Westsail 32 Sailboat Review, Specs, and Listings

Design and Construction

At 32 feet overall on a 27 feet 6 inch waterline, with an 11 foot beam and 5 foot draft, the Westsail 32 sits firmly in the ultra-heavy displacement category, her Displacement/Length Ratio of 419 placing her among the most massively built cruisers of her size. The hull is hand-laid fiberglass in twelve alternating layers of woven roving and chopped strand mat in polyester resin, producing a solid shell whose thickness runs from half an inch to nearly an inch; the deck is half-inch marine plywood sheathed in GRP, and plywood bulkheads are tabbed to the hull with fiberglass cloth. That thick glass and solid construction are what make her strong and durable, while the double-ended hull, heavy displacement, and low center of gravity combine to keep her stable and resistant to broaching and capsizing. Underwater she carries a long keel with a transom-hung rudder, and the heavy full-keeled hull gives her good tracking offshore.

Rig and Handling

Most Westsail 32s were rigged as Bermudan cutters with a single mast carrying mainsail, forestaysail, and jib; the forestay terminates at the bow with a six-foot bowsprit supporting the headstay, the backstay ends on a short boomkin, and the shroud chainplates are bolted to the outside of the hull. With a Sail Area/Displacement Ratio of 16.7 she approaches her roughly 7-knot hull speed readily and meets the performance expectations of most cruising sailors, yet she is not known as a fast boat—rather a sturdy and reliable one with incredible load-carrying ability that makes her ideal for long-distance voyages. A Ballast/Displacement Ratio of 36.0 means she will tend to heel excessively in a gust unless ballast is concentrated low, so she needs early reefing in a moderate breeze. Her seakeeping is borne out by the 1988 Pacific Cup, won on corrected time by the Westsail 32 Saraband in relatively light winds, with the same boat third in 1990, and by her Capsize Screening Formula of 1.6 marking her a safer ocean-passage choice than a boat above 2.0.

Accommodations

Below, the Westsail 32 is massively constructed yet fitted with a comfortable and roomy interior: a spacious and cozy layout with good headroom, storage, and ventilation. She can accommodate up to seven, though four or five is more comfortable, and the plan runs from a V-berth forward aft to a head with shower, a main saloon with two settee berths, a U-shaped galley to port, and a quarter berth to starboard. The cockpit, by contrast, is very small. Ted Brewer’s Comfort Ratio of 42.9 puts her motion in a seaway on par with a heavy bluewater cruiser, and many owners have circled the globe in their boats, proving the design’s seaworthiness in practice.

Known Issues

Satori, a Westsail 32, was abandoned during the famed Perfect Storm yet survived undamaged after washing ashore. The boat’s reputation is for handling any weather and surviving storms that would sink other designs.

The Verdict

The Westsail 32 is a purpose-bred bluewater cruiser whose heavy-displacement hull, Archer-derived double-ended shape, and massively laid-up fiberglass have carried hundreds of owners across oceans and through several circumnavigations. She is slow by racing standards but steady, load-tolerant, and exceptionally safe-minded, with a roomy if conventionally arranged interior and a tiny cockpit that suits watching weather from behind the trunk rather than entertaining at anchor.

Pros