Westerly Cirrus 22 Opinions?

DangerousPirate

DangerousPirate

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Im on the boat hunt right now and found this one. Fin keel version.

Headlining is apparently coming down. It seems like a messy job but nothing too difficult or expensive. (Never done it though, teach me if Im wrong).

But what are your opinions? Sailing capabilities? Comfortable for longer stays? (Standing headroom, as far as I know. And even has a little dinette and heads)
 
Headlinings are both messy and difficult when it's just cloth onto the fibreglass. It's much easier if you're glueing the lining onto thin ply then fixing the result onto the cabin roof. The trick is to make a good template from stiff cardboard first.

Cosmetic improvements are relatively cheap (external painting apart) but you must ensure the rest of the boat is sound. A good engine and gearbox is essential unless it has an outboard. If so, a replacement outboard for a Cirrus will still not leave much change from £1k: a new one ~£1500. Replacing an inboard is going to be more expensive still as you may well need to replace the shaft and prop at the same time.

Instruments are also expensive although you can do a lot with just a HH GPS or a small plotter.
 
Concerto said:
Im Medway based if you want a second opinion if it is local and a Fulmar owner.
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Im also in medway. :) The boat is not though. Too bad. If I get her I definitely can toss a beer in your direction. (If youre interested).

But Ill have a look on the weekend. I wasnt so interested at first as shes only 22ft, but she seems very roomy for it on the inside. Standing headroom. Was very surprised when I looked into it. Originally aimed either for a sadler 25 or the westerly centaur. (But no such luck).
 
If you need any help on a Westerly, then PM me as I am very active in the Westerly Owners Association and have been organising the WOA Medway Rally.

Have you looked at the boats for sale on the WOA web site? Here is the link.
Craft for Sale –

I do know of a Centaur for sale in excellent condition based in Shotley, but it may be out of your budget. He has already bought a larger Westerly.
 
Hey wow. Thats great. I forgot to go through the association webpage to find offers.

I keep it in mind. (My budget is up to 2 grand for the moment). Thank you!
 
DangerousPirate said:
Somebody just sent me this link. Wow. That boat is amazing for that size.
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You'll be hard pressed to find such a nice one in the UK. That's not a standard configuration, and there's a lot of extra finishing.

You'll get more internal space with a W. Nomad or a W22 (and a double bed if you want one), lose a little on sailing, but gain again with bilge keels.

Horses for courses.
 
If you want one that sails well then the Cirrus is a good call compared to the Nomads and W22 which you might find frustrating to windward.
 
We had a Cirrus from new in 1971. We only sold it a couple of years later because the children refused to stop growing.

It was a fantastic little boat. It was incredibly steady under sail and at least as fast as other 22s of the time, such as the Hurley and yet had near standing room. I remember fretting because I couldn't pull away close-hailed from a larger boat that I thought I should beat and realised that I was trying too hard. I then just held the tiller still and let the boat do the work, when we soon left him behind. It has something of the feel of a larger boat.

Accomodation is not luxurious and our mattresses were on the thin side but stowage was good, including the cave behind the dinette that held both a push chair and a bag of golf clubs as well as a deflated Redcrest. Most of the mouldings are convex and felt more solid that other boats of the time which were imitation wooden boats.

I saw a Cirrus in France some years ago and invited myself on board to look at it and it was just as nice as I had remembered.
 
I ordered a new Cirrus about 45 years ago, but before it was delivered, I had a letter from Westerly saying they were no longer manufacturing it and offering me a Tiger, (the 25 foot version by the same designer), for the same money. Naturally I bit their hand off!

However, I previously had a trial sail in a Cirrus, which was actually owned by the guy who did all the Westerly demonstrations at the time, he was called "Dove Dixon". I was most impressed by the sailing qualities and the accommodation on such a relatively small boat.

The original engine was a Volvo MD1B, but no doubt these have been long replaced. Replacing the headlining is quite expensive if you have it done professionally, but people do do it themselves and Hawke House in Gosport do kits.

