Gulets are some of the most amazingly comfortable boats anywhere in the world. The word Gulet gave birth to the French “Golette” and the Spanish “Goleta”, the Italian Gulletta, and probably the English “Cutter”.
There has been some discussion among academics as to whose loanword it really is, but it’s really unimportant where the word originated; suffice to say that these beautifully designed wooden sailing ships were originally built milleniums ago by the diverse peoples who plied the Eastern Mediterranean coastlines trading their wares.
Today, the Bodrum Gulet is still a work of art, with hulls and decks made entirely of wood, except, of course for the mechanical and electrical bits that are state of the art. They have also evolved into “motor-sailers” as opposed to sailing vessels, so many Gulets have twin diesel engines that can propel them at about 8 to 12 knots. These days, they mainly sail down wind and definitely do not point well into the wind.
There is usually a spacious aft deck with a large table or tables where the guests eat their meals, There is usually a nice gathering space (good for cocktail hour) forward that is covered with an awning. Because the hulls and decks are made of wood, Gulets are amazingly cool inside even in the heat of the Mediterranean summer. Equally when it’s cooler outside, they will keep a nice toasty temperature inside.
The design of today’s Bodrum Gulet is straightforward. There is normally a huge master’s or owners cabin in the poop (aft) then a long corridor running down the center of the vessel with staterooms or cabins on each side. There are Gulets that can accommodate 6 or 8 passengers all the way up to 16 or 20 passengers.
Gulets can be rented by the cabin or you can rent the whole boat. Renting a whole boat is called chartering and there are many different flavors of legal charter contracts depending on the jurisdiction, the flag she’s running under, her registration and the charter destination.
American Yacht Company specializes in chartering Gulets all over the Eastern med. We know most of the good gulets and their crews as well as the different destinations and itineraries. We also have representation in Turkey and Greece to help make your charter experience the least stressful as possible. After all, you’re there to enjoy and not to worry about transportation, or other special requests that you may have upon arrival at your destination.
As an example of some of the really amazing Gulets available please visit our picture gallery and see the Gulet CLARISSAand the Gulet IRAKLIS L.
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