Westerly owners: information please

[Robin]

We spent ages deciding on the right boat for us and have been very happy with our fin keel Seahawk. Many posters on these forums seem to think that their own priorities should apply to everyone else. No doubt many would disagree with ours.

For us the principal features required, in order of priority, were:

1. A comfortable aft cabin with good headroom and a double berth, to minimise back problems.

2. A new engine with ample power, as the boat was expected to spend a large proportion of its time under power.

3. Enough space to accomodate occasional overnight guests with their own privacy.

4. A small and well sheltered cockpit with wheel steering.

5. Adequate sailing ability and sail handling.

6. Renewed fiitings including Origo cooker, freshwater flush vacuum heads plus holding tank, chartplotter and radar, revised electrical installation.

I consider our boat to be a motorsailer (as defined by Dag Pike).

Whizzy sailors will no doubt despise us but we're very happy with our boat. Without tripling the capital cost there's nothing else I'd rather have.

P.S. I have no idea how close to the wind the boat will sail. We simply use the engine to motorsail when needed.

Sorry if I was a bit scathing but I didn't pipe up initially on the other thread until someone else did first. As you rightly say the Seahawk fits your priorities very well and that was indeed the case also with the one that our friends had but which I criticised performance wise when compared to the Westerly 33 we then owned (and had for 14 years).

All boats are a compromise and no two people will have the same priorities, so inevitably we all end up favouring the boats we picked. This is what makes recommending one to someone else so difficult, because if you point out the less good bits, you offend someone and yet if you don't then it is not giving a true opinion as asked. Catch 22.

 

[Coaster]

Sorry if I was a bit scathing but I didn't pipe up initially on the other thread until someone else did first. As you rightly say the Seahawk fits your priorities very well and that was indeed the case also with the one that our friends had but which I criticised performance wise when compared to the Westerly 33 we then owned (and had for 14 years).

All boats are a compromise and no two people will have the same priorities, so inevitably we all end up favouring the boats we picked. This is what makes recommending one to someone else so difficult, because if you point out the less good bits, you offend someone and yet if you don't then it is not giving a true opinion as asked. Catch 22.

No apology required; we're all entitled to opinions and I value yours.

I entirely agree about people favouring the boats they've picked. I often read with amusement posts recommending certain boats when it's obvious they're ill suited to the OPs' requirements. Frequently recommendations are nothing more than people banging their own drums.

 

[Crabman]

Any one who bad mouths Westerleys do not know what they are talking about . Sailed a GK 29 offshore . I would rather be in that than some of the boats built today.

 

[Houleaux]

I have a Storm OOD and am delighted with her sailing performance.

The previous owner used to race her and had spent money where it mattered to get the best from her. She has Kemp "Performance Cruise" sails - a tri-radial no.1 laminated genoa with a foam luff; a no.3 which is great when going to windward in winds of F4 plus and a "Power Main". I also bought a a folding prop to reduce drag when under sail.

I don't race, but am constantly trimming the sails to try and get the best from the boat. I'm no expert, but I regularly pass boats that I'd expect to be quicker than me.

Some years before I had the Storm I owned a bilge keeled Konsort and the reverse was true. I seemed to be the slowest boat out there but (and it's a big but!) I was a beginner, she had a fixed prop and the sails were also rans.

One way of comparing the performance of different marques is to look at the elapsed times in the Round the Island race results. These can be downloaded from http://www.roundtheisland.org.uk/we...td&override=&section=results&page=results2011 and you can sort the information to see how various types of boats performed. What will be immediately apparent is the spread of times achieved by different boats of the same make and model. And to appease all those Konsort owners I may have upset by my comments above, I'd like to point out that the quickest Konsort in 2011 beat several Fulmars, a couple of GK29s and a Storm on elapsed time!

Ultimately, as might be expected with different designers and different design briefs, the performance of Westerly models varies a fair bit. My Storm has a powerful rig and needs to be reefed early, but that leads to reasonable light air performance. My Konsort had a more conservative rig and would hang on to full sail much longer. That made her feel very safe, but light air performance suffered by comparison. Lovely cruising boat though!

Yer pays yer money and takes yer choice....

 

[pvb]

I've had 3 Westerlies, all bought new, a Centaur, a Pentland Ketch and a Corsair Ketch (rare beast). They were solid, reliable, good accommodation, not great sailing performance. I wouldn't buy one today, there are so many more efficient designs around on the used market.

 

[scoty]

Longbow

I·ve had my ·WESTERLY· (longbow) since 1995 sailing off the UK east coast ,to Belgium,
UK south coast, plus the north coast of France, been in the Meditereanean ten years.

