Hey all. For decades I’ve always loved the idea of the Gulfstream because of the beam, but never actually been on one on the water. Only sitting on a rack at the dealer a long, long time ago. The cabin layout is very non-standard compared to every other sub-33’ walkaround or express style boat, but remains unchanged for what, 35+ years? How do you owners feel about the functionality of the cabin for kids day trip naps and occasional 2 person overnight compared to the traditional full width v-berth of say a Journey or Sailfish layout?
The long version: I was a kid in the 90s and remember frequenting the Grady dealer when my dad was upgrading our family boat from the 1980s 20 Overnighter we had. Looked at Gulfstream, Journey, Sailfish, and Marlin way back then. He wanted a Sailfish but was never able to come to terms with the dealer on price, so we ended up with a Mako 293. Now in my 30s and have had a plethora of boats of my own, of those some cabin models including a Pursuit 2350, Albemarle 24, SeaCraft 23, and Shamrock 20. But I still have the soft spot for the Gulfstream. My wife and I overnighted on the 2350 a few times pre-kids. It was plenty for the 2 of us and a dog in the floor at the end of the bunk. Our top hatch and cabin door cracked had great air flow. I also remember the mid-berth of the 293 being useless due to no air flow under there without AC on the boat. And in 10 years of that boat can’t recall anyone ever once using the head. We now have 2 young kids of our own. I want to be able to overnight again in the future, but don’t want to own and tow a boat as big as a Marlin to sleep 2 adults and 2 kids. Idealistic me is thinking it would be feasible on a gulfstream given the beam and cockpit area to do kids in the cabin, wife and I on the deck with a mosquito net tent and extended shade off the top. What do you think, doable or 2 adults and 2 kids only doable on a Sailfish or larger?
The long version: I was a kid in the 90s and remember frequenting the Grady dealer when my dad was upgrading our family boat from the 1980s 20 Overnighter we had. Looked at Gulfstream, Journey, Sailfish, and Marlin way back then. He wanted a Sailfish but was never able to come to terms with the dealer on price, so we ended up with a Mako 293. Now in my 30s and have had a plethora of boats of my own, of those some cabin models including a Pursuit 2350, Albemarle 24, SeaCraft 23, and Shamrock 20. But I still have the soft spot for the Gulfstream. My wife and I overnighted on the 2350 a few times pre-kids. It was plenty for the 2 of us and a dog in the floor at the end of the bunk. Our top hatch and cabin door cracked had great air flow. I also remember the mid-berth of the 293 being useless due to no air flow under there without AC on the boat. And in 10 years of that boat can’t recall anyone ever once using the head. We now have 2 young kids of our own. I want to be able to overnight again in the future, but don’t want to own and tow a boat as big as a Marlin to sleep 2 adults and 2 kids. Idealistic me is thinking it would be feasible on a gulfstream given the beam and cockpit area to do kids in the cabin, wife and I on the deck with a mosquito net tent and extended shade off the top. What do you think, doable or 2 adults and 2 kids only doable on a Sailfish or larger?
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