No wonder Westerly folded

30boat

30boat

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I love my Fulmar dearly but I'm constantly coming across examples of shoddy workmanship.The latest one was today when I noticed that of the eleven bolts two have fiberglass plates under the nuts.All the others are 5mm stainless.It is obvious that they ran out of stainless for the washers and used what was handy.I'm probably lucky it was fiberglass,imagine they had some cardboard lying around...
The keel is still solidly in place but that doesn't make it right.
And there's more,like furniture glassed under fittings(stanchion base) a mast post that wasn't cut straight on top(had to remove the mast and rebuild), ridiculous puny floors that broke as soon as the boat was laid on the keel,etc ,etc.
Still it's a great boat and everytime I'm out there I forget all that.
 
It wasn't just Westerly. There were loads of grp boats being made in the 60's - 80's. I've just replaced the mast beam on my boat - the original was made up from bits of ply nailed together (with steel nails) and laminated in place with 2 layers of grp. It was probably strong enough when new but almost designed to fail. Stanchion bolts and shroud U bolts have all been glassed over on the inside, with cabin furniture glassed in over the top making them inaccessible, ridiculous aluminium window frames that leak and corrode (what's wrong with bronze portlights?) and iroko handrails that are almost impossible to remove for re-varnishing. And don't get me started on that horrible foam-backed vinyl lining material.
You're right - if they didn't sail it wouldn't really be worth it. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif
 
Like anything they were built to a price. However they are 20 - 30 years old now and still going. What will this years boats be like in 30 years?
 
Hi 30boat!

Are you trying to keep me awake worrying tonight or summing!!! /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

I assume you are referring to your keel bolts and if so, find that very alarming. I checked my boat's keel bolts very thoroughly during her major refit a couple of years ago and found all the keel washers were damned great chunks of stainless steel plate. Certainly no fibreglass.

Similarly, I don't recognise the other problems you seem to have, especially the floors which, at least on my boat, look like the day they where fitted. Don't know about the stanchion or mast support elements 'cos have never had a problem, but I'm glad you got yours all sorted out.

I wonder if the fact that you have Fulmar No 1 has anything to do with it. There were keel security problems in the early boats as you probably know, and these were recalled and beefed up by Westerly shortly after the problem was discovered. But IIRC that was to do with what was called the 'egg crate' hull reinforcing, not bolts.

I have a friend who bought the first Oyster Heritage back in 1984. It always leaked and had other irritating problems which he gradually dealt with, but I think I'm right in saying that between his boat and hull number three, there were dozens of mods made by Oyster. Most were very minor it's true, but it does seem to indicate that, at least in those days, and even on 'quality' boats, not all the design/construction problems were sorted from day one. /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif

Anyway, just like you, we wouldn't swap our Fulmar for any other boat. She's taken us safely over 47000 miles including to the Med. and Caribbean and that's more than good enough for us.
Very glad you think the world of yours too! /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif
 
Hi jerryat

Sorry about that,didn't mean to upset you. You're right,these are probably boat nº1 issues.But I would think that it has also do with the way they built their boats in general at the time .I can't understand how they could have keel problems to begin with.I'm no boat builder but I did a better job than them when I rebuilt the keel floors.They'd been at it for years and should know better.
But as you say these are fantastic boats that will go anywere and I can't think of another one I would swap it for.
 
I wonder how many people consider these sort of problems when threads appear on the forum berating the likes of Baveria quality?

It's my understanding that the build quality of Westerly was something of a rollercoaster, depending on the fortunes of the company at the time.
 
I think Westerly's problem was that they build quality boats but wanted to be a volume producer. The reality was the kind opf boats they were making could never be built for a Benetaeu price, as a result they got stuck in the middle neither the volume nor the profit
 
I used to be friends with someone who was 'very close' to Westerly in their final years. More money went into the pockets of the directors than went into production (apparently), hence the OP findings of bodged production on his boat. As I already said, depending on when you bought your boat during Westerlys turbulent life dictated how properly it was built.

If the profit had been put into developing the product, to compete with what was ariving from across the channel, then Westerly may well be still in production today.
 
[ QUOTE ]
Hi jerryat

Sorry about that,didn't mean to upset you. You're right,these are probably boat nº1 issues.But I would think that it has also do with the way they built their boats in general at the time .I can't understand how they could have keel problems to begin with.I'm no boat builder but I did a better job than them when I rebuilt the keel floors.They'd been at it for years and should know better.
But as you say these are fantastic boats that will go anywere and I can't think of another one I would swap it for.

[/ QUOTE ]

I had a major problem with my keel floors, and last winter had to remove cabin sole and rip everything out inc the compression post, and floors, then epoxy laminate the hull and fit new beefed up floors, all to stop the keel buckling and flexing the hull.
Are you sure your boat wasent a home completion like mine?
My hull is now stronger than any Hummingbird has ever been, as the old floors were 1/2" ply only tabbed to the hull and most of them had come away, was able to pull them out by hand, the new floors are 35mm thick and completly gkassed in with epoxy and biaxial cloth.
Definatly agree, some of the shodiest work can be found on some boats.
http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k225/sturgen/Img_0458450x600.jpg
http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k225/sturgen/IMG_0552-1.jpg
Second pic showing some of the new floors in and the compression post back in place.
 
You can hear similar tales about Lotus Cars hence the acronym ( Lots Of Trouble Usually Serious). Their history is possibly an even steeper roller coaster than Westerly and build quality did suffer during the down days, but when challenged about the unreliability (the current models are much better) the owners will always say " Yes, but when it's going properly. it's wonderful."

I have a Westerly Storm which is as tough as old boots. Having seen the thickness of the layup I reckon the company went bust from using too much GRP! l
 
My wife Jill gashed her finger on a protruding lump of fibreglass, inside a locker on a Moody at the London Boat Show a few years ago. Very few boats, or any other large product, are made without some sort of imperfection.
 
Yes the boat was factory completed.I also rebuilt the bottom of mine with epoxy and twice as many(and thicker) floors.It's much,much stronger now.The fact that the boat has survived so far means it is well enough built,even overbuilt in some areas.I'll have to live with it's little niggles and keep on fixing them.
 
[ QUOTE ]
I used to be friends with someone who was 'very close' to Westerly in their final years. More money went into the pockets of the directors than went into production (apparently), hence the OP findings of bodged production on his boat. As I already said, depending on when you bought your boat during Westerlys turbulent life dictated how properly it was built.

If the profit had been put into developing the product, to compete with what was ariving from across the channel, then Westerly may well be still in production today.

[/ QUOTE ]
I bought two of the later brand new Westerly's a '33 in 1997 and a '37 - one of the very last yachts to be factory completed in 2000, just before Westerly folded.

Both were absolutely superb yachts and our 2000 Ocean 37 is almost as good today as the day we bought her. In 8 seasons sailing we have done over 12,000 trouble free miles - absolutely no signs of bodged production to be seen.
Its difficult to see how the build of these later yachts could be bettered. The quality of the joinery knocks spots of most production boats and IMHO was far better than any other boat of the same size. ie Halberg

Fittings were all of the highest quality and spec, for instance the rigging on our 37 is at least twice the diameter of that on a similar sized Bavaria and the stainless shroud plates below decks are a work of engineering art.

You can argue that the interior design is dated by modern standards, but for us all weather performance and seakindliness were more important than a vast saloon and heads.

Whatever the reason they folded is was nothing to do with the quality of the yachts they built, they were streets ahead of what was coming across the channel; unfortunately quality and craftsmanship didn't come cheap the selling price was almost twice as much as a mass produced factory boat.
 
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