Wheeler:

We'd better be very careful here. I didn't mean to imply that "any visible
faults will be cosmetic." You could find evidence of damage from accidents
or wear--"faults"--that will indeed be structural, so heads up. My boat,
for example, had a sizeable pocket of rot in the bowsprit that I didn't find
(and neither could the surveyor) until I pulled the anchor winch to refinish
the 'sprit. That was a serious structural problem. (CAPER now sports a
stainless steel bowsprit.) There can be any number of other "faults" that
are far more serious than simply cosmetic.

What I meant to say was that the hulls of the "kit" boats and the
factory-finished boats had the same initial structural integrity, because
the buyers of the kit boats didn't have to DO anything that was structural.
They just finished the interiors. (Well, they rigged them, too, and I guess
that is "structural" in a strict definition.)
Some interiors were done extremely well, some not so well, but the "faults"
you'd see would be cosmetic--not structural.

So do be careful, and when it comes time for a survey get in touch with Bud
Taplin at Worldcruiser Yachts. His surveys are literally peerless. Bud was
the General Manager of Westsail in the early days, and nobody knows the
boats better.

The rumble I've heard about the later boats has to do with the glass/resin
mix. As OPEC jacked up petroleum prices, resin got more expensive, so the
financially-troubled company started cutting corners. That's the rumor, but
I've never seen a late '70's boat that showed a direct result. The rumor
has not been confirmed in fact, in other words. I wouldn't reject a later
boat on this basis--but neither would I buy one without a Bud Taplin survey.

(Why haven't I thought of this until now? Here's the link to Bud's website.
Email him directly for the straight dope on the later boats--or any other
question you might have. His email address is on the site.
http://www.westsail.com/index.htm)

Cheers and fair winds,

Dick Behan




"WHEELER WHEELER" wrote in message
...
Thank you for your kind input. I feel more confident now as I continue to
consider a Westsail 32. I understand that any visible faults, especially
on
the kit boats, will be cosmetic and therefore not substantial.

What I have heard is that the later hull numbers--those built in the late
'70s--suffered from some faults in manufacture because the company was
getting into financial trouble during that period. Does anyone know
specifically what weakness were built into the later boats? Are these
cosmetic, too?

"R.W. Behan" wrote in message
...
Wheeler:

I'm a Westie, too-- W32 CAPER, hull #WSSK552, a "kit" boat, nicely
finished. The "weak points in construction" you ask about should not be
a
worry, in my opinion. The "kits" were furnished as completed hull-deck
assemblies, many with engines installed so the owners could power them
home.
What the "builders" did after that was the interior joinery, i.e.,
almost
exclusively cosmetic work. Yes, there may be a locker door a bit
off-square, but the structural integrity--the immense strength of these
boats--was achieved at the factory. I agree with another poster that
most
of the kit-boats are very nicely finished. I've seen only one
exception--where the builder used mostly, it seems, a jacknife to finish
his
boat. So here's my suggestion: when you're shopping for a boat, you can
see
the cosmetic flaws, and avoid them if you choose. What you can't
see--the
structural integrity of the boat--you don't need to worry about. Yes,
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 way of that.
They are a delight to sail--easily single-handed if you know how to
heave
to
when it's time to reef--and as comfortable in a seaway as any boat I
know.
Yes, I'm partisan.

Cheers,

Dick B.


"WHEELER WHEELER" wrote in message
...
I am looking at a Westsail 32 to sail between the islands of Hawaii
and
on
Kaneohe Bay, Oahu. Does anyone know the pros and cons of Westsail 32s?
What
weak points in construction should I be aware of? Thanks.