Baba 30 vs Willard 30 with Mariner 31 / 32 (Just to Confuse Things)

[Billy Higgins]

I've been around some of those boats for years, so I would check out this one thing carefully - the compsition of the keel. A lead keel on any of these boats is going to add a lot to the performance that they all need by reducing pitching. The Taiwan boats (e.g. the Baba) will most likely have an iron keel, and the Westsails could have anything considering how many were home finished. Double enders do pitch more than transom sterned boats, but having the boats' moments of inertia lowered as much as possible will make this feature much less objectionable. Conversely, iron keels - with their large mass more spread out fore and aft -add considerably to pitching.

Having "pitched that caveat", I kinda like the Westsail 32 - it's a shippy little boat with a lot of appeal. Finally, on any of these boats you might want to figure out where the hard dinghy will be stowed at sea.

[Cheechako]

Originally Posted by Yachtbuilder

Cheechako:

My comments regarding the Mariner boats should have stated that I was referring to the original ones he built, I believe, in Yokohama. When the tooling was brought to California, the boats were never the same, to the best of my recollection.

You're right, they are getting "long in the tooth".

hmmm, it's been many years, but i had thought the one i looked at (mariner 31 ketch?) was an early formosa build...? A lot of chopper gun, cheap plywood and rough glass work in the one i looked at. much cheaper than comparable boats at the time too. sounds like you are more familiar with them then I am.

[meuritt]

I looked at two different Willard 30' and I am pretty sure we sea trialed one, both were trawlers. Rolly little boat, same hull fit four different 'caps' a sail boat, a trawler, and I forget the other two cabin tops. Solid built boats but the ballast is in the hull, and is cement with scrap metal mixed in. At least that is what one owner told me. Ultimately the trawler was just not a friendly layout, having to step up to the pilothouse and then down to the forward berth took it off the list. There was a sailing Willard in our harbor for a time, it had been all over the US coastline, but was trucked from W to E and back again. A very capable boat from what I heard, the man who did all that died some time back, his son has it now, and it sits in Sausalito somewhere. Tortuga was a very salty looking little boat.