New owner of Westerly Centaur needs tips & advices

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ALESSANDRA

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Hello everyone,

I have just passed my day skipper and I bought a Westerly Centaur.
I have no experience with boat.

I need advice on
what type of routine maintenace I should do,
things to check,
spare parts to hold on board
or whatever you think it should be useful for someone who is starting this journey should know!

Thank you so much
Alessandra
 
Congratulations on your new boat!

A Centaur will look after you well as you learn, and it is an excellent starter boat.

It is well worthwhile joining the Westerly Owners Association; I save more than the cost of membership on discounts for insurance and berthing alone each year and it is a fantastic resource about your boat. It has an excellent online forum.
There are a number of things to check out; bedding of keels, window seals and the age of the sails and rigging. Your surveyor should have looked at these?

The key thing about a Centaur is often the engine, as any that have not been re-engined are probably going to need to be soon (although there are numbers of Volvo MD11's still going strong). If it has not been done, then get a copy of the workshop handbook and get to know your engine well; doing your own repairs and servicing will save you a fortune.

Good luck and happy sailing!
 
Check the prop shaft couplings regularly. I don't know if they all have the same type of "cush" rubber-in-a-cup coupling, but they are prone to failure, with potentially disastrous consequences.
 
That's a big question! FWIW here are my thoughts. Are you completely new to sailing? If so then a lot of what you want to know will apply to all kinds of sailing boats and you will learn a lot just by reading the posts on the forum. If it is just a Centaur that you are interested in then the Westerly Owners Association web site has a lot of information on it. What you have to do to your boat depends a lot on what condition the boat is in. Did you have a survey? If so what did it say needed doing? Bear in mind that the newest Centaur will be over 30 years old and things break and wear out. If the boat has been well looked after then you may have little to do, if it has been neglected, like mine, you may still be working on it several years later. There will always be a lot of things to do, you need to prioritise between essential and desirable. Before you go on your first sail make sure that the engine has oil in it, that it starts, that cooling water comes out the back, that the sails go up and down (or in and out for roller headsail reefing), that there are no loose strands in your rigging wire and it is reasonably tight, that your VHF radio and depth sounder work (as a minimum) and probably most important that all your seacocks turn on and off and don't let the water in!
If you have the money then you can pay someone to look after your boat, if not then you have to learn fast! There are books on boat maintenance, Practical Boat Owner magazine has useful info as does this forum.
As for spares, perhaps the most important is a spare impeller for the engine and a spanner to take the cover off with! The rest will depend on what kind of sailing you do, if you are going round the world then you need 2 or more of everything, if you are going daysailing then probably very little.
You asked a very broad question and I am sure that other people will think that I have missed out important things. Good luck and enjoy your boat!
 
Doing your own basic engine servicing saves cash and gives you a good working knowledge of your diesel auxiliary. In truth little boat diesels are not too complex. If I can follow the basics, anyone can! However, I did take a basic diesel engine maintenance course and this was extremely helpful. I did a 2 day course with Tony Brooks, who is an excellent guide, as is his website, for both electrical & mechanical boat stuff:

http://www.tb-training.co.uk/

In posting the link, sad to say it looks as if Tony has now retired from the training courses, tho he is still keeping up the website, which is a great resource. However there are number of training establishments doing the one day RYA Diesel Maintenance course , so I would recommend one of those as an alternative, suitably located near to you. A Google should find them.

If you are really unsure of your ability to cope with any potential engine problems, you might want to consider joining Seastart, which is a sort of Marine AA.

One other thing you should consider is contactng your local RNLI to see if you can arrange a Sea Safety check of your boat. It is free and you will get an audit of your boats safety items and good advice of how you stand currently and what you could consider getting.

HTH

Welcome to the world of the WAFI:)

Rob Brown
 
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Buy at least three fuel filters. If your system has multiple filters buy three of each.

Learn how to change the filters and bleed the system. Now put the tools you used in a bag with the extra filters so if you have a problem with the fuel filters and this is the most common problem with diesels you can deal with it.

