Westline 34 update...

Whitelighter

Whitelighter

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Well, it looks like at least some of my effort with the biys in Sweden was not in vein. One of the last things I did was to push very hard for a HT/Coupe version of the 34 with a few tweeks inside. I helped quite a bit with the early developement and from the pics it looks like they have done a nice job.

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W34_Coupe.jpg


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They are a small builder, so developments like this are time consuming and costly. Its nice to see them pushing things forward. Revised interior trims now also an improvement

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I am still regrettful that I couldnt make it work, though I reckon for a person/company with more experience and perhaps a better/bigger budget it could do well in a niche sense over here.
 
You're quite right that they copy some good ideas form other builders (I think the whole boat has more than a little Nord-West look about her) but for a small yard they have done a good job of intergrating the HT on what was designed only as an open boat.

Its an expensive boat, even if you are in the euro zone. For that reason, unless things improve dramatically, I doubt you will ever see one over here, if at all out side of Scandinavia. Which is a shame....
 
Maybe it is the angle of the photo, but the open hardtop looks like it might act as a super-scoop to funnel everything into the cockpit?
I m not a fan of smaller add on hardtops, but this looks even worse than the Scirocco, which is quite an achievement ;)
Whatever happened to the GM37 you were thinking about ?!
 
The hardtop looks like what it is IMO, an afterthought. I think Finnmaster do a better job on a 31 ft boat with the Grandezza (see pic below). The matt walnut interior looks good, vast improvement on the previous Ikea look. I'm not sure what this boat's selling point is though, and any new brand needs at least one significant thing it does better than the established boats, otherwise who's going to buy it.

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Hmmm. Not a great bit of design imho. I can see the Sarnico influence that PYB mentions, but Sarnico do it better. A lot of the boat is very nice and the interior is improved over the early W34 open that you pictured on here, but Westline need to get their detailing much better: the guardrail attachments look bad (I know they have a practical benefit, but the execution on the 34 isn't done well). The U section fendering still looks poor.
 
Sorry Jez, I agree with the others. The hardtop looks out of proportion and the sunroof is in the wrong place. As it is, it will act as a giant wind scoop funneling draughts into the cockpit rather than allowing the sun in. It needs to be further aft. Also agree with jfm. The handrail mounts look flimsy and the rubbing strake is a badly fitted
The interior looks tidy but IMHO, buyers of 34ft sports cruisers expect to get a proper closed off fore cabin but then I don't know what the mid cabin is like. The dining table looks a bit small too
 
You dont have to appologise Mike (nor does anyone else). I only posted the pics for general interest really. I think its quite a tidy effort but I can see they need to work harder.

The rail are actually very solidly mounted, or at least they were on my boat (at least something was I suppose) but I agree abou the detailing and especially the rubbing strake. I went on and on about it and was ignored so there you go.

As for the GM37, its on the list of possibilities along with a couple of other boats but its realisticly 18 mnths before I can do anything sadly. Hopefully I should have a solution to keep me boating till then sorted in the next couple of weeks...
 
Hmm, the interior much better than the Ikea sourced one on the W34 you had a Earls Court, but that HT is just dreadful; it looks exactly like the afterthought it is.

On the one hand it's nice that they listened to your advice, but on the other you should be glad you're not saddled with trying to sell it in the UK, as I think it's got no chance, esp at a premium price.
 
Deleted User said:
As it is, it will act as a giant wind scoop funneling draughts into the cockpit rather than allowing the sun in
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Yep, definitely. I took the Windy out the other day to test the auto trim tabs i'd fitted, and had the covers up, but the front and back panels unzipped, and it was f'in freezing. The covers stopped the windshield deflecting the air up and over your head, and it was loads more windy at the helm than it is with no covers at all.
 
Nick_H said:
I took the Windy out the other day to test the auto trim tabs i'd fitted
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I for one would love to hear about that, 'cause I'm really skeptical about their use on small sportboats.
With apologies to the OP for the drift, maybe worth a new thread?

