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Hirsch gulfstar 45

40K views 30 replies 12 participants last post by  GorgeousDay 
#1 ·
Thought I might be the first. We bought our boat from the original owner who bought it when he retired. We were lucky enough to get all the sales brochures and line drawings as well as a picture of the boat the day it left the factory on a trailer. I must say it is so much fun. It's fast and roomy. I have seen ads of this model all over the world. If there are any questions that I might help with, please just ask.
 
#2 · (Edited)
I've been watching 1 of these in the NE a while now. Searched for info on it and near as I could tell only 30 were build and there wasn't a lot of info out there on them. So now that you have had it a while, what do you think?
 
#4 ·
A bit more info, please

I'm interested in this model but find the number of Gulfstar reviews to be almost nil. Why?

What is the Hirsch connection?

Where was the factory?

Does your boat have blisters, or has it had blisters?

I've seen a Gulfstar 44 which has a soft section of cabin floor in the interior passage to the aft cabin. I searched the cabin structures above it all the way up to an opening port right above it but found nothing soft. Any thoughts?

What is the quality and thickness of the hull layup and how did it perform in the largest seas you've experienced so far?

Thanks a lot

John
 
#5 ·
The Hirsch group was a charter organization mainly out of the Virgin Islands. They ordered boats to their specifications for the charter trade both from Irwin and Gulfstar. The boats were production quality and designed for coastal and caribe cruising much like the Moorings/Beneteaus are today. These are not blue water boats but fine live aboard cruising boats that sail decently, have good tankage, excellent space and good prices in the market. They are built from the same hull molds that supported the non-hirsch versions of the brand but often have different tankage and accomodation arrangements.
 
#6 ·
Depends what you want in a boat.

There are two things of many that define a blue water boat accepted by marine architects, one being the vessel has an up swung bow for reserve buoyancy on heavy seas and another being small ports to withstand crashing waves. On this alone you could remove many boats from the list that others would swear were blue water. If you want a boat that can safely withstand a tropical storm, then a Hirsh/Gulfstar 45 will work. It has sturdy rigging, full hull spider and well tabbed in bulkheads. It's heavy, (28,000 lbs) just what you want for open sea travel. And it is fairly fast under sail,(7-8knts). The real question is not if it's a blue water boat, (because most answers are opinion),it's are you a blue water sailor. A good sailor can take most anyboat anywhere. I have been in 50+ kt winds without damage in the Old Bahama Channel. I will post some pictures on my picture site here. The waves are big and ugly. For a size comparison, there is one where we are passed by The Majesty of the seas cruise ship and it is ugly out.
 
#7 ·
Thanks for the posting. Digging around in the www I have found lots of the options/stories on the boat. This why I asked you to start with. So far I have managed to track down only 2 people who have acturally had a 45' HIRSCH and both have given it great reviews. I give more weight to 1 post by an owner/past owner than 20 of the others. Near as I can tell these look to be great boats that under rated and valued.
 
#9 ·
Two of them are on yachtworld. Yachtworld specs say:
Builder/Designer
Builder: Gulfstar Designer: Richard Lazzara Dimensions
LOA: 45' LWL: 35' 6" Beam: 13' 2" Displacement: 26000 Lbs Draft: 5' 4" Ballast: 9500 Lbs Engines
Engine(s): Perkins Engine(s) HP: 50 HP Engine Model: 4-108 Cruising Speed: 6.5 Kts Max Speed: 7.5 Kts Tankage
Fuel: 54 Gal Water: 140 Gal Holding: 2 tanks
 
#13 ·
I have all the papers from when the boat was new including the color sales brochure. I have things such as the line drawings and original sales price list as well. When I get a chance, (the boat is in the yard now) I will be able to fill in some details for you. I believe there are some changes in the Hirsch version. My neighbor likes mine so well that he is traveling to the east coast of Fl to buy one for himself. I was lucky to purchase mine from the original owner and he kept all the papers. He owned it for 20 years as it seems most owners keep them a long time. For the money it is alot of boat.
 
