to go ballistic on this site when one denigrates certain boats, but they were made in the USA).

For a good review of the Gulfstar line of boats see David Pascoe's discussion of them:
Boat Review by David Pascoe - Gulfstar 43