For Sale: cheap Westsail 32 project on EBAY

[shorebird]

the Melba is toast.

[Benjmin]

If that boat were mine I would haul it out. Remove the lead keel and sell for scrap metal $. Sell the mast for scrap metal $. Sell the engine and tanks for scrap metal $. eBay the good stuff inside $ then haul it to sea and sink it. Then take the money made from scrap metal and put it twards another sailboat that is not a hopeless cause.

[dohenyboy]

Amen brother

[John A]

It may be a Westsail hull but the rest looks home-built.

Buy a cheap boat needing $60k and 5 years hard work or spend $60k on a reasonible older boat and go sailing next weekend.
Your choice.

[sidmon]

Originally Posted by Target9000

That boat looks nothing like our W32. The cabin top itself is completely different. Its hull to deck joint doesn't look the same, there is no cap rail, bulwark height is off. The rudder isn't the same. There is a split back stay instead of the boomkin on the W32. There is no bow sprit like the factory W32s. They didn't mention a hull number. Are we sure this is a Westsail?

If it is!... Then the person that put this boat together used the hull. And that was about it.

You could buy a bare hull from Westsail and finish it out yourself.

Looks like this was one of those boats.

Vivid example of why too much customization in a boat is a bad thing.

If I still owned a Volvo, that motor and the spares would pique my interest.

[sidmon]

Originally Posted by sidmon

You could buy a bare hull from Westsail and finish it out yourself.

Looks like this was one of those boats.

Vivid example of why too much customization in a boat is a bad thing.

If I still owned a Volvo, that motor and the spares would pique my interest.

I had forgotten about the progenitor of the W32...The Kendall 32, which was flush decked:

[marc2012]

May not have a lead keel,notice half the time it is in the it's side.

[David_Old_Jersey]

Originally Posted by justwaiting

Some of this information would possible be useful to potential buyers of other neglected boats. Advice on this forum (which is consistent with my experience) is that buying a boat in better condition for more money upfront is normally less expensive. This is rarely quantified by the posts.

I appreciate your frustation - but even if I came up with an exact answer as to how long my piece of string is / was, it wouldn't really help anyone else. Might be of interest but not of much value.

But the downside for me doing that (and therefore counting the total cost) would be a strong likelihood that I would jump overboard .


In regard to this boat, IMO it is a "niche" item .....not to say that for the right person would not be ideal. But a small market of those.

The biggest downside I can see (from the comments of others) is that it is not really a W32. Love 'em or hate 'em, they do have a brand and a following - and that always helps with resale.

From what I can tell this boat is in effect a homebuilt job (always a big negative on value - no matter how well done) that has been heavily customised for a specific purpose (another negative on the value) of being for bluewater voyages rather than aimed at a life in a Marina or dangling from a hook.....could argue that all that doesn't matter, and it doesn't if a) the boat suits the owner down to a T and b) won't want to be selling......boat won't ever be a $50k vessel, no matter how well it is refurbed or money spent on her. Might not even ever be a $20k boat......

Probably best suited for someone very handy with tools, looking to go Bluewater, knows that this boat would be ideal for them, has little money to start with and is looking to "finance" the boat by paying for the work required over several years, in both sweat and cash (and is not looking to acheive a factory fresh look loaded with all mod cons).

If that is the case then IMO worth a $500 punt, with Plan B being to strip her for E-bay and then a chainsaw on the rest........but I think better deals out there, even if the initial purchase cost is higher.......but I appreciate that not everyone has that choice.

[George Hoskins]

Currently at $1600. And already over priced!

Looks like a home made steel boat by in France.

These guys build their boats only after they have read Bernard Montissier's books.

Great for the Southern Ocean but look ugly in every other setting

[Geoduck]

Looks like he had sailing off into a hurricane in mind - ? (mind?)

[westsail42]

That is scary looking.

Interesting use of teak grab rails through out, even as companionway ladders.

It looks like the rudder is a two piece? Adjustable leading and trailing edges?

[lazystar]

I am the person selling the boat. She is definitely a mess...but definitely solid. I spend the last week taking old junk off of her and straightening up the interior a bit. It was like an episode of "Hoarders"! I already have a Westsail...so , don't need another. She came to me through a friend of my father. I guess I should've given her a better bath!
My thoughts: bulletproof hull , motor looks great and turns...vut probably needs some work. very proper , seagoing interior. She looks strange...and the dual rudder is VERY strange , but remember ...the guy sailed this from California to Hawaii successfully.
Someone with time and elbow grease can easily clean her up , straighten out her motor and buy some used sails from Minney's...and have a pretty rock solid little cruising boat. Just my 2 cents.

[westsail42]

I would definitely say she looks solid. Very utilitarian. Built for purpose not elegance.

[David M]

Bottom line, if it sails and the engine works as is, then it's worth the price. If it needs a pile of money just to make it work then it is clearly not worth the price, even if was free. But as the owner just said, she works.

As already mentioned, it's going to take the right kind of person to appreciate this boat.

[capn_billl]

If the boat was in Texas I would give it a shot. Not everyone can lay down a few of hundred grand for a brand new custom benny toy.

If it floats, has a solid hull, and the rigging and sails work, then you have a sailboat. Then you can either spend the next few years fixing it here, or fixing it in exotic locations,... your choice.

Slap an outboard on the back, and work on the diesel in your spare time, while sipping a margarita anchored off of a tropical island.