Review of Gulfstar 63 Sailcruiser

Basic specs.

The Gulfstar 63 Sailcruiser is a large sailboat designed by the maritime architect Richard C. Lazzara in the mid eighties. Only a few boats have been produced. The Gulfstar 63 Sailcruiser is built by the American yard Gulfstar Inc.

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Hull

The hull is made of fibreglass. Generally, a hull made of fibreglass requires only a minimum of maintenance during the sailing season.

Rig

The boat equipped with a masthead rig. The advantage of a masthead rig is its simplicity and the fact that a given sail area - compared with a fractional rig - can be carried lower and thus with less heeling moment.

Keel

The Gulfstar 63 Sailcruiser is equipped with a fin keel. A boat with a fin keel is more manoeuvrable but has less directional stability than a similar boat with a long keel.

The keel is made of lead. Compared with iron, lead has the advantage of being 44% heavier, which allows a smaller keel and hence less water resistance and higher speed.

The boat can only enter major marinas as the draft is about 2.08 - 2.18 meter (6.82 - 7.12 ft) dependent on the load. See immersion rate below.

Sailing characteristics

This section covers widely used rules of thumb to describe the sailing characteristics. Please note that even though the calculations are correct, the interpretation of the results might not be valid for extreme boats.

Stability and Safety

What is Capsize Screening Formula (CSF)?

The capsize screening value for Gulfstar 63 Sailcruiser is 1.58, indicating that this boat could - if evaluated by this formula alone - be accepted to participate in ocean races.

Theoretical Maximum Hull Speed

What is Theoretical Maximum Hull Speed?

The theoretical maximal speed of a displacement boat of this length is 9.6 knots. The term "Theoretical Maximum Hull Speed" is widely used even though a boat can sail faster. The term shall be interpreted as above the theoretical speed a great additional power is necessary for a small gain in speed.

Immersion rate

The immersion rate is defined as the weight required to sink the boat a certain level. The immersion rate for Gulfstar 63 Sailcruiser is about 518 kg/cm, alternatively 2903 lbs/inch.
Meaning: if you load 518 kg cargo on the boat then it will sink 1 cm. Alternatively, if you load 2903 lbs cargo on the boat it will sink 1 inch.

Sailing statistics

This section is statistical comparison with similar boats of the same category. The basis of the following statistical computations is our unique database with more than 26,000 different boat types and 350,000 data points.

L/B (Length Beam Ratio)

What is L/B (Length Beam Ratio)?

The l/b ratio for Gulfstar 63 Sailcruiser is 3.88.

SA/D (Sail Area Displacement ratio)

What is SA/D (Sail Area Displacement ratio)?

The SA/D for Gulfstar 63 Sailcruiser with ISO 8666 reference sail is 13.6, with a 135% genua the SA/D is 16.0.

Over- / underrigged

Sorry, we do not have sufficient statistical information available for this boat to provide a significant reliable analysis.

Maintenance

Bottom Paint

When buying anti-fouling bottom paint, it's nice to know how much to buy. The surface of the wet bottom is about 83m² (893 ft²).
Based on this, your favourite maritime shop can tell you the quantity you need.

Note: If you use a paint roller you will need more paint than if you use a paintbrush.

Rig

Dimensions of sail for masthead rig.

Are your sails worn out? You might find your next sail here: Sails for Sale

If you need to renew parts of your running rig and is not quite sure of the dimensions, you may find the estimates computed below useful.

**Guiding dimensions of running rig**
Usage	Length		Diameter
Mainsail halyard	45.7 m	(149.9 feet)	14 mm	(0.55 inch)
Jib/genoa halyard	45.7 m	(149.9 feet)	14 mm	(0.55 inch)
Spinnaker halyard	45.7 m	(149.9 feet)	14 mm	(0.55 inch)
Jib sheet	19.1 m	(62.8 feet)	16 mm	(5/8 inch)
Genoa sheet	19.1 m	(62.8 feet)	16 mm	(5/8 inch)
Mainsheet	47.9 m	(157.1 feet)	16 mm	(5/8 inch)
Spinnaker sheet	42.1 m	(138.2 feet)	16 mm	(5/8 inch)
Cunningham	7.6 m	(25.0 feet)	14 mm	(0.55 inch)
Kickingstrap	15.2 m	(50.0 feet)	14 mm	(0.55 inch)
Clew-outhaul	15.2 m	(50.0 feet)	14 mm	(0.55 inch)

Boat owner's ideas

This section shown boat owner's changes, improvements, etc. Here you might find inspiration for your boat.

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Finally

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If you have any comments to the review, improvement suggestions, or the like, feel free to contact us. Criticism helps us to improve.

References

[Ref 1]: ISO 8666 Small craft — Principal data.
[Ref 3]: ISO 12215-5 Small craft — Hull construction and scantlings.