Gulfstar 39 Sailmaster?

[wduncan50]

OK my wife and I are making an offer on a Gulfstar 39 Sailmaster. After looking at several boats over 6 months and weighing the benefits of each we like this choice. The only worries are support and boat information for the GS39 both of which are a bit slim. I do know about the owners forums and 2 GS web sites.

Can any one tell me any reason to walk away from this boat? Any positive comments would also be appreciated.

[wduncan50]

Surely someone has experience with this boat. Any comments?

[bfdtpkt]

Gulfstars are capable boats, no experience on one but looked at a few while looking for my boat..... ended up getting an ENDEAVOUR which I believe are in the same "class" of boat....
best bet is just get a reputable surveyer lined up and drill him about various boats, good luck!

[camaraderie]

Do you know about the gulfstar mailing list...accessible here under the "resources" tab?
My own take is that it is a good looking, modestly performing coastal cruiser of standard production quality for the time period.

[camndon]

W-

We bought our GS 39 new in '81 in Puerto Rico and now sail her out of the Seattle area. I have almost only positive things to say about the design and build--but after 26 years, I can help you with most any question you might have, if you're still in the market.

Cam Foster
"Privateer II"

[wduncan50]

We are in the final steps of the purchase, I guess I will join the two GulfStar owners sites so I have access to more information.

What draft is your 39? The one we are buying was listed a 4'9" but at haul out it measured 5' 7".

[camndon]

W-

I'm embarrassed to say that I've never measured when hauled--will do it this spring. I've always assumed that it's a bit more than the 4'9" advertised--although you do see various numbers listed.

Still interested to know the details about your pending deal. Where will you be sailing?

For your info, there is a great document on 39's put together a couple of years ago by a couple who set out to buy one of the 60 or so that were built. She was able to either see or contact over 40 owners. They bought "Cricket", #58, and sail her out of Tampa. See the doc. on gulfstarownersclub.com site--click on "Fantastic GS 39 collection". There's another place to go for numerous comments on the boat (a couple of mine) if you Google Gulfstar 39 and click on "Boat Model--Gulfstar Sailboats".

Good luck,

Cam Foster

[wduncan50]

Thanks for the input, I believe I have seen about everything on the internet about this boat short of joining the other Gulfstar site. We will be sailing out of Halifax Harbor, Daytona Beach, FL for a while getting our skills like we want them and the boat set up, then we plan on cruising for a few years (until the money runs low). We will cruise Florida and up the east coast and over to the Bahamas. Hope to see you on the water.

[kvaavik]

Hi ... I can't help with the GS39, but I've owned a Gulfstar 37 for many years. All in all it's been a great boat. Assuming there is similarity between the 37 and 39, here's a few things we learned over the years:
- We did develop leaks into the cored deck through the bow cleats and stanchions. We used the West Systems approach, cleared out as much of the wet balsa as possible, and injected resin/filler. That stopped the leaks, until a few years later the next set of stanchions aft started leaking ... same drill.
- The boat (vintage 1977) had a pretty bad blistering problem by the early 1990's. We removed all the gelcoat and the outer layer of glass, ground out any visible blisters/wet spots, and again used the West System approach of a new epoxy barrier coat. The following year a handful of new blisters showed up when we scuff sanded the bottom paint ... we ground those, filled them and sealed with epoxy. Since then (10+ years), no blisters. It was a huge job ... if I had to do it over again I'd leave it to the boatyard.

Other than the above two issues, the only work on the boat has been "normal" maintenance. Let me know if I can be of any further help.

K