boatbuildlog

Design

GT Cruiser 23

Designed by Jacques Mertens

A 23 ft 6 in river cruiser by Jacques Mertens of Bateau, inspired by the working river boats of northern Brazil and Guyana. The cabin has 6 ft 2 in headroom with a separate head, galley and two bunks. Beam is 8 ft 6 in, hull weight about 1,500 lb, power 25 to 150 hp. A fuller houseboat hull is the alternative version.

Stitch and glue with no jig: bottom panels are stitched, stringers and a mid frame dropped in, and the sides wrapped around. The study plan quotes only a short time for the bare hull; for the finished cruiser budget 400 to 800 hours. The medians below come from builders who logged this boat here.

What building a GT Cruiser 23 actually takes

Medians from the build logs kept on this site, not the designer’s estimate. Nobody has logged this boat here yet, so they are empty until the first builder does.

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Build logs
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Launched
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Median hours
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Median months

Those medians firm up as more people log this boat.

Builds of this boat

Nobody has logged a GT Cruiser 23 here yet.

If you are building one, yours becomes the reference: the page the next person building this boat finds when they search for it. One photo and one line is a valid first entry.

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Boats like this one

Same type, closest in length.

Design Plans from LOA Logs
Maia 24 Bateau 23′ 7″ (7.19 m) 0
MugWump 22 Devlin 23′ 7″ (7.19 m) 0
Quest Glen-L Marine 23′ 4″ (7.11 m) 0
North Haven 24 Devlin 23′ 10″ (7.26 m) 0
Carolina Sportfish 23 Bateau 23′ 2″ (7.06 m) 0
Harbormaster Glen-L Marine 23′ 2″ (7.06 m) 0