Move

We moved the boat to the yard today....mostly to get out from under the thumb of the owner of the space we were renting.

She looks very ugly without her rudder, bowsprit, (new thanks Dave) boomkin, (also new thanks Dave!) and other bits.
We have a shop full of nice shiny new parts to put on after the deck and topsides get painted.

Mast

A mast did come with the boat, an Isomat. Isomat went out of business several years ago but parts are still available through Rigrite and Charleston spar.
The mast kept me awake at night as there were quite a few thing about it that concerned me.
The biggest concern was that the gooseneck attachment was 22 inches above the base of the mast. This meant that when working on the sail the boom would be somewhere around my knees. Not good.
The gooseneck could be moved but that would mean major surgery as the entrance gate to the slot would have to be moved as well..... a bit of a Frankenstein arrangement in my mind.
There were a lot of gouges in the mast - this would mean painting at the very least.
The spreaders were missing. New spreaders would be in the region of $600
The boom was an angular ugly thing.

I decided on a few exploratory Craigslist listings and also posted it on the Westsail owners board.
It was sold in short order to my amazement....for 75% of the cost of a brand new LeFiell which is what most of the Westsails use.

Engine install

The motor that came with the boat (not installed) was a Bukh 24 HP. After talking with other W32 owners and the original Westsail general manager Bud Taplin, we decided to go with a 37.5 HP Betamarine engine. Its a bit much to ask a 24 HP motor to move the 20 000 lb Westsail around.
We were able to sell the Bukh to a couple from Canada, they came down from Vancouver and we loaded it into their station wagon.

All pictures are clickable.

The Bukh in our workshop.













This is what the engine bay looked like when we bought the boat (view from inside the salon, stairs removed)
















And now after installing the Beta (View from the deck, cockpit not installed yet)

Cabin top repair

Originally the interior deck beams were bolted from the outside through the cabin top. The bolts were countersunk and the area filled and faired. There has been some cracking around these filled areas where the original plugs were filled.
Fix has been to grind out a depression above each bolt and then wet out with epoxy, cut a small 6 oz fiberglass cloth patch and carefully tamp it down and then fill with epoxy. This picture shows the bolt areas.
The boat is covered by a tarp that covers a "tent" frame made from thinwall conduit.
It has held up surprisingly well considering the pretty severe storms that we had this last winter.

Deck work

The gelcoat is badly oxidised from sitting in the Arizona sun for 30 or so years. This means the deck has to be sanded and repainted. I have decided to use 2 part interlux epoxy for the primer and have not made a decision yet about the topcoat. Probably Awlgrip or Interlux.

Arriving in Brookings

Clearing the way to get to the boat with a hydraulic trailer

Carport removed


















Sand and dirt cleared away from cradle

Exterior pictures as found

Interior pictures as found

Finding our boat

We found her in Tucson Arizona.....a 35 year old boat that had never been in the water. Well and truly anchored in a dusty backyard miles from any ocean.