#14 · (Edited)
I keep coming back to one of these but hope to settle on a smaller boat.
I would be interested in knowing:
1 - the hull to deck connection construction
2 - hull construction (solid FG or cored and with what)
3 - deck construction - cored and with what
4 - not that is really matters, but what was the orginal cost
5 - engine power, do you feel it is over/under powered
6 - engine access and room to add equipment into the ER
7 - have you seen or know of any blistering type problems (this is a crap shoot as even boat models with/without this you may still have on your boat)

thanks
 
#15 ·
The deck to hull is screwed thru first the aluminium toe rail then the deck and a flange in the hull. Next the hull is not cored, it's solid glass. I don't know what the deck is cored with, but I don't have any soft spots after 23 years. Original cost was about $89,000 stripped. I have a Perkins 50 that will push it at 8 knts on a moderate sea. It has good engine access in comparison to a lot of other boats. Lastly I have repaired blisters but they were very shallow and easy to fix.
 
#17 ·
Small world!~ One of my workers had been looking for a sailboat for over a year and when he and his wife saw ours they bought one just like it in under 2 weeks. They are really happy on theirs also. Their hull number is #7 1985. They bought it in Ft Lauderdale. The boat is selling for more now than when it was new. Talk about resale value.
 
#18 ·
45' GULFSTAR HIRSCH for sale in Ferdinado Beach

Everyone agrees that the 45' Gulfstar Hirsch is a reputable vessel. But Beware of the one for sale in Ferdinado Beach, Florida. I hope this will save you a trip out there, as many others have wasted their time and money... The boat has major problems that are not mentioned in the for sale ads or on the phone by the sellers. We have discovered the following: no title, bent prop shaft, damaged rudder, bearing housing is missing, motor is out of boat and owner claims he has pieces, many longitudial cracks in hull, very very poor fiberglass repair throughout the boat, bad welds on railing, railing needs to be replaced, needs complete sand and paint job, many missing and damaged rub rail pieces, no sails, bent jib, all electrical needs to be replaced, rotted floor in cabin sole, navigation seat missing, oily water in bilge, broken frig, electrical panel is made out of an plastic bowl, submerged in hurricane, very large cracks in shower floors, and much more... They paid only $3000 for the boat at an auction in mississippi, and we believe they may have stripped some of the pieces. Additionally, the owners were very hard to communicate with. They demanded their full payoff without a title. We disagreed, and wized up that something just did not sit right with them. We dreamed of fixing her up and sailing into the sunset, but that dream was halted by difficult sellers.
 
#19 ·
Just Joined

Just discovered the forum on a Google search. We have lived aboard since Jan. 2006. Hull 35 and the last one.
We have gone from Florida to Maine to Georgetown to Florida, all on different cruises. Hope for the Turks & Caicos this year. Great boat. Both of us have had several faster boats, but we have racked up several 178 mile 24 hour passages.
Just finishing 4 years of refit/rebuild. Very, very happy with the construction, performance, and livability of the boat. Saw a post by someone who has the line drawings. I would love to buy them from you or trade for electrical schematic (availabe from the Gulfstar owners club) I have rewired the boat, so they are of no use to me now.
Don Mack
 
#30 ·
Just Joined

Just discovered the forum on a Google search. We have lived aboard since Jan. 2006. Hull 35 and the last one.
We have gone from Florida to Maine to Georgetown to Florida, all on different cruises. Hope for the Turks & Caicos this year. Great boat. Both of us have had several faster boats, but we have racked up several 178 mile 24 hour passages.
Just finishing 4 years of refit/rebuild. Very, very happy with the construction, performance, and livability of the boat. Saw a post by someone who has the line drawings. I would love to buy them from you or trade for electrical schematic (availabe from the Gulfstar owners club) I have rewired the boat, so they are of no use to me now.
Don Mack
Greeting- Kinda late to the Gulfstar 45 party. I have GS45 hull number 29. Trying to install an autopilot but finding a lack of clearance at the rudder post. Do you have any thoughts on how to do this or ("wishful thinking") photos?
 
#21 ·
Non-opening port replacement

We replaced our non-opening ports with lexan and used a Dow adhesive. We had the trim rings made out of lexan also and then painted them with Interlux gray so that they resemble the worn out and cracked original metal ones. Looks good and no more leaks (after 3 1/2 years)!
 
#25 ·
Lexan Portlights

Yes, the plastics guy is in Florida! The business is called Port Plastics and is located in Port Canaveral. We removed the old ports and he used them as a template. Worked well since it was not done in the rainy season. Good luck with your project.
 
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