If the boat is sound, the engine OK, and the sails reasonable, I am sure you will not be dissapointed.
 
richardbrennan said:
However, I previously had a trial sail in a Cirrus, which was actually owned by the guy who did all the Westerly demonstrations at the time, he was called "Dove Dixon". I was most impressed by the sailing qualities and the accommodation on such a relatively small boat.
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I saw the Cirrus at the Earls Court boat show in Jan '71 but had no experience of sea cruising. Some time in the summer Westerly sent me a special autumn offer of a trial sail and discount. We went down to their marina somewhere near Portsmouth, with the two children in tow and a small team including Dove Dixon took us out into a sunny Solent. I was fully smit and ordered a boat on the spot for about £2300. Before going home we went round an enormous Westerly with a great corridor down the centre, sold as a Longbow at about three times the price.

The Tiger was essential the same but larger. It never really caught on, mainly I think because its performance was only slightly better than the Cirrus and more modern boats such as the Sadler 25 and Ecume de Mer came along.
 
johnalison said:
I saw the Cirrus at the Earls Court boat show in Jan '71 but had no experience of sea cruising. Some time in the summer Westerly sent me a special autumn offer of a trial sail and discount. We went down to their marina somewhere near Portsmouth, with the two children in tow and a small team including Dove Dixon took us out into a sunny Solent. I was fully smit and ordered a boat on the spot for about £2300. Before going home we went round an enormous Westerly with a great corridor down the centre, sold as a Longbow at about three times the price.

The Tiger was essential the same but larger. It never really caught on, mainly I think because its performance was only slightly better than the Cirrus and more modern boats such as the Sadler 25 and Ecume de Mer came along.
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I just learned that the Ecume de Mer was the boat of "the sailing frenchman" who I just watched a video of after it having been recomended to me somewhere.

So far I am happy and I think it will be a good purchase.

But I could get a sadler 25, eventually, but the bottom side needs painting, no one knows the state of the engine, its couple hundred quid more expensive, and definitely needs lifting as its on the dry obviously.

And its also slightly further away.
 
Simonpk said:
If you want one that sails well then the Cirrus is a good call compared to the Nomads and W22 which you might find frustrating to windward.
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"Sails well" is a relative term when everything goes at 4 knots. It'd say the bigger issue is where do you sail/moor it. Bilge keels became popular in the UK for a reason.

Come to think of which, I've never seen a Cirrus on mooring legs like I have a Hurley long keeler, has anyone done it? Do they sit well?

I like the Cirrus but you'd need to balance up the costs/convenience of a pontoon or swinging mooring. I also think the couple were wrong in their use of the term "gunkholing".

Clearly that's only "by American standards"! 3-1/2 foot draft and falling over on a low tide wouldn't be gunkholing by British standards.
 
convex said:
"Sails well" is a relative term when everything goes at 4 knots. It'd say the bigger issue is where do you sail/moor it. Bilge keels became popular in the UK for a reason.

Come to think of which, I've never seen a Cirrus on mooring legs like I have a Hurley long keeler, has anyone done it? Do they sit well?

I like the Cirrus but you'd need to balance up the costs/convenience of a pontoon or swinging mooring. I also think the couple were wrong in their use of the term "gunkholing".

Clearly that's only "by American standards"! 3-1/2 foot draft and falling over on a low tide wouldn't be gunkholing by British standards.
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Drying out wouldn't be ideal but the Cirrus is quite capable of dealing with it. However, it is for the OP to decide what keel he wants and the Cirrus would be much more satisfying than the Warwick equivalent. There are not many boats of that size with a solid door to the heads either, a clever arrangement that doubles as a bulkhead door.
 
I had a Cirrus in the late 70s and early 80s and often dried out on wooden legs in sandy harbours. the boat was vey stable, as the keel had a flat bottom which I guess was about 5 to 6 long. Used to have a fortnight dried out with young children aboard, with no worries about stability. If you don’t want legs, drying alongside a wall would also be fine

windward performance was far better than bilge keel boats of the same era

Early inboard engines included the 2 stroke Vire. this was light enough to take out of the boat by hand when it didn’t work. Unfortunately it was too light to use as an anchor!
 
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