The boat is roomy,well balance and sails very well in all, yes all (up to F7)

It·s for sale only because I·m too old to continue solo ,

 

[Tranona]

So many of the old 70s and early 80s Westerly boats are different cockpit/aft cabin arrangements and rigs, differing keels, planted on the same hulls. I'm keen to know how successful they are, and which were photogenic ideas that didn't really work out.

I love the little Chieftain - doubtless designed off the soaring popularity of the Centaur, but with a more interesting rig and a nice kids' cabin at the back. But how many were actually built? I hardly ever see them for sale. Were they rotten to sail?

Any responses will help open my eyes.

The lack of sales success of some models usually means that the particular combination of rig/cabin/layout/wheelhouse etc did not gel with buyers. Probably in most cases nothing to do with their sailing ability. Westerlys were always looking to fill a gap by developing variations on their popular models. If they were a hit (Konsort Duo would be an example) they would run with it, otherwise it would be quietly dropped. No different from car manufacturers, but made possible because even with low volumes the cost of a variation on a standard hull is relatively small.

 

[Greenheart]

All good stuff, thank you...can I have some more?

I think Westerly-owners' points of view and recollections make a valuable collective cruising record. It's interesting and encouraging, to read almost unanimously positive reports on such a wide range of yachts - whether intended for performance or cruising.

I don't think I ever read a word by a Vulcan owner. Funny looking boat, no great beauty but roomy as a barn.

Weirdly, on my dream-list I have the tall, rather awkward, unweatherly Konsort Duo for local coastal creek-crawling, and the Typhoon for going foreign.

The 'Definitive Guides' from the Westerly Owners' Association make great reading, though the author is entertainingly prejudiced!

 

[Searush]

There were only ever a handful of Vulcans built compared to the thousands of other models. I think they were just too expensive to sell & are not a boat you would fall in love with at first sight.

 

[Baggy]

I sailed my Conway from Porto Santo to the Azores.. 600 miles in 41/2 days clse hauled NE F2-5

Great sail.. arrived Sao Miguel happy bunnies..

A Halberg Rassy followed us into port, and on berthing got out all their bedding and cushions cos they were soaking wet.

apparantly they were close hauled for a few days causing there portslights and hatches to leak....

They were not happy bunnies...

 

[VO5]

And I am remaining silent until thie discussions on this thread gravitate towards the heavier Westerly tonnages.

 

[aquaplane]

And I am remaining silent until thie discussions on this thread gravitate towards the heavier Westerly tonnages.

I thought that they were all built like brick wotsits, just some were less so than others.

My bilge keeled, heavy built, shed like Centaur, full of cruising clobber should only go backwards and sideways if you listen to some folk. I can say it does go forwards, sometimes with the engine off too.

 

[VO5]

I thought that they were all built like brick wotsits, just some were less so than others.

My bilge keeled, heavy built, shed like Centaur, full of cruising clobber should only go backwards and sideways if you listen to some folk. I can say it does go forwards, sometimes with the engine off too.

Yes, , I know exactly what you mean.
Mine is a sixteen tonner all up weight, but surprisingly agile, and moreso with a Bruntons, she will ghost along in the lightest airs. Equally in a blow she has that stffness which is reassuring as she comes up confidently every time ready for more.

 

[Greenheart]

How many Centaurs?

Anybody know exactly how many Centaurs were built, and how many survive, and critically, what the gonners died of?

 

[Coaster]

Anybody know exactly how many Centaurs were built, and how many survive, and critically, what the gonners died of?

Have you not looked at the Westerly Owners website?

Select 'all Models & Statistics' from the drop-down menu under 'Westerly Range'.

The information about Centaurs tells us that 2,444 were built. Judging by the numbers visible in all marine parts of the British Isles that I've visited, the overwhelming majority are still going strong.

Westerly obviously got the balance just right. The Centaur is a deservedly popular boat.

 

[robertj]

My fin keel Fulmar sails like a thoroughbred and I've seen 11 knots on the gps on more than one ocasion so not all Westerlies are the same.In general I'd say that Westerlies are good sailors some more than others.

Agree these seems to fly as one in my home port certainly goes like stink. Skipper a good sailor too and I think he understands how to ger every last drop of speed from her.
I am learning still with my sadler but not in the hunt yet!

 

[Mike Smith]

Westerly centaurs

 

[VicS]

Westerly centaurs

??????

This topic is nearly 5 years old

 

[Pagetslady]

I love my Corsair, built in 1987 I have had her since 1992 have done in excess of 60k nm longest passage 500 nm mostly singlehanded she has had osmosis and been dealt with, she looks well used but we have a great time together, She is my first boat and will be my last.
Mike

 

[Tam Lin]

??????

This topic is nearly 5 years old

Yes, isn't it worrying that all the rubbish one may have spouted all those years ago is still around!