Westerly Konsort - good choice?

[Matt341]

Hi All,

We have just bought a Westerly Konsort, early 80's. We were planning on changing our Mirage 28 for something with more space for longer holidays on board but not quite as soon as we have done. We spotted the Konsort for sale with a local broker and she is in good condition, bit of varnishing and the deck needs a coat of interdeck but other than that she was just perfect. She has had all new headlining, new rigging, re upholstered, new nav instruments, re wired etc. And we feel she was very well priced so had to jump at the opportunity. Even though we have not yet sold our Mirage

I have spoken to a few friends who own or have owned a Konsort and they all love them. She is being dried out next weekend for us to inspect the hull but she has a fairly recent survey.

I have had a good look around the cabin and deck and all seems well. She has the original engine which is a Volvo penta md11c and has been serviced every year and has little hours but I expect it will need changing in the near future.

Is there anything in particular that needs to be checked? The keel boats all seem fine and the bilge is dry and as I said previously the headlinings have been replaced which I believe was a common westerly problem.

Many Thanks
Ian

 

[IanH]

I think that the Konsort is lovely but I have no experience of them so am only going on looks and what I've read and been told. I have PM'd you too.

Love to hear how you get on with her.

Another Ian

 

[voicilesrosbifs]

Replace the engine?

She has the original engine which is a Volvo penta md11c and has been serviced every year and has little hours but I expect it will need changing in the near future.

Why does the engine need to be changed? If it starts, stops, gives the power you need and has no particular bad habits it should be good for a few years yet.

 

[rhumlady]

Welcome to the world of Westerly. I have a 1980 Konsort which I am restoring as it was originally a home completed boat as a couple were. We sailed with to growing kids one who reached 6' 5" and still felt at home in the boat. Loads of space. Ask on the WOA discussion group and see what answers you get. Westerly-Owners@yahoogroups.com You will need to register to post.

 

[Matt341]

Thank you for the messages, as I said previously the engine seems in good condition and since I did the post I have had a marine engineer to go down the boat and he tested the engine, he was more than happy with the engine and said if it remained to be well cared for he doesnt see why it shouldnt go on for another 20 years. That was a massive re assurance.

We are now thinking of joining the Westerly Owners Association. Looks like there is plenty of info on there for Westerly owners. We have now made a list of all jobs that need doing to make her the "perfect boat", which to be honest isnt much, just cosmetic, rub the sadolin off the wood, new coat of Interdeck and new dodgers, sprayhood and a cockpit enclosure to provide some more space when staying onboard.

Will keep you all posted as to how we get on with her, meanwhile some more thoughts on the boat would be greatly appreciated.

Many Thanks
Ian

 

[catalina1]

Hi
I have a Konsort.
Just bought it last season.
Very pleased, lots of info on the Westerly owners site.
A huge boat for only 29ft
It suits my sailing requirements perfectly

 

[Matt341]

Thanks for that, the Konsort is only a tad bigger than the mirage but it has such a bigger beam, it makes a huge difference! And being a bilge keel makes it ideal for the Pembrokeshire waterway with a shallow draft. Our Mirage is a bilge and we were starting to think that we were going to have to go for a fin but were lucky to find that most Konsorts are a bilge also.

Ian

 

[alan_d]

Excellent choice in my opinion, but then I would say that, having made the same choice myself three years ago. (Mine is 28 years old and has the Bukh 20hp engine which I have no plans to replace.)

Alan

 

[awelch5]

I am considering getting a Konsort, and read in another post to look for these things, and a rough cost.

Have any Konsort owners out there had to have these done, or were they carried out before you purchased the boat?

New engine (£5k)
New standing rigging (£1k)
Keels removed and re-seated (£1.5k)
Osmosis treatment (£3.5k) (not _essential_ in many cases but affects price)
Headlining Replacing (£2k)

How different is the Fulmar to the Konsort? I know the Galley and Heads are larger.

Thanks
Andrew.

 

[MES]

My neighbour owns a Konsort - i was very impressed with it when i went on it a while back.

 

[alan_d]

My Konsort meets my needs very well - stable, undemanding boat for an "active pensioner", easy to single-hand, and with plenty of them around one can readily get information and advice.

Mine was built 1981. She has the original Bukh engine which has done just over 3000 hours and should be good for another 2000 (i.e. another 20 years).
No osmosis. Some headlining replacement carried out by previous owner and the saloon windows have been replaced. I have no knowledge of the keels being re-seated, and they do not require it at present. (Currently on a deep-water swinging mooring, but I know she spent some time in Poole in the past.)

All I have spent much money on since I bought her 4 years ago is an electric anchor windlass, new roller reefing for the Genoa and an Eberspacher (which works well). Some minor maintenance has been required e.g. replacing siezed gearchange cable and re-seating a stanchion.

 

[Matt341]

Hi Andrew,

We have now owned our Konsort for just under 10 months.

It was the best change we ever made and we are still amazed by the build quality and finish compared to previous boats we have owned.

We have a lot of receipts of work carried out by previous owners but just to name some of them -

New rigging in 2004, around £1,000
Epoxy hull in 2006, cant remember cost but can check if you want
Headlining replaced throughout, £3500 (think this was overpriced!!)
New upholstery in 2002, again I cant remember the cost off the top of my head
Gearbox rebuild in 2002, I think it was in the hundreds and not thousands but cant remember exactly how much.