More to the subject instead, I don't disagree with all the previous criticisms, but I would just smooth them a bit.
It's a 34 footer after all, I can't see so many others which can really be called beauties, in that size range...
Imho, for those who really look for a practical 10 to 12 m boat with an enclosed cabin, Botnias and the likes are just the ticket - ugly as they might be for someone.
Looking for sleek elegant lines? There's plenty of open boats to choose from.
But for those willing to compromise, this boat might have its appeal.
 
MapisM said:
I for one would love to hear about that, 'cause I'm really skeptical about their use on small sportboats.
With apologies to the OP for the drift, maybe worth a new thread?.
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I'll report back when i've tested it a bit more, as I only did a short run before my eyes froze over. In that short time I can report that it certainly works, in that it levels the boat, and applies tabs at low revs to keep the boat on the plane, but i'll reserve judgement on how useful it is in normal cruising until i've used it a bit more.
 
Nick_H said:
I'll report back when i've tested it a bit more
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'Salright, thanks in advance.
Be sure to check how they work while steering. I'd be scared to death by something automatically controlling the flaps while steering at high speed...!
The best solution imho is to have also the flaps switches on the throttle lever (see below - I'm considering that for my boat).
But I don't think there's anything like that which can fit VP throttles.
triple_switch.gif
 
The most notciable problem of this 34 Westline hardtop is that the wind screen surface is much smaller to the hardtop. This makes the hardtop looks heavy on the structure altough IMO on actual fact it might be just right.
 
MapisM said:
'Salright, thanks in advance.
Be sure to check how they work while steering. I'd be scared to death by something automatically controlling the flaps while steering at high speed...!
The best solution imho is to have also the flaps switches on the throttle lever (see below - I'm considering that for my boat).
But I don't think there's anything like that which can fit VP throttles.
triple_switch.gif
Click to expand...

The auto tab control is set up so that it disengages if you touch the manual tab controls, or of course you can press the "off" button on the auto tab dash unit. The processor averages out readings over a period, so even if the attitude sensor failed and sent an incorrect signal, the tabs would be applied slowly and the helmsman would have time to react.
 
Nick_H said:
The auto tab control is set up so that it disengages if you touch the manual tab controls, or of course you can press the "off" button on the auto tab dash unit. The processor averages out readings over a period, so even if the attitude sensor failed and sent an incorrect signal, the tabs would be applied slowly and the helmsman would have time to react.
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coincidently I payed for my order of "Auto Trim Tap controll" today, are your 's also bennett 's ? Interested in your experience, will let you know mine when fitted, perhaps better new thread, sorry Jez for thread drift.

@whitelighter, 1th and 3th pics remember me at your avatar quite some time ago, was nice.
 
BartW said:
coincidently I payed for my order of "Auto Trim Tap controll" today, are your 's also bennett 's ? Interested in your experience, will let you know mine when fitted, perhaps better new thread, sorry Jez for thread drift.

@whitelighter, 1th and 3th pics remember me at your avatar quite some time ago, was nice.
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Yes, mine are Bennetts. The istallation is simple once you know how, but the manual doesn't cover all types of installation, so I was scratching my head for a while until a very helpful guy at Bennett UK explained it over the phone. I'll pm you his details, in case you get stuck. I don't think he'd mind at all that you're not in the UK.
 
Nick_H said:
Yes, mine are Bennetts. The istallation is simple once you know how, but the manual doesn't cover all types of installation, so I was scratching my head for a while until a very helpful guy at Bennett UK explained it over the phone. I'll pm you his details, in case you get stuck. I don't think he'd mind at all that you're not in the UK.
Click to expand...

Ordered mine at "Magic Marine" in UK, same place where I ordered new controll panel two years ago. Guy's were very fast and helpfull in the past, so don't expect problems. I'll let you know if more help is needed. Thanks !
 
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