Hello Dick,

That is one gorgeous W32! I really like the white enamel you've done to
lighten up the interior. We did an enamel overhead, but also painted the
hull white then did slatting with spacing to give a lighter look.

How do the tan bark sails hold up in the long run? We all agreed that
they looked nice and went along with some song, but I figured they'd
deteriorate due to UV quickly. However, I don't have any long run
experience with them.

We were the first hull with a brown sheer stripe. Some guy ordered the
boat as a complete unit, backed out so we got ours partly built at a
steep discount due to Westsail applying his money to our boat.

Westsail would sell the boat or part in any stage you chose. There were
several standard kits: liveaboard, sailaway, hull and deck and so forth.
You could also buy any parts so you could buy a hull and deck unjoined
although I know of no one who did so. Also the company would sell you a
boat and then the standard parts to finish up. Most folks hired some or
all of the work out. Thus many 'kit' boats are finished to very high
standards. Westsail did employ a high grade of craftsmen, but they
didn't corner the market. For example, during our boat building, I was
in some demand as a finisher myself. I worked on Frank Sinatra and John
Wayne's yachts (not the same boat!).

Living in Balboa and then Dana Point, working on our boats, being a race
crew, working on stars' yachts - well that was one exciting time.

We were a huge boat building community in and around Costa Mesa then. I
guess we were one among maybe 50 W32's and 42's going up at the time
plus some other brands were also booming along.

I'm now in Albuquerque. BTW, I just returned from a sailing adventure. I
got the sailing bug again so bought a Tayana 42 in ME. Sailed to Newport
where I did a refit (neat port!) and then single handed the boat down
the east coast spending maybe a week offshore, then putting in, touring
around finally ending up in Palm Beach where I did the Gulf Stream /
islands routine for a while.

I'm now back home in NM. Where are you? Did you ever take your W32 far?

-paul

R.W. Behan wrote:
Hi, Paul,

Pretty close. CAPER was #522
Your second post was interesting; I thought the kits were sold at about the
same stage of construction, i.e., all structural parts assembled. If some
folks DID do the hull/deck joint, there could be some shaky boats out there.
CAPER was a kit boat, and mostly well done, except for a couple of charming
quirks. The door in front of the electrical panel was not quite level, and
the butterfly hatch was a bit skewed. Just showed the guy who built the
boat was human. Other than those items, he did a first rate job of joinery.
She's back on the market now, and if you'd like to take a look, try this
link:


http://www.yachtworld.com/core/listi...neservicenter&

Most of the pictures are ones I gave the broker when we sold the boat. The
one on the title page actually shows me at the helm--but you need to look
closely!

Nice to hear from you. Where are you located?

Dick




"Paul Cassel" wrote in message
. ..
R.W. Behan wrote:
Hi, Rob,

We owned a W32 for nearly 10 years, and dearly love these boats.
Dick,

I was W32 hull #474. What were you?

-paul