Work that we have done in the 10 months of ownership -
Removed the gas fridge that was fitted by a previous owner and fitted a compressor fridge, around £300 I think.
Fitted pressurised water and a 20 litre calorifier for hot water, around £500 in total including the taps/shower/drain pump/fresh pump/calorifier and pipes.
New battery charger £200
New Sprayhood/dodgers and full cockpit enclosure, £3,000
Full engine service, £300
2 Coats of deck paint (done by myself), £60 for 3x tins of International deck paint.


When we bought her we were contemplating changing the engine for a new Beta. We had a quote for £6,000 fitted. However, we have absolutely no problems with the original Volvo. It started first time after winter lay up and has loads of power. Touch wood it will continue to run for many more years. We have had it serviced this year and it had the thumbs up with no problems. She has done around 2,500 hours from new.

Her sailing and sea handling is excellent and we have been caught out in some horrendous weather and now have complete confidence in the boat.

If we ever decide to change her for another boat it would most definitely be another Westerly.

Ian

 

[Cantata]

......We are now thinking of joining the Westerly Owners Association. Looks like there is plenty of info on there for Westerly owners. ....

I'd encourage you to join - if it's like the Moody Owners Assoc that I'm a member of, you'll find it an enormous help with maintenance and problem-solving.

 

[Matt341]

Yes we joined the WOA as soon as we bought the boat,

We are really glad we did, the year book and the other literatue is excellent and there is plenty of techincal advice available to members.

Ian

 

[awelch5]

Ian, Mat341,

Thanks for your detailed reply, it certainly seems like I need to set aside an amount for repairs in the 1st year.
There are a few on the market at the moment ranging from 20000 to 25000, whether they are worth that I guess depends on the state of them and what of the big jobs (engine, epoxy, rigging, e.t.c) have been done recently.
Do you know why your boat was epoxied, does this mean osmotic blisters - strip back and re-gel coat, or just sand and add another epoxy waterproofing layer?
I was surprised your sprayhood, cockpit enclosure cost so much, is that the going rate?
Have you ever been on a Fulmar?
I have yet to step onto either the Konsort or Fulmar, have sailed in Pentland and Vulcan, and been in a Centaur though.
Andrew.

 

[AlanRD]

Thanks for that, the Konsort is only a tad bigger than the mirage but it has such a bigger beam, it makes a huge difference! And being a bilge keel makes it ideal for the Pembrokeshire waterway with a shallow draft. Our Mirage is a bilge and we were starting to think that we were going to have to go for a fin but were lucky to find that most Konsorts are a bilge also.

Ian

The Konsort is a lovely boat, quite quick and good in a blow. I had one for eight years and the only major expense was osmosis treatment. The internal layout is now dated with a small heads and the non user friendly quarter berth, but at a push she can sleep seven.

She is really a 30 footer as the Westerly length does not include the rudder which is covered by an extended transom or a sugar scoop on more modern boats. One advantage of the transom hung rudder is you can change the bearings very quickly and easily if necessary. Another benefit is that marinas only charge for the 28'10" hull length.

I presume your reference to Sadolins is to the stain on the external teak. If so I would suggest you think twice before replacing it. The alternatives are to leave the teak in its natural state, teak oil or varnish. The first soon looks dull, the second soon looks horrible and the third is a constant maintenance problem. It is a personal choice but I would suggest trying a different coloured stain if you don't like what you have now. It can look better if taken back to the original teak before putting on new coats.

I hope you get as much pleasure from your Konsort as I did with mine.

 

[Matt341]

Hi Andrew,

Due to the age of most Konsorts now you could be lucky and find one that has had a lot of jobs that have already be done.

The epoxy was just a preventive measure, im not sure how it was done.

I think the enclosure/sprayhood/dodgers cost depends on your location, if we had been on the South Coast we would have been spoilt for choice and I think the complete package was around £2,400 with CJ marine (Chichester). We paid more due to the location and lack of competition hence the company could get away with charging more. If I had more confidence I could have bought the package from CJ and fitted it myself.

Yes I have been on a Fulmar and although very similar there are some differences. E.g. no transom hung rudder. I think there was also a separate seat for the chart table but cant be 100% sure. The galley is also a bit bigger with more work surface and the heads has space for a separate sink as opposed to the slide out sink which the Konsort has. Other than these things they are quite similar.

Hope this helps
Ian

 

[Matt341]

HI Alan,

The sadolin was on the exterior woodwork and wasn't in great condition, it was starting to chip off showing the teak beneath.

Last weekend I finished scraping off the last remains of the stuff and now plan to sand this weekend before applying a clear stain. A friend mentioned that Sadolin is now available in clear so I may use this. SWMBO says she prefers the teak in its natural grey colour but im not so sure. Im also going to look at Sikkens as I used this on our previous boat and found it fairly maintenance free once it had been applied.

I have found that the difference in beam on the Konsort has taken quite a bit of getting used to. Especially when approaching the marina berth, the fender on the corner of the finger has certainly been a useful addition!!

Best wishes
Ian

 

[nickd]

Congratulations

Hi
Congrats on your new boat. I purchased, my first cruiser, a Konsort "Southern Comfort" last August and she has been great to sail. I have had to do a lot of work on her, but I knew about most of it when I bought her. I have found her very easy to sail, she can be balanced to a very light tiller even in a blow, and so far very easy and predictable to handle in close quarters. Have just done Barmouth to Dublin and back in her and already planning the next big trip.
Good luck
Nick

 

[dulcibella]

The Konsort is a great boat. I've not owned one (went down the long keel track from Halmatic 30 to Rustler 36) but have a Konsort-owning friend with whom I do the shoal-draft stuff that my own boat couldn't manage. Not a boat I'd choose for the ocean but perfect for the Channel - spacious, handles nicely and sails quite well for a twin-keeler.