Closeing on a 32' Westerly Sunday

[witzgall]

Well, we are going to finally be boat owners. Gretchen and I are closing on a 1985 Westerly Fulmar, a rare find in the US, on Sunday. It is actually located on Lake Norman above Charlotte, and we are having t trucked to McCotters Marina in Washington, NC. She has spent most of her life in fresh water.

I wanted to thank all that answered all of my crazy questions during our search. Now the questions will be more frequent.

One of the more important things I learned here was buying what you can afford to purchase, refit, and maintain. Hopefully we are not going over our heads!

We will be renaming her Jubilee.

Here are some pics of the boat: Here she is:


Interior:
And some more: http://www.witzgallphotography.com/images/Westerly

Chris

[sailingdog]

She looks like a beauty.... congratulations... and glad to help.

[ReverendMike]

Cool, is that one a bilge-keeler? Looks to be in good shape, anything major on the survey?

Enjoy it!

[Jim H]

Good work, Witzgall. My wife and I have spent several weekends on the Solent in a Westerly Fulmar, and they are great boats. The condition of yours looks really good, and let us know about your maiden sail.

Jim H
London, UK

[witzgall]

Nope, she has a fin keel. Structurally she was fine in the survey. We have to replace some gate valves, and redo the propane system, things like that. The hull and topsides were painted nicely two years ago, but the deck needs done. It will be a big job, but will look very nice when finished. I am thinking we would do it next fall, but perhaps this spring if I can get motivated for all of the prep work.

Originally Posted by ReverendMike

Cool, is that one a bilge-keeler? Looks to be in good shape, anything major on the survey?

Enjoy it!

[Valiente]

Very nice boat (and I wouldn't change the name! and I wouldn't change the tiller!), and I agree, a rare find indeed.

I think you can keep that boat out in heavy air a lot longer and in greater comfort than most. A real "get you home" design.

EDIT: Correction...I thought the name was "Sea Witch"..."Sand Witch" is moronic..."Jubilee" is far better.

[starboardyacht]

Congrats, when are you taking her home? the only place to de-commission is All-Seasons Marina, very difficult to deal with and not cheap. you will save money if you have a couple buddies help with the mast, otherwise its $190 for the crane and $85 an hour for their riggers and thats if they lift a finger. after you hook up your lifting line, they yank it out and lay it down on the ground,(have a couple of your own saw horses ready to lay it on) thats it, anything else will cost you. have everything packed away that you can, have boom off asap and a heavy sheet tied off at the top spreaders, (if they do this it will cost you $85). have the boat hauler there about the same time you get the mast down otherwise, you'll pay a storage fee. (try and schudule for the early afternoon so you have time to get the boat to the marina, get mast down and boat loaded, they stop work and go home at 5, no exceptions. i live about an hour away, i would be happy to meet you and help out in anyway, might cost you a cold beer or two. cheers.......

[witzgall]

The boat is bearthed at All-Seasons, and you are correct, their prices are steep. We live 2.5 hours away, and I don't have an army of folks to help, so my plan was to have them do it all. They quoted $940 to lift, demast, and package everything up. They already got $324 of my dollars for a lift and wash for the survey. Ouch. A touch nut to swollow, but unless you have another frield or two, and can do it on Dec 12th (tentatively) I am stuck letting them do the work. This is not something I have ever done before.

Chris

Originally Posted by starboardyacht

Congrats, when are you taking her home? the only place to de-commission is All-Seasons Marina, very difficult to deal with and not cheap. you will save money if you have a couple buddies help with the mast, otherwise its $190 for the crane and $85 an hour for their riggers and thats if they lift a finger. after you hook up your lifting line, they yank it out and lay it down on the ground,(have a couple of your own saw horses ready to lay it on) thats it, anything else will cost you. have everything packed away that you can, have boom off asap and a heavy sheet tied off at the top spreaders, (if they do this it will cost you $85). have the boat hauler there about the same time you get the mast down otherwise, you'll pay a storage fee. (try and schudule for the early afternoon so you have time to get the boat to the marina, get mast down and boat loaded, they stop work and go home at 5, no exceptions. i live about an hour away, i would be happy to meet you and help out in anyway, might cost you a cold beer or two. cheers.......

[starboardyacht]

Outrageous...............$940 makes me angry. $500 would be a fair price. its deck stepped so its gonna take no time to drop it and its really not hard to do. these guys have a monopoly on the lake and their still nasty to deal with. boat being at their dock makes it hard because it will piss them off if we show up to help, but i'll see what i can do. you should be there if they pack it up for you, make sure everything is secure, i.e. not dangling where it could rub or chaffe the gelcoat. (stanchions have a habit of doing this if not well sucured). i would remove the halyards and substitute heavy cord so you can easily put them back in. take lots of pics to show condition before trip. make sure if they are using duct tape, they leave the sticky side up so not to damage surfaces. don't think just because your being overcharged they will do a good job, if your there watching everything it will matter in the long run. if this nice weather holds good chance i could grab a couple racing buddies and help out, we love doing stuff like this. maybe we could get an invite to sail this spring............

[camaraderie]

Very nice...seems like she was quite well cared for. Good luck!!