Journal
What is a gulet, and why does it matter
By Göze Konuralp Günal ·
The boat is not incidental to a blue cruise. It is the reason the coastline can be travelled the way it is.
A gulet is a wooden motorsailer, broad in the beam, built along the Aegean and Mediterranean coasts of Turkey. The shape comes from the sponge-diving boats of Bodrum, widened over decades until it became a cruising hull.
Why wood, still
Fibreglass is cheaper and lighter. Wood is quieter, cooler below deck in August, and it moves differently in a swell. The yards in Bodrum and Marmaris still build them by eye rather than from a mould.
