36 Westerly Corsair

[Tyrone777]

Hello,

Been considering a 36 Westerly Corsair for our first boat. I was looking at the UK owners site and did not see too much info and real life experiences with these boats. I was wondering if any of you had any ideas or thoughts about these boats. Any information or opinions would be greatly appreciated. Here is a link to the boat that I am looking at.

[Terra Nova]

Originally Posted by Tyrone777

Hello,

Been considering a 36 Westerly Corsair for our first boat. I was looking at the UK owners site and did not see too much info and real life experiences with these boats. I was wondering if any of you had any ideas or thoughts about these boats. Any information or opinions would be greatly appreciated...

Yo Ty,

if you want some owners to tell you how much they like theirs, you'll probably succeed if you're patient. Never having seen a Westerly, I will try to give you a different point of view regarding the linked boat.

This is a short, fat, high-windage, shoal-draft, lightly ballasted center-cockpit series-production boat with some obsolete electronics. It is a type perhaps suitable to cruising in tradewind conditions. And it is of an age which likely means it is ready for a refit.

best, andy

[Inthewind]

If you really decide you want that boat, save yourself $20,000 or more and offer $37,500. Then wait awhile and then the boat will be yours. I would keep looking for a better vessel if your in the $60,000 range. That is just my unbiased opinion.

[Tyrone777]

Thanks for the insight. I'm looking for a boat to sail around the Galveston Tx area for the next 2 or so years. Than once I am comfortable with the boat and my sailing capabilities I would like to move down to the Carib. and live aboard. I have been thinking about buying cheaper then upgrading in the next 2 or so years but it might be easier to skip that step.

[Sailormann]

Have you looked at this one ? Same broker - better price - sounds like a lot of expensive work (that the Westerly is going to need soon) has been done. Looks like a better-performing boat too.

JM YACHTS, Inc. (Clear Lake Shores, TX)&

[pkstinn]

Hi, Tyrone777...did you make your decision? Have you been on a test sail for the Westerly 36? We're in similar position as you are...searching for s/v that we can live aboard in a year or two in the Galveston area. Cannot find enough info about these English boats...

[pkstinn]

Andy, you mention you haven't seen a Westerly, yet you have an extremely strong opinon about the inadquacies...have you spoken to owners about these boats that you would have such a strong opinion?

[little boat]

pkstinn, i've seen this boat hauled out and would confirm andy's evaluation of this boat as spot on. what amazes me, is how westerly used to produce such great little seaworthy boats like the centaur, (a favorite of mine), and now makes these unattractive tubs. based on the link tyronne posted of that particular boat, these are just a few things i would find unacceptable.
none of the corners of the furniture below are rounded. no sea hood on the companionway? why so cheap? looks like six inches of water in the cockpit would pour down the companionway, no bridge deck? perhaps thought unneccesary on a center cockpit, but it looks like one bucket of water would slosh below. windage? an abomination. squeezing around the wheel blocking the cockpit? hate the chainplates coming through to the bulkhead. pkstinn, this is obviously not my kind of boat as i like sleek and pretty and upwind capable, so my critique is biased and i'll just stop there. the internet is full of info on english boats, photos, reviews etc. google the model that interests you.

[pkstinn]

Thank you for your evaluation, Little Boat. The points you make are all good...as were Tyrone777's...but, I've yet to read anything from anyone that has actually sailed one. If I were young and agile, the Benneteau First catches my eye...but I'm not young and agile, and I need a very stable sailing vessel that can survive a storm while shorthanded or singlehanded. I'm not built for speed anymore...I need creature comforts and stable (low heal). The windage factor, unfortunately, has discouraged us from making any offers on any of the vessels we've seen thus far that offer adequate ballast/keel, cockpit and cabin features.

[cburger]

Go to WESTSAIL - WORLD CRUISER YACHT CO. and take a look at the used Westsail line of boats for sale. If you have your heart set on spending 60k, the Westsail 32 is head and shoulders above any Westerly ever built. "For what its worth", Practical Sailor rated the 32 the second best cruising sailboat of all time, first was a Valiant. A re-known passage maker as well as a good live aboard. Have a friend who has a Westerly, believe it is the Sea Tiger model, one of the ugliest boats I can remember seeing in awhile. After getting a chance to get the nickel tour is was evident what a piece of cr-p the boat was. Moral of the story was last year the boat sank on its mooring, think the gods of the sea did him a favor.

[little boat]

pkstinn, i know what you mean about agility and youth. if you are partial to english boats, i wonder if you have seen the golden hinde.
http://www.eventides.org.uk/goldpic.htm
the hard chines of this boat and its short rig keep it almost upright in a gale. the 31 is enormous for its size down below and one of the prettiest interiors ever made.
they come in wood and fbg and are even currently being made in alu by terry erskine. there are a few different models around with variations, mostly that many are cutter rigged, (a good idea), with a taller mast, but i've seen one that the gentleman called a 'circumnavigator' with a single deep vs bilge keels.
i've met quite a few of these yachts and their owners were unanimously very happy. the wide decks are a cinch for getting forward.

[Ex-Calif]

Just a comment about the salon table. We have the same design - table leaves fold up on either side of the compression post.

This is the only annoying thing on our boat. And it's really annoying. With the leaves up pasing the table is a drama especially if anyone is sitting there. On a 27 foot boat (ours) there is not a lot of choice but on a 36 foot boat you can definitely get the table off to the side opening up the aisle.

Next year we will probably be doing some woodworking on ours and I am definitely going to figure this one out...

[SecondBase]

Originally Posted by pkstinn

I've yet to read anything from anyone that has actually sailed one. If I were young and agile, the Benneteau First catches my eye...but I'm not young and agile, and I need a very stable sailing vessel that can survive a storm while singlehanding...I need creature comforts and stable (low heal). The windage factor,...

Here is the owners association.
Westerly Owners Association

A Westerly will be a tough sell to Benehuntalina dock walkers with their kit-cut wood panels down below and ambitions for Block this season.

British Sailing Layout leaves them disconcerted. Pointing out the Lloyd's plate doesn't help. Hahaha The windage is real and even more so on my pilothouse model. Windward feels akin to a Voyage 500.

Comfortable, safe and stable -- a Westerly falls somewhere between an Island Packet and a container ship's orange lifeboat. Range Rover of the sea. In my experience as an owner, professional mariners and even civil engineers can't stop talking about the Westerly when they see it. Don't expect the YC launch kid to have the same experienced perspective. When a designer like Jack Giles specs a 13" cleat on a 28'6" boat you understand his mindset. When the builder builds to that plan you have to wonder if they had more love for boats than making a profit. When that cleat holds during the derecho last summer, and again during Sandy last fall, you can only offer a toast to designer and builder. I'll try to post some pictures later.

If you find a rebuilt Westerly with a Beta repower, only three words apply: PAY CASH NOW



Bury me at sea on my Westerly.