Opinions on the Westsail 42 Ketch

[SunSail2013]

Originally Posted by GaryMayo

Welcome to the forum! Great people here.

Zero sailing experience and looking at a Crealock 42 is like your first car being a vintage Rolls Royce to take drivers ed with.

For every ten feet of length, figure doubling your expenses. 22,32,42 etc. Doc fees, haul outs, bottom paint, it all adds up.

Crealock is my favorite marine designer and why I picked my sailboat.

Go sailing, crew on sailboats, make friends with sailboats, hang out on the docks. You are contemplating purchasing a big hole in the water to pour money into. The larger the sailboat, the less likely one is to untie and go sailing, because of the bother factor. Smaller sailboats are less bother out and back in the slip again. Larger boats have more requirements on captain and crew. Figure on a larger crew or harder worked crew than if you purchased a 32.

Sailboats are a never ending struggle to keep clean, maintain, and preserve.

Many great videos on you tube. Search Paragon 42 should get you to several.

First sailboat a 42 ketch? You get to college by finishing HS, after you finish JH. Droping straight away into a 35,000 pound sailboat is not the typical way it is done.

Hello, xyz insurance, yes, I just purchased a 42' ketch sailboat and I need full coverage for my slip lease, 5 million should be enough. Experience? Why yes, I have quite a few hours at sea on powerboats. Expirence sailing? Why, no, but I read lots on forums. Click. Hello, hello, I think we got cut off.

Thanks for your advise. I realize the challenge a bigger boat poses and I know the curve will be steep off the start.

I will learn to sail like anybody else, keeping it local for a couple of years before extended voyages.

Your comments are welcomed and I thank you for them. Insurance companies are robbers at best so I do appreciate your point.

Glad to hear the WS42 is a good boat.

I have also had money pits in cabin cruisers and currently another with wings and floats

Thanks again

[lifeofreilly57]

Good advice on working your way to a 42.
I had to cringe last year when I was at a very large boat show and overheard a salesman for a very popular cruising boat manufacturer tell a prospective customer that he could easily buy a 40 footer and learn to sail it, even though the prospective client had no previous sailing experience.
No matter how forgiving the design of the boat the rig loads increase dramatically with size, not to mention windage, momentum, cost, insurance, etc.
It all looks easy until you try docking in a cross current......

[SunSail2013]

Thank you for your advice, duly noted

[sailpower]

Originally Posted by SunSail2013

Thank you for your advice, duly noted

Stay with what feels right to you.

I appreciate that some have a problem docking a 25-? Footer but generally the bigger boats are easier to dock.

I started with a Pearson 30 for one season and moved right up to a Pearson 424 ketch with hank on sails. My first trip was bringing it home from Boothbay, ME to Winthrop, MA, an ocean distance of approximately 125 miles.

I did a lot of preparation for that trip and accomplished it in some pretty bad weather that came up. I had mostly inexperienced crew so I was up for the whole time.

There were no chart plotters or GPS back then but Loran-C and paper charts were fine. I laid out the track on the chart before driving up to ME. It’s not rocket science but does require some attention to detail.

Docking on arrival was something that I had thought of in advance and I learned on the trip down how the boat backed, etc. It had a V-Drive and backed hard to Starboard so I put myself in position that going that way would be the escape route.

Don’t be intimidated by sea stories. The learning is in the doing.

Have fun!

[SunSail2013]

Thanks for your post.

Docking a 42' boat is the least of my concerns, after all it is done under power.

When I started out the Loran C was just entering the market, my training was on the Decca Navigator which worked well in my opinion. However I am glad for GPS just the same.

I know that a 42 footer will be an expensive exercise in the begining however I don't intend to consider Blue Water excursions in anything smaller.

Sea stories are many and I have lived through a few in my own limited experience, scared I was and may be again, yet sail I will!

Thanks again

[gettinthere]

Do not underestimate the difficulty in docking a large full keel sailboat. They are not nimble.

Having said that, also don't fret going into a large sailboat from power. I went from a 26' express cruiser to a 42' sloop. No deaths or major injuries to report.

Insurance can be an issue. Several turned me down because of lack of sailing experience. Boat US was my carrier for 15 years with no claims so they gave me a shot with the sailboat.

[SunSail2013]

Thanks for this

I will start shopping for insurance soon to see what it yeilds. My biggest fear!

