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As anyone with a Gulf 32 may know, the cabin doors leave a few things to be desired. For one, they are, in my opinion, rather ugly. The choice of a dark acrylic was maybe alright for the SoCal climate where they were made, but for those of us here in the less solar NW, the darkness is of no benefit and considerably diminished visibility from inside the boat out into the cockpit. The acrylic is held in place by being sandwiched into notches of wood that are part of the wooden frame. Not a bad design, but they leak readily if rain hits the doors. You could caulk it inside or out, but that looks bad if you aren't a magician with caulk. And the design of the wood looks like something out of an old western bar room. To my eye, it was always the most dated and out of place part of my boat.
Between the leaking, the look and a need to revarnish anyway, I decided to go ahead and upgrade my doors. I cut out the old acrylic, cutting right along the reinforcing rectangle of wood that faces the interior of the boat. With this cut out, I then drilled holes through the new, clear acrylic and the doors. I used 5/16" bolts. The acrylic is 3/8" thick. To keep water out, I laid a bead of silicone along the side of the acrylic that would be pressed up against the door. I overlapped the acrylic enough that water would not readily get in. I also rounded the edges of the acrylic with sandpaper.
After varnishing the doors with three good coats, I put it all together and they look great! No more leaks, no more dated looking doors. Unfortunately I had to have nuts on the back side of the bolts, which means when the doors are open, and you lean up against them, you definitely need a cushion between you and the door, but we did that anyway.
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| View of the inside part of door, showing bolt and nut pattern |
2 comments:
Your posts are great - you're very generous with your time to share all this. I'm looking at purchasing a Gulf 32 myself.
My question is...how do these boats really sail? I am in San Diego and we have light wind. Looking at the sail/displacement ratio I am assuming I'm going to be motoring a lot. Realistically, how much wind in required to have a decent day of actual sailing?
Thanks again!
Hello Raaf,
You should know that one of the greatest and most experienced Gulf 32 owners lives or lived in San Diego and owned a boat named Tsing Tao. He has sold it, but he made many trips to Baja in her and was really knowledgeable. To answer your question, she is stout and sea kindly and relatively under-canvased. I don't bother raising sail in less than 15 knots. But when it is blowing 25-35, we are still out sailing without putting the rails in the water while the flat bottomed masses are cowering in their slips. She is not a racer. Will not point like others. If you wish to sail mainly, and go fast, then don't get a Gulf 32. But if you wish to travel comfortably in all conditions most anywhere, they can be modified to suit that need beautifully. Unfortunately, they are often used as live aboards due to their light and space, and neglected as sailboats.
They are not a motor sailor. They sail better than many think. If there is 15-20 knots of wind I can keep up with most boats on the water just fine. And when it is ugly, and it does get ugly, you will be glad to be on a boat that though small by today's standards, is just as friendly as old Bill Garden could make her. I relate many stories here on this blog!
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