T&T: Gulfstar 43

[Writerfred at aol.com]

Rich . . . .
 
We owned its little brother, a 1976 Gulfstar 36 trawler, for 11 years  and 
shed more than one tear back in 2001 when we sold it before  getting our new 
American Tug 34.
 
Both boats were nearly identical in almost every way, the 43 being merely  an 
inflated version of the 36.  In fact, Gulfstar built a 55 foot  trawler (only 
about five were ever built) that, in turn, was a big brother  to the 43.  At 
a distance, one could hardly tell all of them apart.
 
All three boats had an impressive amount of inside space for their size, a  
characteristic of every boat the Lazzara family built, and were about as  
inexpensive to run and bullet proof as one could ever ask for.   Construction and 
about everything else on the boat was no nonsense  and straightforward.  We 
did, however, have problems with hull  blistering, a fairly situation with most 
Gulfstars.
 
Our 36 relished heading into the rough stuff but true to the reputation of  
all round hulls, could get very uncomfortable with more than about a two-foot  
beam sea.
 
Having been built between 1972 and 1976, all Gulfstar trawlers now  have 
whiskers.  Still, their design is classic and will turn heads.   For sure, they 
have long since bottomed out in terms of depreciation.  By  now, I suspect that 
because of their relative scarcity, they may even  be easing back up the other 
side a bit.
 
I relished my Gulfstar years because it was such a great learning  boat.  I 
could fix things and change things and correct mistakes made  by previous 
owners fairly easily and without feeling as if I was adversely  affecting the 
boat's integrity.  On top of that, we logged more than 20,000  miles on ours 
without her ever letting us down.
 
I strongly urge you to get serious if you believe the  Gulfstar you are 
looking will meet your needs, if it is fairly  priced and if mechanical and 
cosmetic deficiencies can be brought back at a  reasonable cost relative to purchase 
price and market worth.  A valuable  resource in those respects would be 
members of the Gulfstar Owners  Club.
 
But be on guard.  For whatever reasons, it's very easy to  get delightfully 
emotional about Gulfstars.
 
Please contact me offline if you wish to discuss this further.
 
Fred Myers
CruiseGuide Author & Publisher






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