[Capt.Alex]

I agree it is easier to gradually move up in size, HOWEVER-My first sailboat other than a sunfish was a Morgan 44 Center Cockpit. If you have some good seamanship skills and not too much pride, it's doable. Don't let anyone intimidate you to no follow your dream. If want a 42 footer and can afford it, and the insurance, go for it. I had no problem getting insurance on mine. By the way, I never had any claims either. Good Luck!

[SunSail2013]

Originally Posted by Capt.Alex

I agree it is easier to gradually move up in size, HOWEVER-My first sailboat other than a sunfish was a Morgan 44 Center Cockpit. If you have some good seamanship skills and not too much pride, it's doable. Don't let anyone intimidate you to no follow your dream. If want a 42 footer and can afford it, and the insurance, go for it. I had no problem getting insurance on mine. By the way, I never had any claims either. Good Luck!

Thanks for the encouragement.

I do realize one should start off in a small sailboat
and I should have started twenty years ago

I have loads of boating experience and little fear of a steep learning curve. My pride never stood in the way of other ventures and I have had my share of incidents throughout the learning process. Having said that I am neither fool hardy nor haphazard.

I will learn to sail with the help of seasoned sailors and lots of practise.

However first I have to acquire a boat.

Thanks for all of the advice.

[westsail42]

The W42 is not a bad boat to start out on. As modern 42s tend to be MUCH bigger (beamier with fat sterns) you could pick worse.

The ketch may be a bit complicated for a beginner. The sloop may be preferable.

On the W42 specifically:

LWL is 33 feet.
LOD is 42 feet 11 inches.
LOA is about 50 feet with the pulpits.

Most owners prefer the "tall rig" (main is 55 feet instead of 50). The boat is stiff enough to handle the extra sail area.

Build quality varies. About 120 42 hulls were made in various configs. Early hull numbers are considered better quality as far as laminate goes.

Interiors vary as some were kit builds.

Performance is considered comparable to that of a Valiant 42. Aside from the full keel, the underbodies are similar.

[SV.Maverick]

The Westsail 42's are great boats however they are all mid 70's. Because they are not overly expensive many of them have not been kept up on maintenance. Many that I see on the market look like it has original standing rigging etc. the Westsail 42 is a boat I have always had interest in also but would sure get a VERY good survey if you find one you like.

[Lojanica]

Originally Posted by SunSail2013

Thanks for the encouragement.

I do realize one should start off in a small sailboat
and I should have started twenty years ago

I have loads of boating experience and little fear of a steep learning curve. My pride never stood in the way of other ventures and I have had my share of incidents throughout the learning process. Having said that I am neither fool hardy nor haphazard.

I will learn to sail with the help of seasoned sailors and lots of practise.

However first I have to acquire a boat.

Thanks for all of the advice.

FYI docking can be easily handled by reading a good book on docking and having a friend or hired teacher spend a day teaching you how to dock. It's worth it. There are lots of tricks with the way lines can be wrangled to accomplish the task efficiently, safely, and without damaging yours or your neighbors boat.

Having said that. Go buy one you'll do fine as long as you have a good head on your shoulders. Also give Bud Taplin a call at Worldcruiser as it is worth the extra money spent to have the gentlemean who likely built the boat survey the boat you are courting.

[SunSail2013]

That is great advice and I do know some good sailors who would help.

I will be looking for a survey soon and Bud will certainly be my first choice if he is available at the time. Thanks for your input.

[angelfish2]

SunSail, you are considering my very favorite sailboat of all time. I dearly love them! My hubby and I considered purchasing one way back in the 70s and we actually looked at brand new ones. I still have pictures of us walking around their decks.

Have you been here? If not, you will have fun reading all about them. Just recently we looked for one and good ones are hard to find.

Now, having said all that, I say go for it! Just be sure and have a little help in the beginning with docking and sail management. We just went from a Santana 21 to an Island Packet 32. Even though the IP isn't a particularly large boat, she felt like the Queen Mary. You do get used to it, though.

The very best of luck to you and I hope you let all of us know how you do.

[Doug Nash]

"I intend to buy 40' - 50' Bluewater Cruiser in the near future to begin a new chapter in my life."

For some keen perspective re bluewater cruising on an incredible 43-ft full-keel cutter (a very capable boat that has done it all -- all over the Pacific! -- and now is for sale in Pago Pago, American Samoa by its original owner), check at www.sywindcastle.blogspot.com for a complete description of the boat with lots of photos and a video clip. It's basically ready to go with a new owner to cruise the S. Pacific, but it is a complex boat, thus deserves a skipper who has wide seamanship skills (plus experience in cruising boat ownership and management) on the high seas.
Doug
sv Windcastle