Westsail Parts Company.

Now that I am 85, I know I cannot keep doing the Westsail parts sales for too many more years, and I have decided to actively look for someone to take over and buy me out over the course of the next 4 or 5 years.

With a customer base of 800 to 900 Westsail owners, and the boats getting older and older, more replacement parts will be needed.  It is a built in business as long as one keeps in contact with the owners, and is knowledgeable about the Westsail boats and what they need. 

The company can operate from most anywhere in the US, since the majority of the parts ordered are shipped to the customer by UPS or Fed Ex.  Some are shipped by carrier trucks direct from the source shops.  A small inventory is kept of fasteners, and some of the specially fabricated parts that are specific to the Westsail line of boats.  The choice of stocking these parts is based on the number of repeat sales for these parts, and the economy of making more than one set of parts at a time by the various sub-contracting machine shops.  Most of these shops are located in Southern California and have been making parts for me for over 30 years.  Some have made the original parts for the Westsail boats back in the early 1970s.

Of course, the molded fiberglass parts are not available, except for rudders, which have been made from the drawings I have available.  I also have complete copies of all of the Westsail factory construction manuals, and drawings of virtually every part made for the boats.

My website, www.westsailparts.com , is being maintained and contains the complete list of the parts I have available, including the cost, as well as my Westsail Service Manual, and a host of other information regarding the Westsail line of boats. 

On my other website, www.westsail.com, there is a space for Westsail owners to advertise their boats for sale, and prospective buyers can inquire about the boats available for sale.  Only Westsail boats are advertised on this site, and I do not act as a broker for the boats.

The heart of the parts business consists primarily of the approximately 850 names and addresses of owners of Westsail boats, out of a total of 1100 Westsail boats built, and the goodwill and ready availability of replacement parts that I have built up over the past 30 years.  Remember that as the boats get older, or they change hands, the greater is the need for replacement parts and advice on maintaining the boats.  The boats are now 40 to 45 years old, and because the original construction was so stout, they are easy to restore or upgrade. 

Many of the well maintained boats are selling today for more than when they were first delivered.  The boats are not going away; they are only becoming better values.  Besides, the older the boats get, the more they need replacement parts, thus perpetuating and growing this business. 

There is also the possibility of a new owner deciding to expand the business by adding parts of other brands of boats to the mix.

Contact me at bud@westsail.com.