Westsail 32

[thomm225]

I have a chance to buy my dream boat even though I like fast, efficient sailboats.

I saw one of these in 1995 and thought it was the most beautiful boat I had ever seen! (very salty looking!)

A friend of mine is selling his and has given me a pretty good price should I want to buy it. It needs a few things, but most all boats do

My question is how hard are they to dock?

I'm a singlehander with tons of sailing/racing experience, but I'm the worst at putting a boat into a slip although I'm getting better after 9 years on my Bristol 27. (but I have an outboard that can turn either way past 90 degrees)

[Don C L]

I can only comment from the standpoint of a Downeast 38 which also had a full keel, though not quite as full as the WS. I think you'll get used to it quickly, using quick blasts of prop wash over the rudder to kick the stern around as needed. Reverse is trickier as you probably know already. You can't go out with your friend for a couple trial sails? There's a young man with beautiful one just down the dock from me and he takes it out everyday, usually singlehanded, and he seems quite enamored with it. You might want to familiarize yourself with its speed and see if it is acceptable to you.

[ThereAndBack]

They are hard to dock single handed compared to many other boats. They are fantastic at tracking in a line, but they're not great when you need to turn tightly. I cruised on one full time for years and day sailed it for many years before that.

You need to be ready to turn the tiller hard and that usually means using your foot because the spread in the cockpit is so wide and you'll want to be doing something with your hands. Prop walk can help but a lot depends on the prop and motor.

It isn't impossible. I did it for years. But to answer your question directly, yes, they're hard to dock.

Would it stop me from buying a boat I loved, no.

[JPA Cate]

thomm,

If it's your dream boat, you'll learn how to dock her. It will be a pita for a while, but practice is key, and short bursts of power, so the rudder has something to work with, but neutral in between, so you get more turn and less straight line.

The suggestion to go out with your friend who will sell you the boat, see if he'll train you in docking and un-docking. It will be very different from your present situation. Slow and easy does it, not yielding to impatience.

Ann

[thomm225]

Thanks all.

My biggest problem would be adjusting from my 1,000 sq ft apartment and 2100 sq ft home to a 32 ft sailboat that's about 11' wide and rocks a bit although it does have onboard heat and AC!

I was in a 500 sq ft apartment back when I saw my first Westsail 32 and it cost $360/month rent

[ThereAndBack]

Originally Posted by thomm225

Thanks all.

My biggest problem would be adjusting from my 1,000 sq ft apartment and 2100 sq ft home to a 32 ft sailboat that's about 11' wide and rocks a bit although it does have onboard heat and AC!

I was in a 500 sq ft apartment back when I saw my first Westsail 32 and it cost $360/month rent

You mean your biggest adjustment be letting go of the rush and bustle of the modern life and instead investing in a small living space with the biggest "back yard" you can imagine. It will be getting in touch with nature, yourself, and the world. It will be a beautiful awakening on the water where you can use the very air to move and find that your needs, your real needs, were smaller than you believed, but thought they be small, they have a depth of satisfaction that you couldn't imagine before.


Doesn't sound too bad.

Framing a lifestyle choice in terms of "change of available space" is a losing proposition. If you have to do it, tell yourself that you're upgrading your outside space by shrinking your inside space.

[Greg K]

Actually, if you're talking about backing into a slip or Med moor in a cross wind, a true full keeler like the Westsail should be much easier than modified full keels with a cutaway forefoot like your own Bristol.

The Westsail is a heavy and steady boat that is not affected by a cross wind as much as lighter boats with less realestate below water. The real problem is not with full keel boats but, rather, with modified full-keel boats where the forefoot blows off while the stern digs in, making backing up in a cross wind a real crap shoot.

[Creedence]

Couldn’t agree more here. It’s much harder to make a full keel do something it doesn’t want to do. That counts for both you AND the wind. Take a day to learn how it handles in reverse, understand what prop-walk is and how it affects your particular boat, and learn how to play that to your favor.

Seriously, (from someone who made every mistake imaginable), once you understand the 5 or 6 forces acting on you while docking in reverse, it’s really not hard. Best advice would be to take. It. Slow. The slower you move, the weaker the impact will be with the pilings as you figure it out.

Long story short, absolutely ZERO reason to pass on a boat you love because of handing idiosyncrasies while docking.

[mvweebles]

A dock neighbor of mine used to sail a W32. An older gent who'd said since Noah's time. He did okay, but slip was favorably oriented for his LH prop. He'd use piles to lay-up his bow sprit to orient the boat for the slip. Was a bit of a full contact sport for him, but he seemed to be okay. He uses his boat constantly. Wasn't always a pretty docking, but he got it done.

[capn ken]

Follow your heart and get a good survey.a beta engine upgrade is a real plus!The Wessel $.32 community is quite tight that and will give you great advice. Fairwinds and following seas my friend

[Lazerbrains]

I think backing out of a slip is more difficult with a WS than getting into it. As others have said, short bursts and use your prop walk. You can also use a spring line, which is very easy to do. I love WS32's, great comfortable boats.

[Stu Jackson]

thomm, what kind of sailing do you plan on doing? Are you going to continue your out & back trips as you've documented so well here over the years, or are you going further afield?

If you're staying the The Bay for a long time, you might want to seriously think about the choice of a W32, as cool as I agree they may be. It's not only the docking, which, with practice, practice, practice, becomes the new normal.

Is it harder than your current boat? Of course it is. I moved from our C25 with an outboard (had it 13 years) to this inboard, albeit fin keeler. It was a learning experience. My old slip in SF let me back to port, this one here in BC doesn't, makes a BIG difference. And I'd had this boat for 18 years by then. But I know how to use prop walk.

You'll learn, since you are the kind of guy who can.

But think bigger: what do you want the new boat to be for you?

Or are you just looking to move out of your apartment?

[Allied39]

They are SLOW. I know because i used to sail circles around one. Literally sail in circles around a westsail 32.
Of course they have a great many fine qualities, to many to list in fact.
This post is for the OP, not interested in arguing or dealing with trolls

[GWB]

Originally Posted by Allied39

They are SLOW. I know because i used to sail circles around one. Literally sail in circles around a westsail 32.

Of course they have a great many fine qualities, to many to list in fact.

This post is for the OP, not interested in arguing or dealing with trolls

Here we go. These boats are not slow when sailed by someone who has a clue, and has the right equipment. Many boats are sailed slowly by people for different reasons.... please don’t be that guy (Know it all non Westsail owner)

[Fortytwo]

Sail it and dock it... then you’ll know.