actually the small Westerly bilge keel boats can make for fantastic pocket
cruisers. Cheap to buy (that one seems a mite high at $6,500?), roomy, solidly
built (Lloyd's, at least some of them), very shallow draft (great for missing
all the shoals other people hit) and quite decent sailors for most anything
other than tight upwind sailing (which cruisers don't do anyway because it so
old so quickly). The bilge keel boats sail more or less about the same as
similar size full-keel boats. Hell, you could knock around on that boat for a
year or two and then give it away and still spend a HUGE deal less money than
someone buying a 29 foot fin keeler. If someone were to ask me for a
recommendation for a low cost, solid, quality sailboat with the most for the
buck, the Westerly 22, 26 and the 25 would be on my list.

... and the bilge keels are a feature that compromises sailing performance
and stiffness for the capability to 'take the mud' happily. If you don't
need this capability, there are boats that are better choices.

mike worrall wrote:

Does anyone have any information or experience on the older Westerly
Yachts?

Please see: http://www.westerly-owners.co.uk/

There's a great book by Peter Nicols on the first solo
circumnavigation race, the Golden Globe race of 1968 (eventually won
by Robin Knox-Johnston) titled 'A Voyage for Madmen.' One of the
competitors - Capr John Ridgewy - set off on a Westerly 30 lent to him
by the company, and substantially 'beefed-up' for the onerous prospect
of the Southern Ocean. To quote from the book "But no ammount of
strengthning could compensate for the Westerly 30's inherent
unsuitability for an Atlantic crossing...let alone a solo
circumnavigation..." The boat literally fell-apart around him, and he
was forced to retire.

I mention this only becasue it's an excellent book, and it points out
the apparent deficiencies of the Westerly's 'of that era'.

Mike Worrall
Los Angeles