Westsail the World...
 

History of the Cruising Yacht...

Norwegian pilot boat hull form.

In the 1930’s the Redningskoite was scaled down to 32’ by William Atkin of Huntington, Long Island. Numerous “Erics” and “Thistles” were built in wood, some of which became famous on ocean passages. In 1943 Argentinean Vito Dumas made his historic, 14 month singlehanded circumnavigation aboard a boat identical to the Archer-Atkin design. In 1969 England’s Robin Knox Johnston set world records with his 313 day nonstop single handed circumnavigation. And in 1969 Frank Casper won the Cruising Club’s Blue Water Medal for his circumnavigation, again aboard an Archer type hull. In 1969 WIB Crealock converted this famous wooden double ender design into fiberglass. Since then, cruising purists are making memorable voyages with their fiberglass Westsails, too, as they wend their way around the world. Several Westsail 32 owners, like their forbearers are singlehanders seeking the fields of solitary ocean pastures.
The Westsail 32 is a direct fiberglass descendent of the Norwegian pilot boat designed around 1900 by Colin Archer. The first “redningskoites,” 47’ long, were used to transfer port pilots out to visiting vessels. On the return voyage the skipper had to singlehand these boats, so manageability and safety were their most important features.

What is it about this design that attracts so many notables? And why do Westsail’s carry on the traditions set by her ancestors?
1. The double ended full length keel sailboat is a sea kindly hull form that has a well balanced helm, and is easy for one person to sail. The outboard rudder is a natural for self steering gear when the captain wishes some time off. The hull is deep enough for all internal ballast that is bonded in place forever.
2. Construction of the Westsail hull, is enormously rugged; it is 1/2” at the rail, 3/4” at the bend of the bilge, and over 1” in the keel. One 32 was T-Boned by an ocean freighter off the coast of California. No lose of life occurred and the boat was able to make port. It was repaired and is in service today. Another survived the "Perfect Storm" and except for the Coast Guard forcing the Captain off the boat survived the surf and is still sailing today. For most sailing experiences, the boat is considerably overbuilt. However, this excess material could be valuable if one had an unexpected encounter with ...anything out there.
3. Westsail's hull to deck attachment is the strongest in the industry. The deck is through bolted and bedded in a flexible polysulfide which cannot crack, reducing leaks as much as possible.
4. All rigging and deck hardware is oversized stainless steel. The exposed chain plates are readily accessible for maintenance. They are made of 1/4” x 2” stainless steel flat bars. Standing rigging is 1/4” 1 x 19 on the 32 and turnbuckles are 1/2” with toggles.
5. Westsail masts are extra heavy duty aluminum . Finished with paint, they need little or no maintenance.
The Westsail 28, 42 and 43 incorporates the same design features as the 32. The 42/43's inboard rudder is better suited to wheel steering; on a boat that large, an outboard rudder becomes too heavy and unwieldy for easy maintenance. The 42/43 stern is a slightly different shape than the Norwegian stern on the 32. It is called a canoe stern, and has been with mankind since the beginnings of civilization. Canoe sterns have been especially popular in European countries, but they are quite rare, as they are difficult and expensive to construct in wood. In fact, the most exclusive sailboats Europe produced often had canoe sterns.