Alas and alack. Though I've sailed boats as small as 8 feet and as large as 75
feet ... boats with one sail, two sails, three sails, four sails and even five
sails ... in winds as little as 0.01 knots and a high as 60+ knots (pegged ASI)
with sustained gusts ... in waters from the Pacific to the Atlantic to the
Caribbean to LIS to the Chesepeake to Midwestern lakes, I have never actually
sailed any of the 750 some Westsail 32's made.

This means, of course, I am totally out of bounds -- utterly without experience
-- with my statement that a fat-assed 21,000 pound boat with a 11-1/2 foot beam
and a 26 foot waterline is a slow sailor. Unless, perhaps, you might be
willing to go out on a limp and accept my personal experience of passing by
W-32's left and right and north and south in every winds I have ever been
sailing and have chanced upon a W32 also sailing.

Would I buy a W32? Of course I would if they weren't priced about 50% of their
intrinsic value. Lots of similarly capable boats out there with asking prices
well under current W32 alure.

For the person not able to distinguish a Weatherly 32 from a Roughwater 33, a
Westsail 32 is a safe choice. Go spend the money.

Mr. Ashby:

Have you sailed a Westsail 32?

Respectfully,

Dick Behan




"JAXAshby" wrote in message
...
W32's
are not fast boats; they were designed originally (Colin Archer) as
rescue
boats, to aid Norwegian fisherman in distress in winter storms in the
North
Sea. Seaworthiness was paramount, and nothing stood in

the W32 was designed (reliable sources say, on the factory floor as glass
was
laid up) as a fiberglass version of the 1930's Wm Aitkin 32 foot design
called
"Eric", which was Aitkin's version (many would say, improved version) of
the
Colin Archer boats.

The Aitkins 38 footer "Ingrid" lives on today, though the 36 footer "Erin"
is
long forgotten by most (seems there is probably good reason for that).

Keep in mind that Colin Archer boats were designed in their day to be
sailed by
iron men of skill and athletic coordination. The boats needed a LOT of
sail to
make them move in light winds, sail that had to be struck very quickly as
the
winds piped up.