Gulets for Sale

Gulet

Sails are rarely hoisted these days, and hardly any maneuver works without the engine. Yet gulets are popular less for their sailing qualities than for their role as important keepers of tradition – and not just in Turkey.

What is a gulet?

Gulets are sturdy, broad-bellied sailing ships or boats built to carry cargo and/or passengers, and they are found almost exclusively off the Turkish coast. Although gulets look back on a tradition stretching over thousands of years as cargo sailers in the southern Mediterranean, today they are used almost exclusively for tourist trips. Because their sailing performance is rather suboptimal, the sails on a gulet are usually set for decoration only.

Barely changed over the centuries

These boats and ships, measuring roughly 9 to 35 m in length, were and still are built mainly from wood, although steel or modern composites such as GRP are occasionally used for the hull. From antiquity to the present day, these traditional Turkish boats have been built primarily in the Turkish towns of Bodrum, Marmaris and Fethiye. The lines and the shape of the boats have changed only slightly over the centuries, but today almost only Bermuda rigs are used.

Important for tourism

Gulets no longer serve as cargo sailers, which makes them all the more important for tourism in Turkey's coastal regions. During the season they carry thousands of people every day to the most beautiful beaches and anchorages, which are often hard to reach by land, or simply cruise along the coast.
Accordingly, gulets are mostly offered as used boats by tourism agencies and day-trip operators and continue to be used for the same or a similar purpose.
Occasionally, gulets are also converted into motorsailers for private use. The interior of these traditional wooden ships is unanimously described as cozy and shipshape.