Designed by Richard C. Lazzara and built in Saint Petersburg, Florida, the 54-foot, ketch-rigged Sailcruiser was produced from 1985 to 1987. Just 23 were built, near the end of Gulfstar’s independent era; the company was sold to Viking Yachts in 1990.
Design and Construction
Lazzara’s hand is evident in the profile: a powerfully raked bow, a 15-foot 9-inch beam set slightly forward of amidships, and a sheer that angles inward toward a narrowish stern. With a beam-over-length ratio of 3.3, she is chubby but not extreme. The flush foredeck broadens forward, providing an easy place to stow a dinghy.
The computer-designed hull is solid fiberglass laid up with chopper guns, with hand-laminated stringers and floors. The decks are balsa-cored, with solid radii around hardware and the mast—a meaningful departure from the open deck cores of early Gulfstars. The hull-deck joint uses the standard raised-bulwark style.
Exterior brightwork is above average, including wide teak combings, a caprail, handrails, and four polished-chrome dorades. The cabintrunk rises high to accommodate deck-saloon windows, and a hard dodger shelters the main cockpit. Even so, the layered profile still evokes a wedding-cake look.
Rig and Handling
The Sailcruiser carries a balanced ketch rig with a low height of 55 feet above the water, ready for Intercoastal Waterway bridges. The keel-stepped mainmast has double spreaders and standard shrouds along the sidedecks. The single-spreader mizzen stands aft of the cockpit at the end of the cabintrunk. There are no inner forestays.
Genoa tracks run along the wide caprail atop the bulwark rim. One previewed boat had no traveler; instead, midboom and aft blocks coordinated with the halyard to manage the boom. Three large winches aft make singlehanding possible.
Owners report excellent sea-handling characteristics under both sail and power. Twin turbocharged diesels allow good motoring or motorsailing on one or both engines, while making docking and maneuvering easier than they would be with a single engine.
Accommodations
Below, light teak joinery defines the interior. Cambered corners, cabinetry, cabin doors, and mitered trim eliminate square edges, and there isn’t a speck of Formica. A contrasting teak-and-holly sole runs through the saloon. Headroom is excellent at more than seven feet, even in the starboard-side walkthrough alongside the galley.
Forward, the cabin has a centerline queen berth, with a head and separate stall shower aft to port. In the saloon, a U-shaped settee sits to starboard and swivel chairs to port.
The master stateroom aft has an aft-facing centerline queen berth. Its separate head and shower are to port; the shower steps down into the bilge and doubles as a tub. A small teak door opens from the stateroom into the aftmost cockpit.
Described as hot-tub-like, this aft cockpit has benches wrapping around its sides and stern. It’s reached from the high main cockpit through open, cutaway combings. There is no stern pulpit.
Known Issues
The extensive exterior teak comes at a price. Maintaining all that varnish is an enduring expense and shouldn’t be taken lightly.
More seriously, the stern-cockpit layout proves poor in rough offshore conditions, and the boat is not traditionally seaworthy—comfortable at the dock, but less so as a bluewater profile. The deck layout works best as a charter or entertainment platform for family, friends, and business associates rather than as a rough-weather passagemaker.
Engines, Refits, and Ownership
The twin turbocharged Yanmar diesels are reported as either 66 or 77 HP. They have good walk-in access through a door off the walkthrough, with additional access through a hatch in the raised saloon sole.
Given the boat’s size and the usefulness of easy close-quarters handling, a bow thruster is a worthwhile addition. With only 23 boats built, each example is a low-volume, late-era Gulfstar from the period when the builder’s craft had peaked.
The Verdict
The Gulfstar 54 Sailcruiser is a late-blooming statement from a builder that started as a bargain motorsailer shop and ended its sailboat era producing yachts worthy of comparison with America’s luxury marques. She rewards an owner who values fine joinery, generous space, and effortless twin-engine maneuvering more than offshore austerity.
Pros
- Light teak interior with cambered edges and no Formica—peak Gulfstar craft
- Low ketch rig clears ICW bridges; twin diesels ease docking
- Excellent headroom and a versatile aft-cockpit entertainment layout
- Only 23 built; a culmination of the marque’s quality evolution
Cons
- Varnish upkeep on the extensive teak brightwork is a lasting expense
- Aft-cockpit layout isn’t ideal in heavy seas; not a traditionally seaworthy hull profile
