Westerly 33 Ketch Refit Costs

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SonicArmin

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Hello, after lengthy search I’m zooming in on a Westerly 33 ketch. She is in good shape overall, relatively new engine, new headlining, good inventory, well taken care of. The only issues are a rather old standing rigging and running rigging towards the end of its useful life. This will be my first boat, so I have a few questions you old foxes will find pretty basic, I guess:
1. How much should I budget to completely replace both?
2. Can I replace the running rigging myself? I’m mostly concerned about the halyards running inside the masts. Can I pull the new halyards up through the mast with the old one? Anything tricky I should prepare myself for? Special tools needed?
3. Any recommendations for reliable rigging companies in the eastern Mediterranean?
Thanks!
 
Think of a number and then double it! And then add some more. Best have a contingency fund put aside as well :rolleyes:

We're part way through a slow burn refit of a W33 ketch ourselves and the original budget has long gone!

Replacing the running rigging is easy. Stitch the new lines to the old end to end with whipping twine and a needle and gently pull through (don't rely on tape, it tends to be too stiff to go round the sheaves causing jams and is prone to coming apart and that's not a happy moment!)

Only tool needed for that job is a big needle (and a set of sailmakers needles is not expensive and well worth having) and some whipping twine (also an essential item in the boat inventory)

If the rigging is shot, chances are the sails are too. They're boats that sail very well with good sails but are unfogiving of tired baggy sails due to the relative lack of sail area (we've gone from sailing well to struggling to sail at all in no time at all due to all three sails going from being just about OK to blown out and virtually useless in a season)

As for budgets to replace the rigging, can't really help you there as what it would cost in Essex is likely to be quite different to what it will cost in the Med
 
You should get a quote from a local yard or specialist for the standing rigging. Don't forget you will probably need to take the masts down . Some riggers may be prepared to replace one piece at a time with mast up, but you probably want to check the rest of the stuff attached to the mast such as spreaders and nav lights and wind instrument.

I hope the W33 is cheap enough. In the UK they are probably around £20k now, but if you are buying in the Med it's a totally different game. people tend to take their boats to the Med for a few years fun and then wonder what to do - a long trip back to the UK or try and sell locally. In my view if you were paying a penny over £12k it would be too much.
 
1. No idea
2. As said, running rigging is easy. We replace our halyards with cheap rope every winter and replace in summer.
3. Kanonis yard on Aegina. Willem van Pelt, Aegina Yacht Services, works out of there, comes well recommended.
 
I would budget £2 - £2.5K for standing rigging but definitely shop around some respectable riggers. As others have said you will almost certainly have to drop the masts to replace the rigging. Running rigging is easy to replace yourself and there are many online companies that will make up new halyards etc to your requirements. With running rigging worth pulling a spare line through and giving it a good wash to find out just what state it really is in.

Yoda
 
If you are going to replace the standing rigging - which will probably involve taking the mast down, it's a good idea to find out in advance if any mast-head electrics or similar need seeing to: such as the wind instrument mast head unit, radio aerial, lights and so on. It is much, much, easier to deal with these with the mast down.

I solidly second what Bru said about stitching the running rigging to any mousing lines, new lines, etc., rather than hoping for the best with knots and tape. I made that mistake, and spent two years with one halyard short (thankfully not an essential one) and a heap of loose string inside the mast, before I finally managed to sort it out. I'd also suggest that if you are going to use mousing line, use something fairly substantial (4 or 5mm diameter), as the thin blue string one sees sold as "mousing line" has a nasty tendency to slip down the sides of sheaves where it jams horribly; yes, another nasty that has happened to me.

Good luck! Join the Westerly Owners Association - they are a friendly and helpful bunch.
 
With my Westerly Fulmar I expected to spend £12,000 in renovations and improvements. Spending is now sitting at £23,500 and I am almost finished. So the advice of think of a budget and double it is correct. SonicArmin, your biggest problem will be distance from home and local language.
 
Rafiki said:
I hope the W33 is cheap enough. In the UK they are probably around £20k now, but if you are buying in the Med it's a totally different game. people tend to take their boats to the Med for a few years fun and then wonder what to do - a long trip back to the UK or try and sell locally. In my view if you were paying a penny over £12k it would be too much.
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I wish! If I could have acquired a W33 ketch for £12k in the Med I would have cos eveb with the cost of getting it back to the UK it would have been significantly less than we paid (and we got ours for a very sensible price). £20k would indeed now buy a W33 inthe UK but it would be one that needed at least another £10k spending on it (but the reality is you wouldn;t get your money back 'cos a really good one would be unlikely to fetch much over £25k to £27k - they're something of a niche market now I suspect 'cos ketches don't appeal to a lot of people. I wanted one for various reasons, not all of them entirely logical!!!)
 
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