WESTERLY STORM 33

[JAKEPAD]

I AM THINKING OF BUYING A 1988 WESTERLY STORM FOR £40,000. CAN ANYONE ADVISE IF THIS WOULD BE A GOOD BUY. wHAT ARE THE PLUSES AND MINUSES? I AM MOVING UP FROM AN ETAP 22i AND WANT TO START STRAYING FURTHER AFIELD - CROSSING THE NORTH SEA AND ENGLISH CHANNEL IN COMFORT AND SAFTEY WITH A NERVOUS WIFE IN TOW.

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[Talbot]

<<WITH A NERVOUS WIFE IN TOW>> You will need something a bit faster than the storm, if your wife is taking up waterskying /forums/images/icons/smile.gif

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[Steve_N]

We had a 1988 Storm for 7 years or so - sold her 3 years ago.
Pluses?
- powerful, fast and just great fun
- good accomodation for 2, nice big heads
- strong build and good quality, apart from the usual Westerly headlining problems..
- great cockpit layout: unconventional but a real success IMHO.
Minuses?:
- big mainsail that needs reefing really early to keep the helm under control
- shallow forefoot so she will slam a fair bit, and sail around snubbing her anchor all night
- not exactly overpowered with the standard 2002 18hp.

I've no regrets about Storm ownership and I'm sure you'll really enjoy her.



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[jonjo]

Re: Storming to the Azores

The following URL will take you to a nice account of a 2003 AZAB entry in a Westerly storm.

http://www.bluedome.co.uk/azab2003

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[starboard]

Would agree with all steve n has said, a great yacht with good accomadation, as with all Westerlys they perform well, also with all Westerlys the head linnings tend to turn to dust. A nice looking boat and in my opinion if they look good they normally perform good. Go for one with the Blue material rather than the dodgy pink!!!!!!

Paul.

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[FlyingSpud]

SWMBO and I came back from Holland a few weeks ago in a 7 ish in a Storm without any drama; on the whole I find her a good sea boat that could still, if the mood takes you, be fun round the cans. Build quality is good; half of Westerly’s problems were that they were never able to calculate how much each boat cost to build, so they never knew if they were actually making a profit, or when, therefore, to cut corners.

I think James Jermaine said roughly the same last month in his series working through second hand boats.

Of course you will not get the size of accommodation of some other designs, but you can’t have everything, and all boats are a compromise. I doubt you will have any regrets on her sailing performance.

As to the price, well, that depends on condition and so on, no doubt you will get a survey, but it would not be a million miles away from fair.


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[Ocean Hound]

Bought mine 3 years ago with same thing in mind. We've spent the last two years in N & S Brittany and at the beginning of may took her across Biscay in an unexpected & unforecast NW F8-9. She behaved impeccably. However, couple of points against -watch out for headlining problems, mine had been in Spain for a few years and within 9 months of owning her 50% of the head linings started to come unstuck, due mainly to the heat, I suspect. They are a nightmare to replace! Also you will need to secure the storage lockers P&S with turnbuckles otherwise they will fly open when sailing hard. Mine is wheel steering and the winch locations make it difficult for shorthanded sailing. If I had a tiller version I would think about relocating the mainsheet. Also watch out for osmosis-many Westerleys of a certain vintage are quite prone. Otherwise a great 20/20 boat but certainly you need think about a 1st reef 21-22knts+. pm me if you want anymore info

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