[Jeff_H]

I do not have a lot of first-hand familiarity with the Paceship Westwind but I do know the Paceship Eastwind of that same era very well. While they are very different designs, I can only assume that they were constructed in a similar manner.

Paceships of this era were not the high quality Paceships that most people think of. Those boats came much later. The company like the industry was in its infancy.

Like many builders of that era, the boats were built without minimal internal framing. The Paceships of that era were comparatively lightly build as compared to similar sized Pearsons and Odays. The combination of the the lighter lay-up and the lack of internal structure meant that the Eastwind (and I can only assume that the same is true of the Westwind) meant that these boats were prone to pretty severe oil canning in the bow topsides and through the run of the boat. This kind of flexure can take a toll on the laminate, especially near hardspots such a bulkheads and bunk flats. I would pay close attention to shroud attachement points as well.

One nice thing about Paceships of that era was they did not have liners. On the Eastwind we discussed adding internal stringers to stiffen the large unsupported areas, which would have been quite easy to install given the way the boats were built.

On the Eastwind that I knew, there was fairly extensive flexure cracking adjacent to the keel encapsulation envelope and at the rudder post log. If i remember correctly, on that boat, water appeared to be entering the keel encapsulation envelope through the gudgeon fastenings, and cracks surrounding an old grounding repair and would end up in the bilges requiring periodic (weekly) pump outs.

The owner was in the process of replacing the electrical system which was not all that well done at the factory (although many of the issues were related to standard practices of the era, such as using toggle switches, untinned wire and automotive fuses, rather than short-comings specific to Paceship).

While the build quaility of these boats was not too good, I thought that the Eastwind sailed quite well for a boat of that era. We would routinely beat a Pearson Ariel and a Seafarer Polaris 26, who were our main competition. Newer boats like the Pearson 26 would clean our clock both boat for boat and usually on corrected time especially in either light air or in heavy going. Again I am not sure how well the Westwind would sail compared to the Eastwind.

Jeff