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Suitability of Westsail 32

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  • April 12, 2012 5:01 PM
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    Message # 888394
    Deleted user
    I am the happy owner of a late model production sailboat from one of the better European manufacturers.  The boat was purchased new in 2006. She is 34 feet LOA.  For the last ten years I have sailed this boat and others between New York City and Martha's Vineyard staying primarily within the bays and sounds that protect the shore from CT to Cape Cod.

    We are looking to head off shore, certainly to Maine, perhaps to Bermuda or Nova Scotia and possibly further.  I'm not enthusiastic about taking my boat offshore.  She has a European all oceans rating but will be, I believe, uncomfortable and potentially unsafe in a blow at sea.  I am looking for a more suitable boat.  One that I can set and forget (heave-to) if things get rough.  I'm convinced that the WS32 would be an excellent choice for offshore work but wonder about how happy we would be with one for coastal sailing.  I have looked at WS32 with a 25 HP Volvo which I have read is under-powered for coastal cruising.  The boat's preference for reaching might present a problem as well. In good conditions I can get my boat to point 35 degrees into the apparent wind.

    I'm wondering about what owners who sail coastwise think of the boat for this purpose.

    Eric
  • April 13, 2012 1:23 PM
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    Reply # 889234 on 888394
    Anonymous member (Administrator)

    Eric:  Seconding Norm comments -- you have a hard question to answer. 

    Westsail's are out there all the time - one of the more active long distance Westsailers like Eric B. Forsyth on the yacht Fiona a W42. 

    WOA editor Dick and Libby Mills  are on their W32 and cruise up and down the east coast.

     Steve and Lulu Yoder  blog about their adventures in Mexico on their Westsail 28.

    Good luck as you research.

    Jay
  • April 13, 2012 1:35 PM
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    Reply # 889237 on 888394
    Deleted user
    Thanks for these replies.  Just to clarify, I'm really wondering about the suitability of the boat for coastal sailing where you plan to be anchored every night.  This kind of sailing requires a boat that can point reasonably well, handle light air (6 to 10 knots) and motor along when the breeze drops to zero.  

    I have a good sense that the Westsail is a great boat for the open sea where you have more than a two week vacation, winds are likely to be more reliable, and motoring is less of an issue. It's weekend sailing and occasional full or two week use I was asking about.

    Eric


  • April 14, 2012 8:50 AM
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    Reply # 889603 on 888394
    Deleted user

      My wife and I owned Satori for seven years. We did Gulf of Mexico and coastal Gulf. For this comment "It's weekend sailing and occasional full or two week use I was asking about. "  I would say keep what you got.  Westsails are to me a "travelling boat".  Not a let's go out for a after diner sail. They are much harder to manage in tight quarters. It can be done but not easy or enjoyable (however satisifing it is after you manage to get into a slip without killing anyone). 

    A boat should meet the owners requirements or need a majority of  the time. Yours sounds like it meets your current need. In the future if you really decide to go long offshore then decide if your boat meets the need and adjust if necessary.

    Just my two cents. Ken

     
  • April 15, 2012 4:23 AM
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    Reply # 889995 on 888394
    Anonymous member
    The W32 is optimized as a blue water boat, not anything else.  However, my wife and I have cruised the USA east coast for 7 years and 35000 miles on our W32 Tarwathie.  We think she is fine as a cruising yacht.  

    • Because of the heavy displacement, there is more generous room inside than one expects from a 32 foot boat.
    • Ours is a factory boat, very well built and expertly designed interior.  Because of the design of the table and the pilot berths, we get multiple uses from the same prime value volume.  
    • We've seen many other cruising boats.  Very few of them up to 45 feet in length offer a more comfortable main salon for two people than the W32.
    • Rugged counts. We've been aground so many times, we keep a database of the lat/lon coordinates.  None of those groundings have damaged the hull or rudder.  Do that on your production boats, and you may have big repair bills.  A 45' production boat struck something in the water in The Tounge of The Ocean this season, holed, and sank.  I doubt very much if that would have holed a W32.
    • When we are up on the hard in a boatyard, it seems that more than half the production boats we see there are having troubles with their rudder post.  No wheel, no rudder post on a W32.  KISS!!!
    • In winds less than 20 knots, lighter boats, especially the Benetau, sail much faster, and point higher.  We are converted to the "gentlemen do not sail to weather" school. Above 20 knots, we'll hold our own.  Above 40 and one feels unsafe in those light boats but not in a W32.  We've heard Benetau owners self describe their boats as "bendy-taus"
    • On the ICW, there is much less opportunity to sail than one hopes.  We motor a lot, usually around 1 knot less in speed than those lightweight boats.  Learn to live with it.
  • April 15, 2012 6:07 AM
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    Reply # 890004 on 888394
    Deleted user
    These are much appreciated.  I'm a summer sailors getting a little bored with sailing to Martha's Vineyard and back every summer. I've been it with the idea of traveling farther for longer but don't have enough confidence in my Bavaria to take her even into the Gulf of Maine. Probably what I ought to do is learn to get more out of her and save the purchase of a true blue water boat until I'm ready to do extended blue water sailing.