Now go sailing and enjy your boat.
 
richardsn9 said:
Congratulations on your new boat!

A Centaur will look after you well as you learn, and it is an excellent starter boat.

It is well worthwhile joining the Westerly Owners Association; I save more than the cost of membership on discounts for insurance and berthing alone each year and it is a fantastic resource about your boat. It has an excellent online forum.
There are a number of things to check out; bedding of keels, window seals and the age of the sails and rigging. Your surveyor should have looked at these?

The key thing about a Centaur is often the engine, as any that have not been re-engined are probably going to need to be soon (although there are numbers of Volvo MD11's still going strong). If it has not been done, then get a copy of the workshop handbook and get to know your engine well; doing your own repairs and servicing will save you a fortune.

Good luck and happy sailing!
Click to expand...

+1 for the Westerly Owners Association. For £15 per annum, vfm. Once a member, you get notified of all the rallys they organise for both the East & South Coast. Where do you keep your Centaur?
 
Was your boat surveyed prior to purchase? If so the survey will probably have a list of items you will need to address - it might be worthwhile calling your surveyor and asking the same question.

If you bought without survey then perhaps pay a surveyor to go through the boat with you, and again, talk over what you need to do in terms of maintenance.

Briefly - there are at least 4 separate systems you will need to be familiar with.

Rig, including mast and sails standing and running rigging.

Engine

Electrical system

Plumbing systems.

You need to be able to know your boat to the extent that if a friend comes aboard and asks..

a) What does this do
b) Where does this go
c) How does this work

..about any item on board, you should know the answer.

So, head down to your boat and whatever your gaze rests on, ask your self honestly whether you could explain the above, and if not, find out!

Btw I am still doing this myself.

One item (actually a collection of items) I would recommend - bungs. Each seacock should have it's own bung kept nearby, and preferably attached.

Cheers and enjoy!
 
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Apart from engine servicing, many "maintenance" issues are largely cosmetic - just like painting a house. The rig does need to be inspected annually, checking for signs of wear and tearas do all the chainplates, etc. Generally check that everything that should be fastened together still is. if you have a survey report, the most common format starts with a description of how the boat is built and goes through all the systems, so you can aquaint yourself with everything by going around the boat with the report and looking at everything and reading the explanation of its function and construction - so long as she got a clean bill of health, that should get you through this season.

Most people haul the boat out at least once a year and do any underwater tasks - change the anode, check the stern gear and rudder and scrape and antifoul. A lot of internal jobs are also much easier whilst ashore as access is easier, particularly when carting tools and parts from the car. it also gives you a chance to talk with owners of other boats who will usually be happy to talk about maintenance and projects and maybe lend a hand.

Rob.
 
The general advice about DIY is sound just attend to the bits which demand attention or look a bit dodgy. Working around the boat will improve your knowledge and expertise for when you may really need. Building up the tools as you go along is well worthwhile. If you find you need a 'special' or particular tool for a job then ensure you keep it where you know where it is.
 
As you learn about your boat and discover all the shortcomings and things you absolutely must do according to the different forum posts and websites, make a little list - which probably won't be so little and will probably bring on severe palpitations as you start to cost it. Now, most important, don't do anything to fix anything that ain't ackcherly broke until you've owned the boat for a year and are starting to know what works for you and what doesn't.

As an example, most Centaurs (maybe all) were sold with roller reefing on the mainsail. There are plenty of folk out there who think it's dire, and you won't go to windward with anything less than a full main; actually, I'm one of them, I fitted slab reefing to my old Snapdragon and it transformed her. However, if that's what you've got, you probably won't actually die if you stick with the old setup for a bit. Then you can decide if it's worth doing for you and think more clearly about what's involved. You could spend thousands on a new boom and all the kit or hundreds on a kit - or you could work out what you need and buy the bits and a few yards of string for a whole lot less. If you reckon you're going to need a new main in a year or two, you'd be better off just living with the present system and specifying reefing points on the new sail so they're there when you're ready to do the slab reefing.
 
