1973 Gulfstar 43 as a first boat

[Lou_tribal]

Hello,
I am curently in quest for my first boat and trying to find a trawler that fit my budget and makes me thrill.
I already post about a minship 34 few days ago (separate thread), and I found today a Gulfstar 43 from 1973. It looks really nice but I am far from an expert. Mechanics ar erecently rebuilt and boat looks in good shape.
Any advice would be welcome about this boat, what to check, main pros and main cons, good or bad etc.
Thank you very much.

Regards,

 

[Ski in NC]

What motors are installed?

 

[Panacea]

I think you will do great with a Gulfstar. I just bought a 1975 Gulfstar 36 MK II with twin Perkins 4-154s as a project boat. Love the layout and I've always had a thing for the old Gulfstars. Some of the good stuff includes: solid glass hull, fiberglass fuel tank, no leaky teaky decks, classic lines, awesome galley down, full ballasted keel, and a "real trawler" full displacement hull.

Be prepared to roll significantly as the hull is round with no chines. The old Gulfstars effectively have sailboat hulls, based on the 36' and 43' motorsailor.

Keep an eye out for the usual suspects found on older boats: 1.) soft deck spots 2.) hull blisters 3.) leaking hatches / ports. Mine has a soft spot on the aft deck around the Bomar hatch and 4 of the 8 portlights leak. Also, there is a leak under the sliding door track that has rotted a small section of the cabin sole. Not a big deal, but the soft deck can be expensive if you don't DIY.

I'm in the process of a "quick and simple" refit. Removing most of the outside teak (less maintenance!). Repairing deck soft spot. Rebedding all hardware and portlights. Filling/fairing all holes. Full Alexseal paint job stem to stern. New interior flooring. 3 new stand alone air conditioners. Interior wood finish repair. New salon furniture (love seat sized couch, chair, ottoman)

All around good boat with a lot of bang for your buck.

 

[Lou_tribal]

@ski, motors are two perkins T6.354.

@panacea, thank you for sharing your experience. I indeed like the classic lines of this boat as well as the huge galley down there.

Regards

 

[Capstan]

Hi Lou tribal,
We purchased a 43 - 73 last year and if you go to General Discussions - A Bad Monkey Tail - you will find a list and pics of the work we have done on our boat. It was bought knowing that we needed to do a lot.
At least with it you will be able to get an idea of the condition the one you are looking at is compared to what we took on.
Sorry for the late response but I have been off the web page since Christmas.
Hope you have found something.
Regards,
Stan

 

[RT Firefly]

Greetings,
M. Lt. We looked at several Gulf Stars about 10 years ago. At that time, the ONE issue that seemed to stand out other than and as mentioned by Mr. P was the issue that GS seemed to be more prone to hull blisters (osmosis) than other makes of a similar vintage.

As I recall, the 43's were galley down and not to our liking but they seemed to be a nice boat and competitively priced, at that time. One feature I did like was the semi stand up engine space where one stood, essentially in the keel amidships and thus gained added head room as compared to say, a Marine Trader where one had to crawl or stoop throughout the ER.

 

[boatpoker]

I love the look of the Gulfstars but an old 43 is for someone who knows exactly what they are doing and what they are getting into ...... or has an open cheque book.
Far too many possible disasters to list here.

Had friends who bought one for retirement cruising .... it broke them in two years and it was not the worst I had seen..