Design and Construction
The 58 carries her beam well aft to a very broad transom, giving a length-to-beam ratio of 3.5 and a moderately beamy hull that pays dividends in interior volume and after-deck space. The after deck is very wide and home to a huge lazarette with an oversized flush deck hatch for access. Underwater, she has a modern shoal draft cruising fin with a ballast bulb and a long, bulb-tipped keel, inside which sits a centerboard that adds a lot of lift when sailing hard on the wind. With the centerboard up she draws 5 feet 8 inches, and with it down 11 feet 8 inches, a range that lets her skim into shallow anchorages yet stand up to her sail when offshore. Twin semi-balanced spade rudders solve the rudder area problem that comes with relatively shoal draft, and the deck itself is beautifully contoured, kept clear of gear, with flush hatches equipped with limber holes that drain away deck water.
Teak decks are wide and, notably, glued in place rather than screwed, a detail the builder cites as preventing the leaks that plague conventionally fastened decks. The cabin hatch lowers into a cavity behind the companionway stairs and can be rigged fully open, half open when at sea, or fully closed. A short bowsprit carries anchor rollers and a flush well in the foredeck houses the windlass; the stem-head fitting is massive and set up to carry two anchors at all times, with chain stowed in a watertight locker.
Rig and Handling
The 58 stands a 82-foot rig above the water on a slightly fractional fore triangle, with discontinuous upper and lower shrouds mounted quite far inboard so the side decks stay wide and unobstructed. Her Solent rig carries distinctive double headsails: a 100 percent Solent jib that sheets inside the side stays, and a working genoa on a long track just outboard of the cabintrunk, with short jib tracks at the mast for the staysail. Standard rig includes in-mast hydraulic furling and outhaul for the main and hydraulic furling for the genoa powered by the Lewmar Commander system, while in-boom furling and carbon spars are available options. A hydraulic vang and backstay — the latter manually operated — complete the picture, and all lines lead aft to the helms so the cockpit remains uncluttered.
On the water, test sailors found her able to sail with the genoa at about 32 degrees to the apparent wind in 10 knots of breeze, and with the Solent jib she trimmed to about 28 degrees apparent, tacking in well under 90 degrees of true wind angle. Cracking off, she reached seven knots in moderate breeze under genoa and later accelerated to 10 knots on a broad reach and held there. The sail area-to-displacement ratio is 19.27 with a 130% genoa and 16.92 with a 100% jib, figures consistent with a lively cruiser rather than a sluggish one.
Accommodations
Below, the raised deck saloon yields a huge, bright saloon with big windows in the cabintrunk and two large hull ports, plus ample overhead hatches and the large vertical tinted hull windows that define her exterior look. The dinette is to port with a table that folds out across the saloon to include the starboard settee; with two portable chairs, eight can dine below, while six fit comfortably at the huge folding teak cockpit table finished with a flawless varnish job. A proper chart table sits down one step to starboard with a bank of bookshelves above and a row of three fixed hull ports.
The master cabin aft is large even for a 58-footer, owing partly to the beam carried well aft, with a walk-around double berth, settees flanking it, a full vanity to starboard, and a head with a large separate shower stall — though that shower stall intrudes into the snug cabin to starboard of the engine room, making that space tight whether fitted with a single berth or stacked singles. The galley lies in the passageway aft, with a five-burner stove, twin sinks, microwave, large front-loading refrigerator-freezer, and Corian counters with low bulwarks. Forward, a small stateroom with stacked single berths to port and a head to starboard precede a forward stateroom with a centerline double and a huge hanging locker; testers found the forward double a fine guest cabin with plenty of light. Throughout, the interior is bright oak paneling and trim with all-LED, partly dimmable lighting.
Known Issues
The aft cabin shower stall intrudes into the adjacent snug cabin space, leaving that cabin pretty tight. This is a consequence of packing a separate stall shower into the owner's suite of a beamy aft-cabin layout. The glued teak decks and watertight chain locker are presented as solutions to common cruising-boat leakage paths rather than as repairs to prior problems.
The Verdict
The Gunfleet 58 is a thoughtfully modern world cruiser that trades a little snugness in one secondary cabin for a luminous, voluminous owner's layout and a shoal-or-deep draft range that broadens her cruising ground. Her hydraulic Solent rig and led-aft lines make her manageable by a short crew, and her construction details — glued teak, flush draining hatches, watertight chain stowage — show a builder intent on avoiding the usual water ingress complaints.
Pros
- Centerboard gives 5'8" shoal draft or 11'8" deep draft
- Bright, large saloon and aft cabin from raised deck saloon and beam carried aft
- Hydraulic furling rig with all lines led aft for short-handed handling
- Glued teak decks and watertight chain locker address common leak paths
Cons
- Snug cabin beside the aft stateroom is tight due to shower stall intrusion
