Elysium - A Classic Westsail 42
Much has been written about Westsails. Some writers have suggested their classic ads opened up cruising to the average couple / family. Other reports are disparaging. Most provide an honest evaluation, and a couple are full of abject praise. Me: I try to be honest and pragmatic. Is it the perfect boat? No! There is no perfect boat. Is it the boat for everyone? No. Just as there is no one life partner for everyone there is no boat for everyone.
Some individuals in boating circles like to ask; Do you know what the best boat is? .... The one you own! We own a Westsail 42. We have also owned a Westsail 32. On the 32 we sailed about 20-25,000 NM. On this boat as of now we have close to 20,000 NM.
We purchased her as a little used kit boat. She sat under an Avocado tree in S. California for 26 years. She had less then 100 NM on the knot meter / ships log. She had a sub floor installed, no ceiling, no working heads, cabinets was in place with the majority of larger trim. She had Tanbark sails, the tall rig, and the larger engine. Things we wanted. And she had NO teak deck.
For us; she was right up our alley. We wouldn't need to deal with mess ups that previous owners made and we could finish her out for long term cruising. We estimated that we would finish about double the sales price. After all, we had experience. We built out a 32 from a hull and deck, we knew the work, we had the skills and we had the time. We planned on 3-5 years to refurbish her for long term cruising. The final bill was 4 times the sales price and instead of 3-5 years we ended up close to 7 years. But! We also ended up with exactly what we wanted and a boat we could be proud of.
Some changes we made: 1) Solid Koa flooring, 2) added a heater, 3) insulated the ceiling and behind the teak ceiling strips, the forward bulkhead, 4) changed out berths for book shelves, 4) installed heads, 5) replaced all the classic yellow Formica, 6) recovered all the cushions,7) stripped and painted the mast, 8) painted the deck, 9) new mast winches, 10) all new rigging, 11) added a holding plate refrigeration system, 12) added an Aquamarine Generator /Water maker / Refrigeration Compressor, and 13) installed a Sailomat Wind vane. You can see the difference in our Before and After Gallery. That is in addition to all the things we would be doing to bring the boat back from 3 decades of neglect. How she looked when we left.... well... here you go.
Westsail 42 Stats:
Hull: FRP
Rig: Cutter
LOA: 42.9 ft / 13.1 m
LWL: 33 ft
Beam: 13 ft / 3.97 m
SA:
Draft: 5.7' / 1.7 m
Ballast: 12,000 lbs Pb
Hull No: 79
Designer: WIB Crealock
Power: Perkins 4-236
HP: 85
Generator: Kabota
HP: 6
Fuel: 180 g approx
Water: 180 g approx
Rigging: Tall Mast
Sail Area: 948 sq. ft
Comfort Ratio: 44.6
Hull Speed: 7.7 kts