Westerly Seahawk or what else?

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Trop Cher

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Greetings,

SWMBO has agreed it's time to upsize. The Westerly Seahawk has come up a few times in our seaches and there's one that interests me. However it's over 6oo miles away, is there anyone in Scotland who owns a Seahawk and would be happy to show us around so that we can get a feel for the boat before we travel that distance?

Also anyone who has owned or sailed one care to comment on their take on the boat, in particular the high cockpit and steep steps into/out of the cabin.

Any other suggests regards boats that might suit are also welcome. Budget has doubled during the last 12 months to 40K and have been looking at boats up to 48K, length somewhere between 32 and 38 ft. The boat is for cruising usually with a crew of one and a half (SWMBO likes sailing but can't be bothered with all the ropes,etc!) but would like the space to be able to have another couple on board.
Viewed a Moody 34 and a 346 but were a bit disappointed with the space down below.

Thanks
Simon
 
We also looked at the Seahawk - we were put off them because of the high cockpit & reported motion.
Also, for us, the forward cabin was still tight for two adults and the one that we had seen needed serious work doing to it which would cost iro £10k - bringing it up to a price of some much better boats.

We also looked at it's sister ship - the Westerly Falcon - again, tempted, but it didn't address our needs - small front cabin, lack of height for feet in the aft cabin. They had squeezed in two heads ....

We then turned our attention to the newer designs - specifically Bavarias - we had a demo sail with Bav34 (shoal keel) and felt that the sailing capabilities were sufficient for our needs of coastal sailing and the accomodation was much more suited to 4 adults - and for a similar price to the Falcon or Seahawk ....
 
We bought a Discus - I suppose it's the previous model to the seahawk, needless to say we were not disappointed. Forepeak is HUGE (I am 6' 3" and can't touch the end of the berth). Good living accomodation and a decent sized aft cabin for occasional guests. Sailing performance is pretty good, even in light winds. They have a solid feel and are well put together, with the potential to do very long distances if you want to in the future. Should pick a decent one up for £30-£35k and have spare cash to do the improvements and upgrades to make her yours.
 
We were looking at Seahawks and found our Sealord on the market at a bargain price and certainly within your price range. We did spend quite a few £k to bring her up to spec (All new headlinings, new mattresses cushions, upholstery, new gel coat on the top sides etc etc), but we have never looked back.

Keep an open mind and see what is about. If you have sailed a Westerly you might be very disappointed with the behaviour under sail of a Bavaria. This is not a Bavaria knocking jibe - just an observation having sailed all sorts of boats - including a lot of modern Bavarias.

Try looking at some of the older larger Nicholson's. If they have been cared for and updated they might suit - and they were on our list after a chat with Andrew Simpson.
 
I sailed on and in company with a Seahawk many times when we had a Westerly 33 Ketch and I'm afraid I don't rate the Seahawk unless your priority is a big double bed and a big kitchen down in the depths and round the corner. We outsailed the Seahawk in all conditions upwind and down. With a quartering sea and a fat ar$e the pilot was regularly confused when a wave picked up said fat end and placed it at random somewhere else. The one I knew was a fin keeler but the keel depth below the hull was shallow so with any heel upwind she went sideways quite well.

Westerly made some good boats but IMO this wasn't one of them. The Corsair 36 should be in your price range or there is the W33 or Discus (same hull) or the older Conway 36 all well below your limit.

However take off the blinkers and look at some of the AWBs sneered at so often on here. A good Jeanneau Sun Fizz 40 would be in your price range, just avoid the many tired ex-charter ones. We have some friends with one that is like new and almost as good as our Sun Legende 41 we just sold :) but they are a tad more pricey.
 
I am a Westerly owner myself but will resist the temptation to jump on the band wagon! However, some friends have a Moody Excel 34; its not the greatest sailing boat in the world and also has the high cockpit but so will all centre cockpit boats around 34 feet, but the accomodation is exceptional and its probably worth a look if it is within budget.
 