Good chioce of boat.
My advice is to enjoy her on the water as much as you can over the summer and be prepared to do jobs over the winter. get into the habit - sail in summer and work on her in winter. if you try and get her perfect before you sail you wont enjoy her as much as you should. Make a note of jobs/things you could and should be doing on her
When you get to next winter tackle jobs in this order
First - things that protect her (eg anti freeze)
Second - routine maintenance
Third - improvements such as new nav gear
When it gets to spring stop doing jobs and enjoy her whenever the weather is suitable
cheers
Martin
 
No doubt you're keen to get afloat,so a starting point could be for you to carry out an inspection of all the gear that will be needed to leave your mooring.

Make up a checklist for joining the boat, including the unlocking of the hatch, and a second version for leaving the boat remembering the keys.!
Mine briefly is :
Car keys in pocket.
Unlock hatch
Load gear and provisions
Keys from locker to ignition switch,
Turn Battery 'On'
Switch on VHF
Insert Navigation cartridge to GPS and switch ON
Turn on raw water seacock to engine
Turn Stern gland greaser one turn
Start engine(check throttle in Neutral)
Remove sail cover.
Set ensign and or burgee
Single up mooring lines, pickup buoy ready.
Leave mooring under power

The return to mooring checklist:

Boathook ready for pickup.
Pick up mooring,secure fore and aft,fit tubing on mooring lines through fairleads.
Stow boathook below.
Stop engine.
Ignition key to locker
Battery switched off
Switch off VHF
Switch off GPS, return cartridge to locker
Check car keys in pocket
Engine seacock off
Check raw water filter and remove any weed from filter,replace cover.
Turn stern gland greaser one turn
Check all other seacocks particularly the heads and sink.
Turn off the gas bottle at the isolator and at the gas bottle.
Flake the sails and fit the sail cover.
Lower any ensigns or burgees and stow below
Collect all personal gear and litter and lock the boat.

If furling jib ensure the sail is tightly furled and secure with short lanyard to prevent unrolling in windy weather.

If moored fore and aft pay particular attention to the wind direction so that you do not get blown onto your mooring lines when released or picked up, tide strength and direction also important in this aspect as you may be caught by your propellor, rudder or keel(s) if unlucky.
Make this decision before releasing any mooring warp.

Most of the Westerly clan have similar arrangements/layouts and interchangeable gear, I own a Westerly Tiger(Fin Keel) similar in most respects to your Centaur, I think a bit faster though!

Good luck, there's plenty of technical as well as practical advice on these fora and almost as many varied opinions too, but all well intended.


ianat182
 
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Alessandra,

Welcome to the club ! The Westerly Owners Assoc is a good source of all things Westerly including the Centaur. If/when you decide to venture beyond London, please pm me and we'll arrange a meet at Ramsgate and discuss Centaurs -I have one - over a drink or two !!!


Good sailing


David
 
Does anybody know the height of a Westerly centaur from the bottom of the keels to the top of the cabin. A transport firm has asked me for these measurements.
 
Mike Smith said:
Does anybody know the height of a Westerly centaur from the bottom of the keels to the top of the cabin. A transport firm has asked me for these measurements.
Click to expand...

You might have done better to have started a new thread of your own rather than add your question to a 3 year old one.

However if no one can answer your question you can probably determine the height from the drawing on http://sailboatdata.com/viewrecord.asp?class_id=671 . I make it 2.55m.

Asking the question on the Westerly Owners Association forum might be a good idea.

I am surprised that a boat transport firm does not know the essential dimensions of such a popular boat
 
VicS said:
I am surprised that a boat transport firm does not know the essential dimensions of such a popular boat
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I'm not, given that road haulage for any significant distance- say £500 to £1000- probably represents 10% of the purchase price of the average centaur and will have done for several years now. Doubt many of today's Centaur buyers are trucking them about, especially as they are so common that buyers will have a choice of two or three wherever they happen to be and there is no need to add to their costs by trucking one from elsewhere. Bet the average boat haulier never sees them.
 
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