I have been looking at a 1972 Westsail 32 in La Paz, Mexico where she has been sitting in on the hard since 2015. The boat is named Lacuna and is hull #50. This is what I know about the boat so far:
She was originally Panacea and was purchased in Oakland as a project.
Some refitting was done and used sails purchased, some restricted in 2013, one with a tear.
She was fitted with a used mechanical windvane
Her wind instruments are not electrically connected
She is fitted with a wooden mast and boom, both had some rot in them but were treated with epoxy and painted in 2015 before sailing to La Paz. These will obviously need extensive inspection and probably removal and stripping – at which point it may be simpler to just replace them with aluminum like the majority of W32’s. If not then they will need to be checked, repaired and probably varnished so that future rot can been seen through the finish rather than hidden by paint.
She has the original Volvo MD2b diesel motor which was painted and has a new generator/starter fitted in 2015. The motor overheats when used for a length of time and must be shut down to cool and leaks enough oil that during each cool down it needs a half quart or more of oil. These motors have limited parts availability, are raw water cooled and everything I read says that they are underpowered for the W32, so I should probably just replace the motor completely. If not, the MD2b will need to be checked out completely and at the least have the head gaskets replaced.
She was rewired by the owners but in the photos I can see wires hanging in the V Berth and coiled and messy in the engine room, so likely needs the wiring properly sorted out.
She has two solar panels but only one was wired.
New batteries, two golf cart and one starting, were fitted in 2015 but they were left connected to a single solar panel and with no maintenance between 2015 and now, I am sure the batteries have cooked off and are no good.
She is fitted with a Simpson Lawerence (out of business) Seawolf windlass to which the wiring has been removed and which is missing a bearing bushing rendering in inoperable. If wiring was run and a part made by a machinist this might be salvageable.
She has had the bobkin stays replaced with the wider updated stays.
She was fitted with a cold plate and compressor for the top loading icebox, but needs to have the hatches made and installed for it to be useable
She is fitted with a Force 10 three burner stove and has a small propane bottle mounted to the deck above the V Berth, so I imagine the propane line is run inside the hull from the bow to the stern.
Being an early boat I would guess that she has the common hull to deck joint leak under the caprail, but no information on this is available.
She is fitted with teak decks and nearly every bung has worn away revealing the 1200 stainless screws. She would need to have each fastener removed, re-drilled, countersunk and new bungs fitted before re-caulking and sanding. The teak trim around the cockpit is missing entirely.
The cap rails, face of the cabin, hatches, hand rails and splash deflectors all have badly peeling varnish, it appears that a few light coats were applied in 2015 before she was left in the Mexican sun for two years. Currently she will need complete stripping, bleaching, sanding and a solid 11 to 12 coats of proper varnish.
She is fitted with two compasses although both have completely fogged from exposure to the sun, I do not know if they can be polished out or need to be replaced.
She is fitted with an older Lowrance chartplotter which can not be updated according to Lowrance and appears to have a black spot on the screen. And a very old Morrow s120b depth sounder, so really I plan on just replacing the electronics.
Looking at photos of the rudder gudgeons corrosion is clearly visible although I can not tell if they need cleaning and the thru bolts replaced, or if the gudgeons themselves are beyond repair. This obviously must be addressed.
I do not know the condition of the bilge water tanks except that they were not leaking in 2015
I do not know the condition of the fuel tank except that it was reported to not be leaking ion 2015
The port lights are surrounded by wooden trim, it appears to be Fir and is cracked, broken and has no finish. It will need to be removed and replaced, or simply removed and whatever it is covering repaired.
Is there anything I have missed or anything I should be looking at I have not covered?
