Fales 32 Navigator Motorsailor

[miked40]

So I have gathered as much information as possible off sailboat data and the limited info on the internet. My question, has anyone been on or sailed a Fales 32. Real life experiences appreciated, curious how it sails for what she is. Any other observations or insight would be taken. Thanks

[dnbchrd]

My father had a trawler version - it was a great boat that we had a lot of fun on. It's going to sail as you would expect - better with the motor running. But that's what motorsailors do!

[GordMay]

Greetings and welcome aboard the CF, dnbchrd.


The Fales Navigator is a rip off of the Willard Horizon. Here is the official story from the Willard web site:
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I would like to once again (and hopefully the last time) go over the painful history of the relationship between Willard Marine and the Fales line of boats.

Back in the '70's, John Fales who was a Pearson (as I recall) sailboat dealer in New England contacted Willard Marine and said he loved our trawler yachts. He said that he wanted to build them on the East Coast under license of Willard Marine. He said he was positive he could sell large quantities. There upon, a lengthy negotiation process began. The final agreement was that John Fales would purchase a hull mold only for the Willard 30 and build the 30 on the East Coast under supervision of Willard Marine staff. John Fales would then pay Willard Marine a royalty for each boat that he sold.

When John Fales received the Willard 30 hull mold, he immediately cut it up and added two feet in the middle to extend the hull to 32 feet. This was not done with approval of Willard Marine. He said it was none of our business since he now owned the tooling. He immediately started producing 32 foot boats under the Fales name but he led his customers to believe that they were a Willard Marine product, capitalizing on the well respected Willard Marine name. They were not. Willard Marine staff did not participate in the construction of any his boats. We have no idea how his boats were produced - constructions techniques, materials, systems, etc.

John Fales refused to pay Willard Marine any royalties because he said he wasn't building a Willard trawler anymore, he was building a Fales boat. This was not part of the agreement when the hull mold was sold to him. Willard Marine considered legal action, but decided against it. It was better to swallow a bitter pill and get on with their lives.

John Fales died years ago, and as far as we know nothing is left from his venture and there is no support for his boats as far as I know. I frequently get requests in my office from Fales owners for "factory" support on their boats. I wish I could help them, but I can't. We know nothing about the boats, - anymore than we should know about Hatteras boats or any other brand.

So.....the Willard Owners can do anything with the List they want, because it is your List. However to include the Fales line of boats into the "archive of the Willards" will continue to perpetuate the myth that Fales boats are a product of Willard Marine. They are not! That would make no more sense than adding Bayliners and Grand Banks to the Willard archives.

Should anything be done to indicate that the Fales boat is a Willard Marine product, - directly or indirectly on this List, Willard Marine would reluctantly withdraw its support from the Willard Boat Owners chat list.

I hope that everyone understands the subtle nuances of our position.

~ Patrick Gerety PleasureCraft Division Willard Marine 1250 N. Grove St. Anaheim, CA 92806 714-666-2150 x 214 www.willardmarine.com"

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That being said, both the Fales Navigator and the Willard Horizon are very seaworthy fully powered sail assisted trawlers. I'd say they are 70/30. The sails are best regarded as an assist to the engine and as a fully independent "get home" system. Both the Willard and the Fales have about half the sail area of a sailboat of similar size and displacement so can always be considered as sailing in a fully reefed condition. They can carry full sail in a 25 kt. wind. When motor sailing in a beam wind, fuel consumption drops to a very low level, say 1/2 gallon an hour at 6 kts. The sails also act as an effective roll damper. William Crealock did not design the Willard 30 Horizon but did contribute to a modified sailboat version using the basic hull and an enhanced sail plan and deck molding. Although outwardly similar, the Willard has a better fit and finish than the Fales but the plastic hull of the Fales is reputedly less liable to blister. Both are fine looking boats and attract attention wherever they go.

~ Larry Z (A Willard Horizon owner)

[miked40]

Thanks for the feed back everyone. I like to pretend that somewhere out there is a good sailing/trawler like vessel but I know it's not to be had...

[Crismal]

Hi david
We owned a Fales 32 for several years on the St Johns River in Jacksonville, Fl and loved her. We wish we’d never sold her. She was a great entertaining boat and we stayed aboard often. As for sailing, if you have 15+ knot winds, she does great. Anything less than that you really need to motor sail.

A fun fact - my husband’s last name is Patton (as in the general). Turns out our fales was made for George C Scott in 1977 - he played the general in the movie Patton!