Westsail 32; First Sail with New Rigging - Stormy Saturday 

Great to hear, you must be getting anxious. Owned my w32 for 35 years. She's been wonderful and faithful in many ways.

Another derogatory name from an *****.

@@wavelength7503 It's a common phrase used to describe a well known boat - a phrase I did not come up with that has been around for many years - stupid *******. The boat has no bow flare, is a wet ride as can be easily seen in a variety of videos. And ask any owner - they'll tell you the boat is quite slow in anything under 10 knt. winds - as one would expect from its 19000 lb. displacement, 28 foot waterline, 700+ sq. ft. sail plan, and sizeable wetted surface. Find out who you are replying to before you throw labels at them like a moron.

@@cjg6364 So much to say. I'll start with. "I should know who I'm replying to", REALLY! Trying to sound intimidating are you. Well little man who likes to put both feet in his mouth, again. You are full of **it. You know nothing about the boat, and I doubt sailing- id**t. "You didn't come up with it" No Kidding! It was brought up by a sailor who lost the race against the Westsail. But you not being sailor, except for picking up quotes from losers, and you throw them back out there thinking your the tough seaman educating everyone. It's a common insult by those like you. The Westsail has proven it's self world wide, racing and cruising. It has won the race to Hawaii, a few times, and has placed second etc etc etc. You tell me to ask any owner. As I am an owner of a Westsail 32, for 35 years, I know the facts. So you read up on numbers, and quote them, and become a pesudo intellectual on the Westsail. So typical. Under ten knots" you got the narrative down, don't you. You must be a Tupperware boat lover. One's that can only handle 10 knots and under. Any Westsail does very well, like any other boat under "10 Knots" with the correct sail trim, ie. drifter or similar. In those conditions little wing is sailing in, all boats become wet, even your Tupperware boats to merchant ships. Except most Tupperware boat's will not go out in those conditions. Your reference to 10 Knots under is typical of some armchair/ or weekend sailor. What Tupperware boat sails in under 10 knots. Sailors who think like that are usually closet power boaters. Who can't find the time to go slow, and put on their engine and race around with their sail up. Is that you, the under 10 knot man. You have that speed complex. One who takes up sailing, the slowest mode of transportation, and then tries to tell himself how fast he, or everyone else should be. As an owner of a Westsail 32, sailor for 45 years, also who was in merchant Marines. I think your a loser who likes to make others fell like you. THAT'S WHO I REPLIED TO.

Please enough with “wet snail”that went out with “groovy”. I own one ,love her.

@@william4909 The phrase was used recently on one of the most popular sailing channels on RU-vid which currently has more than a half million subscribers. You're entitled to your opinion like anyone else but you're not entitled to stifle or censor the opinions/observations of others because they may make you uncomfortable.

Little Wing has surpassed my expectations. Highly recommended.

I could not agree more. There is something quite exciting about a lot of wind. That is my third reef in the main, as deep as it will reef. Storm sail on the inner stay and a tiny bit of un-furled Yankee. Hull 77 is an early build! I just had a look at your videos and she is looking good.

Thanks and welcome aboard.

Thank you David. All is well and the new rigging is going strong.

Thank you for your kind words, much appreciated. Little Wing was a kit boat. With Westsails you can tell by the hull numbers which includes a K for kit. However, she was fitted out to factory standards and perhaps with greater care and love than some of the factory finished boats.

Thank you. I had to Google Kauai to find out where it is. Kauai looks like an absolute beautiful place to live.

Stick to a westsail, for many good reasons. One very important reason, accessibility I have owned mine for 35 years.

Thanks 👍

I hope you get to sail one and find out for yourself how they handle. It is difficult to provide any valuable feedback in terms of the Westsail’s maneuverability as it is relative to what you are used to and what you are comparing her to. She is a full keel boat weighing in at just under 9 ton so you do feel and notice that keel and displacement. I for one like it. She sails like a freight train. It is incredible. But I can understand that other people would find that sluggish or a lack of responsiveness/manoeuvrability. I have been surprised about performance in light winds. Light air performance has exceeded my expectations but I am also not that interested in hanging around when it is less than 5 knots of wind. Far more impact on manoeuvrability in my opinion is the full keel. That provides a lot of surface area for currents and waves and one needs to sail taking this into account and planning ahead accordingly. But again, I like it. It is part of good seamanship, but then perhaps I am a tad bias.

I sailed mine engineless for months in New Zealand when my gearbox broke down. Went into more and more constricted anchorages as my confidence grew. Just be ready to drop the pick!! If you plan a few steps ahead and don’t treat it like a racing dinghy you’ll be fine

The windlass is a `Moritz'. I assume it is the original as it was also manufactured in Costa Mesa California. It is the most functional, beautiful piece of equipment. The whole thing consists of about 15 or so bronze parts and can be stripped down in minutes. It is so simple and yet so good at what it was designed to do.

Yes, it was a great shake down for future sails.

I am really not sure as I replaced the standing rigging over several months and had the individual stays made up. Then there were also some additional bits and pieces and labour charges, the typical scope creep as always seems to be the case with any boat job. A guestimate would be 3 to 4k with me taking down the stays, dropping them off to the rigger and installing the new ones.

@@littlewing.ws32 thanks !

I think the list of what to look out for and what not is too long a discussion for here. The good news though is that they built almost 800 or so in the 1970s and obviously all flaws have been well exposed over the years. There is a wealth of information on the Westsails owners association webpage and I believe the pre-purchase question has also been asked in the forum. The link is www.westsail.org/woaforum If you have specific concerns I am happy to weigh in with my opinions but generally they were built like a tank but they do suffer from all the typical issues that come with an old boat and what to look for will be quite specific to the individual boat in question and its history.

Hey Chris. Apparently you can find me on messenger with the following link: m.me/ben.thomas.7906 If that does not work send me some details and I will contact you via Whatsapp or Signal.