Westsail 32 in light air

[wingssail]

Originally Posted by GWB

...To Wingsail, please post your polars for a Westsail 32. I would love to take a look...

Sorry, this is the correct polar diagram for a boat such as a westsail 32. still not good but better than the example in my previous comment.

[MicHughV]

The W32 is a nice classic boat.....I'm a sucker for those older style "classic" boats.....the W32, Vagabond, Hans Christian, etc..getting the last increment of "speed" was never their goal....safety...comfort at sea, etc, was....wherever you go, one of these hove into sight...it would (and will) turn your head..

[GWB]

Originally Posted by wingssail

Sorry, this is the correct polar diagram for a boat such as a westsail 32. still not good but better than the example in my previous comment.

Thanks for making the effort to post that. Unfortunately "polars for a boat such as a Westsail 32" doesn't really mean much. Polars are by nature, boat and sailplan specific. I can tell you that this polar is not accurate at all.

[GWB]

Originally Posted by waterman46

Nope. That wind is 10 to 12 knots, not 8. the water gives you away. Small whitecaps clearly seen ahead of the boat to starboard. Sure I do believe you were going 6 knots in 10 knots of wind. And it looks like you are closer to a beam reach, perhaps even a little below, than your instrument indicated.

You are wrong, but you are entitled to your opinion. Take care

[GWB]

Originally Posted by MicHughV

The W32 is a nice classic boat.....I'm a sucker for those older style "classic" boats.....the W32, Vagabond, Hans Christian, etc..getting the last increment of "speed" was never their goal....safety...comfort at sea, etc, was....wherever you go, one of these hove into sight...it would (and will) turn your head..

I like to sail my boat to its its potential. That means that the bottom is clean, there is a feathering prop and care has been taken to make sure the hull is fair and smooth. I have very good sails. I'm constantly thinking about how I can make the boat "better".
In that respect, I'm no different than any other sailor trying to get the most out of their boat. All boats (except one design) are handicapped.
Taking this into account, comparing different boats and saying one is "faster" than another becomes a fools errand. It makes me laugh when someone with a 40 footer says "my boat is way faster than xyz 32 footer" Well, your boat is way slower than xyz 50 footer.

[MicHughV]

true, you'll often see racers spending $1,000's of dollars on the latest mylar/kevlar/whatever sails...and braided dyneema line, etc..all for that extra 0.0001 knot...but a feathering prop and a clean hull, reasonable sails is really all the average cruiser needs..

[waterman46]

LOL LOL! Pardon me but I'm kind of tickled at how many here are comparing a boat which is basically an oversize racing dinghy, to a sturdy and beautiful design with features desireable for ocean cruising.
All respect to Olson 30 ocean sailors, they got a lot more guts than I.

[Cheechako]

Put up more sail. ie: How energetic are you?

[MicHughV]

I can remember reading Ferenc Mate's book " From a bare hull" his tale of building his W32, back in 1975....thinking...I gotta have me one of these......still think it's a beautiful craft....

[wingssail]

Originally Posted by GWB

Thanks for making the effort to post that. Unfortunately "polars for a boat such as a Westsail 32" doesn't really mean much. Polars are by nature, boat and sailplan specific. I can tell you that this polar is not accurate at all.

Well, I don't have much data about Westsail 32's to validate my VPP.

Here is some more of the detail behind the Polar I posted.

If you can give me some corrections from your own expereince I can try to improve the model.

But keep in mind that the purpose of this VPP is not to predict actual speeds but to predict how much the boat speed will change as a boat comes up or goes down. The real use is to deternine the best TWA to sail to achieve the optimal VMG towards a mark on any particular sailing leg (not just upwind or downwind).

This output data is for a "heavy, full keel style" boat with a waterline of 27.5 in winds of 13 true and flat water.

[GWB]

Originally Posted by GWB

Here is a Westsail 32 doing 4.2k in 4.2k APPARENT wind...

Who can tell me what the TRUE wind was...?

Just a clarification - this is not my Westsail 32 in the picture. It belongs to Dave King

[wingssail]

Originally Posted by GWB

Just a clarification - this is not my Westsail 32 in the picture. It belongs to Dave King

My guess is that the True Wind was no less than 7 knots. Mr King was reaching at a True Wind Angle of 147 degrees (actually broad reaching) at a speed of slighty less than 4 knots and the Apparent Wind Angle was 109 degrees and the Apparent Wind Speed was 4.4.

These are rough figures but it is the only way I can get 4 knots of boat speed at 4 knots of apparent wind for that boat.

It matches the photo, also.

[ThereAndBack]

I'm not here to play around with the thread but just to provide my experience to the OP.

I owned/refit/sailed a Westsail 32 for 4 years full time cruising around the Caribe. Before that I spent years sailing her in my local waters which happened to be in the USA.

The boat will not perform well in light air going up wind. It will not perform well going into any sort of chop. She will reach in light air, especially if you put some big head sails up there. I had a huge asym that I would fly if the wind was 5-7kts and it would move the boat downwind just fine. I would also suggest that you reduce the main a bit by cutting the bottom few inches off and increase the size of the headsails. Some owners have gone to a "super yankee", I still prefer a genoa despite not being able to see so well to leeward. Reducing the main and increasing the headsail area significantly reduced weather helm and sped the boat up considerably.

All that said... If you plan to do the majority of your sailing in light airs, I would look for a different boat. For the same price you can get something more spacious and faster. You'll sacrifice the toughness and all weather abilities of a westsail for that. But horses for courses....

If you plan to do serious open water sailing, need to go anywhere, etc... That is where the Westsail will really shine. I don't believe I ever averaged less than 100 miles per day when doing overnight passages, and that was in some really light and variable stuff. We almost always averaged around 5kts, which is very good for a short boat like the W32. She shines at sea and can go out when others chicken out.

[GWB]

Originally Posted by wingssail

My guess is that the True Wind was no less than 7 knots. Mr King was reaching at a True Wind Angle of 147 degrees (actually broad reaching) at a speed of slighty less than 4 knots and the Apparent Wind Angle was 109 degrees and the Apparent Wind Speed was 4.4.

These are rough figures but it is the only way I can get 4 knots of boat speed at 4 knots of apparent wind for that boat.

It matches the photo, also.

Wrong. Feel free to guess again. The apparent wind angle is shown as 43

[wingssail]

Originally Posted by GWB

Wrong. Feel free to guess again. The apparent wind angle is shown as 43

GWB, I'd appreciate a little more civility. I am not guessing. Maybe I don't have it right, but if you're selling the idea that a Westsail 32 can go 4.2 knots of boat speed in 4.2 knot of apparent wind, then perhaps you should go into real estate selling.

And if you're into guessing, try guessing how many people believe that.