Gulets

What is a gulet?
A Gulet is a traditional two masted wooden fishing and cargo boat originating from the Turkish coast. These days they are built of either wood or iron, they can cruise under both motor and sails and are commonly termed 'Motorsailors'. Gulets are hand-crafted by specialist carpenter and ship builders who use long lasting wood for the construction.

These lastings woods are Teak , Mahogany and Iroko.

Teak : Teak trees grow in Muson and the wood is known for its durability in heavy weather conditions. Teak is a very valuable wood. it is expensive and is generally imported to Turkey. Boat builders use the teak mostly on the decks of the boat. The colour of the teak seems grey but it doesn't mean that its old, on the contrary the colour shows the quality of the product.

Mahogany : Mahogany originates from middle America and the west of india, but Mahogany trees also grow in Africa.Carpenters use the mahogany in the interior of gulets for cabins and hull design. its an elastic material that has many uses.

Iroko: Iroko is more expensive than both Teak and Mahogany. it is generally grown in Africa. iroko is a long lasting hard wood and is used on the exterior and the deck of a gulet.We see the use of iroko mostly in delux gulets and higher standards.

The importance of gulets is high in Turkey because of tourism. Gulet charters and gulet construction support many different job opportunities for local people and are a big supporter of the economy, bringing in a lot of foreign currency.

Gulets range in size from 17 m for an economical, basic build, through to 40+ m where you will find the luxury and VIP floating palaces. They carry between 6 and 32 people but size isn't always indicative of the number of guests that can be accommodated. Bigger vessels can sometimes have fewer but more spacious and luxurious cabins. Gulets have between 2 and 12 cabins, also they have seperate accommodation for crew.

Bodrum is traditionaly the major centre for the building of gulets but as the industry has grown building has expanded to many other sites. Bozburun , Marmaris , Fethiye and İstanbul all have facilities for the construction of gulets Gulets range in price from between 80,000 € - 4,000,000 € depending on size, build quality and facilities and accessories installed onboard.