Is Westerly Konsort Duo suitable for blue water sailing?

Without wishing to be unpleasant, the question is really are you suitable. It all depends on which bits of blue water you have in mind. A Konsort Duo would be deeply unsuitable (and probably end up deep underwater) if you tried a southern ocean passage.

Even a standard non-Duo Konsort would be in the wrong place there, let alone one with huge vulnerable windows. Even the ultra tough and determined Chay Blyth rapidly realised that his loaned 30 ft bilgekeeler "Dytiscus" was the wrong boat for the Southern Ocean. This was a Kingfisher 30, reasonably comparable to a standard Konsort.

On the other hand there are plenty of long-distance passages that a Konsort Duo would probably be OK for at the right time of year, as long as you were not unlucky with the weather.

I don't dislike the boat: for some it is ideal, and the other very wet and windy day walked past one on a marina pontoon and thought ".... I can see the attraction".
 
Transom hung rudder, large windows, that wouldn't be my first choice but if that's what you have, picking a weather window to cross Biscay is reasonable, thougth you can get some challenging waves entering ports along the N Spanish and W Portuguese coasts.
Where were you thinking of going?
 
I consider Duos to be massively overpriced; You can get a Beneteau Evasion 34 for much the same price as a Duo and it's a vastly more competent blue water boat in the same 'northern latitudes' mould.

I still wouldn't trust it in the Southern Ocean without stormboards and a whole raft of other mods, but the same would be true of any AWB.
 
jwilson said:
Even the ultra tough and determined Chay Blyth rapidly realised that his loaned 30 ft bilgekeeler "Dytiscus" was the wrong boat for the Southern Ocean. This was a Kingfisher 30, reasonably comparable to a standard Konsort.
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All true. Slightly more on point, the no less tough John Ridgeway retired his Westerly 30 bilge keeler in Brazil, having decided even earlier than Blyth that it wasn't up to the job. (Unlike Blyth, Ridgeway did at least have some sailing experience on which to base this.) Blyth actually got into the Indian Ocean (just) in the Observer RTW race, before retiring. I've always thought it didn't reflect well on Westerly that they thought their boat might suitable for such a trip.
 
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If Blue water sailing means crossing the Atlantic in average/good weather, then it will be fine. Can the boat sustain 45 knots of wind in storm conditions for 2,3, 4 days? perhaps not.
 
Interesting area, although I don't understand where the question comes from. Doesn't most blue water sailing involve distance deep-sea work with predominantly agreeable weather? Almost exactly the opposite to what the Konsort Duo was designed for, surely?

In the cabin there is just the one port-side sea-berth, though it might be crammed full of kit for a long-distance trip.

I always really liked the Konsort Duo - not the prettiest design, but amazingly adept at keeping her likeliest crew - a mature couple - comfortable in coastal waters at 50 degrees north. The other day I saw one up close on a pontoon and was very surprised at how much less awkward her proportions are in reality, relative to the way she looks in photographs. A dream-boat for me.

"Halcyon Yachts" who contributes here, delivered one in the last couple of years - may be worth asking him in a PM.
 
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An ordinary one of the fin keeled variety would be better from both sailing and accommodation points of view but wouldn't be many people's choice for blue water...
 
SAPurdie said:
I consider Duos to be massively overpriced.
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The average asking price for them has dropped by a good £10,000 over the last five years, I know, I've been watching them.

Interesting how their values hold up beside non-Duo Konsorts of the same age. The motor-sailer higher-cost/fewer-sales vicious circle is said to have prevented more being built, but now they're 30+ years old, the cosiness of the protected helm appears to make them more coveted (hence higher-priced) than non-wheelhouse Konsorts. Plenty of old yachts out there...but not many as snug as this.

Still seems a curious choice for long-distance or lower-latitude work, if that's what the OP meant by blue water.
 
CAPTAIN FANTASTIC said:
Can the boat sustain 45 knots of wind in storm conditions for 2,3, 4 days? perhaps not.
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Sorry if this is dumb - I ask only to advance my own knowledge.

Didn't we have winds of about that sort of speed a month ago?

(The newspapers seem to say we did: https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news...-down-trees-and-scaffolding-flooding-forecast)

I took a heck of a pounding against the pontoons that morning, and Westerly Consorts must've been subject to the same conditions. Surely it would be better to weather such storms at sea, where there's nothing to bang into?
 
Yes we did, I'd think you were lucky to get away with it; our clubs' boats on swinging chain topchains survived but as is often the case one with a rope mooring strop had it chafe through and was wrecked.

Not sure about the RN but the US Navy send their ships to sea if seriously bad weather is forecast.
 
Seajet said:
Not sure about the RN but the US Navy send their ships to sea if seriously bad weather is forecast.
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They probably would, but we can't afford it...

I have a friend who did national service on an aircraft carrier in the '50s. The port they were in was inadequate for such a big boat in bad weather so they went out into hurricane force winds. Waves were breaking green over the bow...

If you can't manage a Duo, there's a plain vanilla Konsort on the next mooring to Jissel with a very tidy GRP doghouse. I'm quite jealous.
 
pvb said:
Aren't most old Westerly yachts massively overpriced?
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Some Westerlies actually sell for quite a lot so, the purchaser's view must be they're worth it.

Whilst I see a few Longbows heading long distance and quite a few 33s, I don't remember having seen a Konsort doing it. Certainly wouldn't be my choice. Doubt the ballast ratio on a Duo is suitable for Ocean use and I wouldn't want the transom hung rudder.
 
KompetentKrew said:
Sorry if this is dumb - I ask only to advance my own knowledge.

Didn't we have winds of about that sort of speed a month ago?

(The newspapers seem to say we did: https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news...-down-trees-and-scaffolding-flooding-forecast)

I took a heck of a pounding against the pontoons that morning, and Westerly Consorts must've been subject to the same conditions. Surely it would be better to weather such storms at sea, where there's nothing to bang into?
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Force 9, which is severe gale with winds at 45 knots and gusts of 50-60 knots; the sea will be very rough with streaks of foam and rolling/breaking waves. At these conditions, you don't want to have a high windage boat with a big dog house and big windows like the Konsort Duo, you will be tossing around with very little control. Almost any boat can put up with these conditions at an anchorage or on the open sea, for a few hours. But being able to sustain a battering for days, would require a boat that has been designed for that purpose, including the rigging and accessories. Nowadays, we have good weather forecasts that help to avoid bad conditions and therefore able to take less suitable boats across oceans, however, if the boat is caught up in a severe gale, it's good to know that the boat can take it.
 
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