    Eric


  • April 15, 2012 8:18 AM
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    Reply # 890054 on 888394
    Deleted user
    I find this discussion interesting.  I am also looking at buying a W32.  My primary sailing will be Key Biscayne, FL, the Florida Keys and 2 - 3 weeks a year in the Bahamas.  Most days will be spent day sailing and back to the dock. I an getting the "Vibe" from other W32 owners that a W32 might not be the boat for me.  My biggest fear is docking this boat at the Marina.  I never docked a tiller boat.  Currently, I own an Island Packet 320.  The reason I was looking at this boat is the beauty, seaworthiness and easy maintenance of systems. I have to replace a holding tank on my IP and I am getting bids between $8,000 to $25,000. It is my understanding talking to Bud and other owners that the W32 can be serviced without major construction to the interior. This is an important consideration when I buy my next boat. Any owner input would be appreciated. 
  • April 15, 2012 8:56 AM
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    Reply # 890070 on 890054
    Anonymous
    Joe Meder wrote:I find this discussion interesting.  I am also looking at buying a W32.  My primary sailing will be Key Biscayne, FL, the Florida Keys and 2 - 3 weeks a year in the Bahamas.  Most days will be spent day sailing and back to the dock. I an getting the "Vibe" from other W32 owners that a W32 might not be the boat for me.  My biggest fear is docking this boat at the Marina.  I never docked a tiller boat.  Currently, I own an Island Packet 320.  The reason I was looking at this boat is the beauty, seaworthiness and easy maintenance of systems. I have to replace a holding tank on my IP and I am getting bids between $8,000 to $25,000. It is my understanding talking to Bud and other owners that the W32 can be serviced without major construction to the interior. This is an important consideration when I buy my next boat. Any owner input would be appreciated. 


    Joe, 

    I don't mean to put you off W32s, as we love ours.  However, I read your predicament and asked... "Why not go to a composting head?"  I'm not sure you've read about them but you might want to take a look.  It just totally eliminates the need for a holding tank.  Nothing to clog, no smells, just something simple that works and doesn't stink.  They sound ominous at first but if you do the research you might find it suits you and saves your IP.  

    Good luck, 
    Tate
  • April 15, 2012 10:19 AM
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    Reply # 890111 on 890070
    Deleted user
    Tate McDaniel wrote:
    Joe Meder wrote:I find this discussion interesting.  I am also looking at buying a W32.  My primary sailing will be Key Biscayne, FL, the Florida Keys and 2 - 3 weeks a year in the Bahamas.  Most days will be spent day sailing and back to the dock. I an getting the "Vibe" from other W32 owners that a W32 might not be the boat for me.  My biggest fear is docking this boat at the Marina.  I never docked a tiller boat.  Currently, I own an Island Packet 320.  The reason I was looking at this boat is the beauty, seaworthiness and easy maintenance of systems. I have to replace a holding tank on my IP and I am getting bids between $8,000 to $25,000. It is my understanding talking to Bud and other owners that the W32 can be serviced without major construction to the interior. This is an important consideration when I buy my next boat. Any owner input would be appreciated. 


    Joe, 

    I don't mean to put you off W32s, as we love ours.  However, I read your predicament and asked... "Why not go to a composting head?"  I'm not sure you've read about them but you might want to take a look.  It just totally eliminates the need for a holding tank.  Nothing to clog, no smells, just something simple that works and doesn't stink.  They sound ominous at first but if you do the research you might find it suits you and saves your IP.  

    Good luck, 
    Tate

    Tate,

    I would love to go with a composting head.  Unfortunately it is to big. My shower / bathroom is very small and it would not fit.  It takes up to much room.  Also, I am ready to try another boat.  I have kept my boat in Bristol condition and am ready to sell it.  Can you give me some insight on how hard it is to back up and dock a W32 boat?  Would a composting head fit in the bathroom?  
  • April 15, 2012 10:26 AM
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    Reply # 890114 on 888394
    Deleted user

    I want to second the composting head.  Put an Air Head in 2 years ago and got rid of the stibky wet system.  Best upgrade ever.

    As for short versus long sails and day sailing versus "traveling", we sail exclusively by the day at the moment, on a 20 mile long lake with changing winds and no chance to use a windvane,  But the experience I've gotten with sail trim, tacking, docking and casting off (being a constant and continual every day we sail) has been terrific.  I've never been one to sit still and watch the world go by so constant activity has suited me well (absolutely loath fishing, for example).  So if you like really sailing, a W-32 still might be for you.
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