JCP said:
Don't worry if you're on a Sigma 362 you won't need to duck as no one in a Westerly would catch you.
Click to expand...
Ooh - steady now. The only race we ever entered in our Sealord we won - on a flukey very light breeze that gusted at just the right moment and saw us sail past the entire fleet to take line honours AND first overall on handicap. There were lots of boats there who raced a lot - all in their matching embroidered rugby shirts - who were VERY pissed off at the award ceremony.

I don't pretend that we would win any real races regularly - but our old heavy Sealord is comfortable and easy on the motion (and doesn't sail like a total dog).
 
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I have an old Westerly 33 ketch, the precursor of the Discus, same hull etc. Not the fastest sailer in the world as it is set up for cruising not racing so will not win many races, (we did win the menagery race at our club!), but no other boat will beat it for accomodation space and storage.
PBO did a series of articles on Westerlys about a year ago which put the W33 as the best boat of its time for long distance blue water cruising.
A few going at reasonable prices so you will have, as robmcg says, change to do any mods.
Also one of the safest seagoing boats I have ever sailed. :)
 
It is always difficult to advise on choices like this but the Seahawk ended up number 2 on our list and there were a couple I would have put an offer in on if our offer for the Moody 36 had not been accepted.
 
fireball said:
We also looked at the Seahawk - we were put off them because of the high cockpit & reported motion.
Also, for us, the forward cabin was still tight for two adults and the one that we had seen needed serious work doing to it which would cost iro £10k - bringing it up to a price of some much better boats.

We also looked at it's sister ship - the Westerly Falcon - again, tempted, but it didn't address our needs - small front cabin, lack of height for feet in the aft cabin. They had squeezed in two heads ....

We then turned our attention to the newer designs - specifically Bavarias - we had a demo sail with Bav34 (shoal keel) and felt that the sailing capabilities were sufficient for our needs of coastal sailing and the accomodation was much more suited to 4 adults - and for a similar price to the Falcon or Seahawk ....
Click to expand...

Hi, thanks for your reply.
I never dreamt that I could get a boat less than ten years old for my budget. I've had a look and quite fancy the look of the 32 which is actually 33' 10". Found one for sale at 45K but they'd accepted an offer on it just the day before, strangely it's in the same yard as the Seahawk...
 
robmcg said:
We bought a Discus - I suppose it's the previous model to the seahawk, needless to say we were not disappointed. Forepeak is HUGE (I am 6' 3" and can't touch the end of the berth). Good living accomodation and a decent sized aft cabin for occasional guests. Sailing performance is pretty good, even in light winds. They have a solid feel and are well put together, with the potential to do very long distances if you want to in the future. Should pick a decent one up for £30-£35k and have spare cash to do the improvements and upgrades to make her yours.
Click to expand...

There's a Discus for sale quite close to us that I've fewed a few times on line and now thinking that it's worth a look. The large deck area before the hatch looks interesting, however does it not make it difficult entering the cabin?
 
john_morris_uk said:
We were looking at Seahawks and found our Sealord on the market at a bargain price and certainly within your price range. We did spend quite a few £k to bring her up to spec (All new headlinings, new mattresses cushions, upholstery, new gel coat on the top sides etc etc), but we have never looked back.

Keep an open mind and see what is about. If you have sailed a Westerly you might be very disappointed with the behaviour under sail of a Bavaria. This is not a Bavaria knocking jibe - just an observation having sailed all sorts of boats - including a lot of modern Bavarias.

Try looking at some of the older larger Nicholson's. If they have been cared for and updated they might suit - and they were on our list after a chat with Andrew Simpson.
Click to expand...

Strange how many people were thinking of the Seahawk but bought something else. Can't find a Sealord anywhere near budget.
 
BAtoo said:
How about a Sigma 362 - http://www.boatshop24.co.uk/MjE3MjIyNH5GUEZPMDE=-Sigma_362.html

Friend had one - really good boats and will out sail the Westerly (ducks and heads for cover!)
Click to expand...

Funny enough, I viewed a Sigma 38 on Sunday, I really liked it, SWMBO not sure. They have issues with their chain plates that cost thousands to sort and although there's help available, I'm not sure. I did find a Sigma 362 for sale at 45K that looks interesting but again it's 600 miles away. However I have added the model to the list. Thanks.
 
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