This Westsail 32

[maxingout]

I owned a Westsail 32 for about five years, and I loved the boat. It was a great downwind boat, but not so good upwind. If I ever get another W32, it will have a 40 hp diesel for punching to windward.

The ballast on the W32 varied by about 1200 pounds depending on whether it had steel punchings or lead for ballast in the sealed keel. If you have steel punchings, your boat will be tender and heel over significantly going to windward. I added ballast to my W32 to stiffen it up.

Great boat for sailing downwind around the world.

If it had a new engine, I think 40k would be reasonable. The engine is a question mark in terms of valuation.

Rigging will have to be changed if you want to get insurance on the boat unless you have a very lenient insurance company. They would not insure our yacht unless the rigging was less than ten years old, and we needed paperwork to prove the date.

[UNCIVILIZED]

Originally Posted by Ryban

I'd absolutely get a survey done before I signed anything. A lot of what you said is somewhat over my head... Regarding the engine controls though, they'res a plastic weather sealed cover that I had lifted off to take the photo.

- Also recent: dodger and mainsail cover (1 year old)

To me, that canvas work looks to have seen more than 13 moons. Either that, or in said span of time, it's seen some serious use, & exposure to el Sol.

Also, you can say what you like about my engine control panel comment. But I still stand by said statement. Even though such installations are the norm, it still doesn't make them weather tight.

And, yep, get all 3 types of surveys done, plus the oil & transmission fluid analyzed. Along with a Solid sea trial. But only After, the rigging issues have been addressed.

Good luck, & heed the wisdoms which you asked for

[grantmc]

Originally Posted by UNCIVILIZED

Not sure entirely what you're asking, & one can only tell so much from pics anyway.
She's shiny, & shiny sells/grabs hearts. So one needs to look beyond such, & also hire others to do so, to see what kind of shape she's really in.

There are 101 small details, which are in need of attention ...

Thanks for the really awesome comments about the issues you spotted Uncivilised. I spent quite a while reviewing your thoughts/comments and looking carefully at the photos. Learnt much from doing so. Have seen many of the potential issues you've highlighted but your warnings put much in context. So thanks sincerely for the time you spent doing so and writing up such a comprehensive post.

He's right too about the engine control panel, cockpits can easily become a bathtub, hence they always have drains. Dumb place to put the controls. Should be moved higher if you want to go offshore.

I thought too that the original post, having included a decent number of really clear photos was excellent. Often times people ask such questions about a boat they're looking to buy but with either none or poor quality photos. I've noticed also that brokers photos, much of the time, are based more on the inside of the boat rather than the outside, so impossible to see if the vessel in question is ship shape.

In respect to the specific Westsail that the OP is looking at. It strikes me that the Yanmar is way too big for the boat. Sure there's power to burn, which is a good thing, but it may be really difficult to work on? Likely the motor, for one reason or another was available and the owner got a good deal. A rebuilt motor is not ‘as new’, it’s rebuilt, and there is a wide range of views on what rebuilt means. I would want to know what was replaced in the motor, and what machine work was undertaken. Also is there a warrantee from Bay Marine that will carry over to a new owner and how long does it have to run. Likely any warrantee remaining will be ‘return to base’; is that convenient? I’d go and see Bay Marine and ask how long they think the motor will last. What about the gearbox, is it off the original motor or did it come with the rebuilt motor?

I wonder too if the other systems for the engine were also replaced/upgraded or are they still 40 years old, ie. morse controls, exhaust system, raw water system, wiring etc? I repowered my yacht with a second hand 14 hp motor not too long ago and it cost a similar amount. It was all those other things that sucked up the money. For example, in adding all that extra power, what was done about the prop and shaft?

The motor replacement was done only six months ago and that makes me suspicious. Unless the old motor was totally stuffed, spending 11K on a replacement wouldn’t have added much to the value of the boat (IMO). Most people that make the decision to replace a motor do so because they’ve recognised they want to keep the boat for several more years and will get their money back through the use of the boat.

10 year old rigging implies to me that it’s time for replacement again. Whether it can be insured or not will be an issue presumably, but if you wish to do more than Sunday sailing you’ll want your family to be safe.

A bottom job adds nothing to the value; it’s just annual maintenance. Same with newish dodger and mainsail cover; worth nothing as they’re just consumables.
Galvanic isolator, worth what? Maybe $100. Just as relevant, when the bottom was done, were all the anodes replaced, was the prop coated with Propspeed or similar?
Sails reported in good condition, well it’s a sail boat so you’d expect that.
12v batteries not isolated and comes with an old battery charger (so how/what was the galvanic isolator for?)
Water heater has been removed, compressor not hooked up, old electronics, no fridge … well why list these as features? Things that don’t work or don’t exist provide no benefits. My boat isn’t a super yacht and so doesn’t have a helicopter, spa, jet skis or swimming pool, and so I probably wouldn't list them in the NOT included feature list if I wanted to sell her.

Certainly not wanting to be harsh, but listing things that aren't included I find quite amusing. I'm going to start doing that in my job.

As a positive she looks like a lovely sail boat, and like all boats has heaps of diy things to work on. Maybe these can be used to advantage in the sale price?

[Cheechako]

Originally Posted by maxingout

I owned a Westsail 32 for about five years, and I loved the boat. It was a great downwind boat, but not so good upwind. If I ever get another W32, it will have a 40 hp diesel for punching to windward.

The ballast on the W32 varied by about 1200 pounds depending on whether it had steel punchings or lead for ballast in the sealed keel. If you have steel punchings, your boat will be tender and heel over significantly going to windward. I added ballast to my W32 to stiffen it up.

Great boat for sailing downwind around the world.

If it had a new engine, I think 40k would be reasonable. The engine is a question mark in terms of valuation.

Rigging will have to be changed if you want to get insurance on the boat unless you have a very lenient insurance company. They would not insure our yacht unless the rigging was less than ten years old, and we needed paperwork to prove the date.

While I haven't owned a WS have sailed extensively with two friends that had them. Both wished they had more HP. I think the bigger engine is a plus on the one the OP is looking at.

[Ryban]

This is exactly why I like coming here for feedback -- it's the critical reality check that I need to keep as much money in my pockets as possible.

I like the boat, but it's the first WS32 I've seen in person. I've seen a lot of bad examples of WS32s on the market though.

I've flown down to California to look at boats (and visit friends) in the past:

Downeast 38: https://goo.gl/photos/zJfN3tpkvthPWM8j9
Pearson 367: https://goo.gl/photos/poL8huHRpYwR4h6o9

And would be willing to do it again for a good example of a particular boat, at the right price.

[a64pilot]

Very few boats of that era will be pristine, far as rigging goes, until you replace it, unless your a rigger I see it as an unknown, on any boat, I'm saying figure on replacing the rigging on any boat you buy.
Look at others of course, a Wetsnail may not be the boat for you, the type would be on my short list, but not everyone's.
Engine wise, yes it's over sized, but not monstrously so and may be about the same footprint as a Perkins. Surely cost, availability and ease of installation figured into why it was purchased, and yes, I bet what came out was stuffed as you say.
Fuel burn should be 1 gl an hour, a properly sized engine would burn maybe .9 an hour? Almost all of these little engines have about the same BSFC, meaning for X amount of horsepower, fuel burn is nearly identical.

By all means keep looking, don't fall in love with the first girl you see, but continue to educate yourself as much as possible about what you consider important and what you don't.

For me I didn't want an "equipped" boat as I figured one not would sell at a lower price, may have meant less used, and I wanted to pick and install all of it myself anyway, but I would have saved bunches of money and a lot of work if I had bought one equipped.
So decide what is important to you.

[Ryban]

Looks like someone is interested as the status has changed to "sale pending".

I love the W32s -- I don't really care that they're heavy and slow. However, I think I'm leaning more something much smaller, and much more economical like an Albin Vega 27, so that I can save more money for offshore prep and the cruising kitty. Maybe a W28.

[lifeofreilly57]

Was it a factory finished or a kit boat?
ELectronics are fluff, you will most likely replace them all anyway.
Engine is just barely large enough but usable, Yanmar is pretty dependable and parts are widely available.
Was it wired at the factory or by an owner? Either way, if it's original there's a pretty fair chance it needs to be replaced by now if it's original.
Nice that it's pretty, does he have maintenance records?
Assume that you'll have to go through the systems and replace repair most systems, except those recently redone, them base your offer there.
I sold a westsail 32 about 10 years ago that had a total of 6 years in the water for $35,000.00 with a 4-108 with 600 hours on it, ICOM SSB, all outfitted and with oversized rigging.
I'd thoroughly inspect those aluminum tanks, they tend to have pocket corrosion on the undersides where they tend to live with moisture against the hull, in fact assume you'll be replacing them. They can be a bitch to remove, depending on shape and how they were installed.
Otherwise pretty solid boats, depending on the ballast in the keel.
The one I bought and sold showed 17,500 lbs on the truck scale with half a tank of fuel, there was a bit of gear onboard, but not too much heavy stuff.

[quetzal]

Get ahold of Bud Taplin at Westsail Parts. He can help you with any part you may need. Great Boat will take you where you want to go and Bring you home.