Design Pedigree & History
Robert Perry's design brief was to draft a modern offshore passage-maker capable of competing with contemporary performance cruisers like the Valiant 40 (another iconic Perry design). Instead of the traditional heavy displacement and full keel of earlier Westsails, Perry designed the 39 with a modern fin keel and a robust, skeg-hung rudder. The hull featured a more conventional transom stern rather than a canoe stern, extending the waterline and drastically improving speed and tracking.
Only a handful of Westsail 39s were molded in the United States before Westsail filed for bankruptcy in the late 1970s. Following the corporate dissolution, the molds were acquired by P&M Worldwide (producing a few under the Sailcrafter banner) and eventually shipped to Taiwan. In Taiwan, the molds were utilized by Fair Weather Yachts in Poole and built in Taiwanese yards to produce the Fair Weather Mariner 39 (FWM 39). Consequently, while the domestic Westsail-branded hulls are exceptionally rare, they share their exact hull lines and naval architecture with their Taiwanese-built FWM 39 siblings.
On deck and below, the Westsail 39 was a departure from the dark, cavernous interiors of traditional cruisers of the era. The original Westsail-built versions featured a bright, Herreshoff-style interior with light bulkheads and warm teak trim. This configuration emphasized open-concept layouts, designed to maximize light and ventilation, which stood in stark contrast to the heavy, all-teak Taiwanese interiors that became standard on the Fair Weather Mariner versions.
Variations & Build Pedigree
The Westsail 39 exists in a few distinct configurations, primarily dictated by whether a hull was completed in the United States by Westsail, finished as a kit by an owner, or built in Taiwan as a Fair Weather Mariner.
The original American-built Westsail 39 was designed with an open-concept main salon. Crucially, the starboard side of the companionway featured a cutout bulkhead with a tiled shelf arrangement. This layout kept the cabin feeling spacious and airy, but it introduced structural complications. Conversely, the Taiwanese-built Fair Weather Mariner 39s abandoned the cutout in favor of a solid, heavy-set wood bulkhead with a standard doorway. While the Fair Weather Mariner feels slightly less open and more traditional below deck, the solid bulkhead provides immense structural rigidity.
The standard rig for the model is a true cutter, featuring a double-spreader masthead rig, a forestay with a roller-furling genoa, and a removable or fixed inner forestay for a hank-on staysail. However, some owners have simplified the sail plan to a sloop configuration, while others have optimized the boat with a modern Solent rig to allow for quick sail changes without the clutter of a permanent inner forestay.
Performance & Sea Manners
Under sail, the Westsail 39 is a revelation for those accustomed to traditional heavy-displacement cruisers. With a displacement-to-length ratio (D/L) of 249.69, the boat sits squarely in the medium-displacement performance-cruising category. It does not suffer from the hobby-horsing or heavy sticky feel of its full-keeled predecessors. The fin keel and deep skeg-hung rudder allow the boat to track beautifully on all points of sail, pointing close to the wind and maintaining speed in light-to-moderate air where older Westsails would stall.
The boat’s safety statistics are exemplary for blue-water service. A ballast-to-displacement ratio of 43.75% indicates a highly stiff boat that carries its sail area comfortably well into a blow. With a capsize screening ratio of 1.77, the hull is exceptionally well-suited for surviving extreme ocean conditions, easily passing the stringent requirements for offshore racing and blue-water passage-making. The motion comfort ratio of 32.16 guarantees a predictable, gentle motion in a seaway. It dampens aggressive chops without feeling unresponsive at the helm, offering the secure, dry ride of a much heavier yacht without sacrificing the agility of a modern underwater profile.
Known Structural Issues & Triage
The most critical area of inspection on any original Westsail-finished 39 is the starboard main bulkhead. To create an open interior, the factory used a cutout bulkhead with a tile-faced shelf. Over years of blue-water sailing, the high vertical and lateral loads transferred from the chainplates to this weakened bulkhead can cause structural deflection. Prospective buyers must inspect this area for signs of bulk-head movement, cracking, or chainplate lifting. The accepted fix, which has been performed on several surviving hulls, involves structurally reinforcing this bulkhead with additional fiberglass tabbing or replacing the cutout partition with a solid, structural bulkhead.
Deck coring is another common point of concern on these forty-year-old hulls. While the hulls themselves are solid, hand-laid fiberglass, the decks are balsa-cored. If deck hardware, chainplates, or stanchion bases have not been periodically re-bedded, water intrusion will rot the core.
Additionally, many boats of this era utilized the Isomat in-boom reefing system. This system relies on an internal shuttle that is prone to high friction and binding if not regularly serviced and lubricated. Modern owners often choose to bypass the internal shuttle entirely, converting the boom to a traditional single-line reefing system led aft to the cockpit.
Modernization & Upgrades
The limited production run of the Westsail 39 makes it a prime candidate for custom, high-end refits. A notable blueprint for modernizing this model was documented by the Marine Technology program at Skagit Valley College, which undertook an exhaustive, multi-year rebuild of the Westsail 39 King's Pride.
Standard modern upgrades focus on replacing the original 32 HP Volvo Penta engines, which are often deemed slightly underpowered for a boat of this displacement in heavy head seas. Upgrading to a modern 40 to 50 HP Yanmar or Beta Marine diesel provides the torque necessary to punch through coastal chop and offers vastly superior parts availability.
Owners are also upgrading the older Edson steering pedestals. Decades of saltwater exposure often leave the needle bearings stiff and dry. Rebuilding the pedestal with new bearings, updating the steering cables, and upgrading to modern electronics pods are standard upgrades during a refit.
The Verdict
The Westsail 39 is a thinking sailor's cruising boat. It represents a rare moment where heavy-duty, blue-water build philosophy merged with the performance-oriented vision of Robert Perry. It is an exceptionally capable offshore voyager that refuses to compromise on speed or safety.
Pros
- Exceptional offshore pedigree with highly favorable stability and comfort ratios.
- Fast, responsive, and close-winded compared to traditional full-keeled cruisers.
- Robust hand-laid hull construction built to survive extreme conditions.
- Spacious interior options with beautiful woodwork, particularly on the Taiwanese-built Fair Weather Mariner variants.
Cons
- Starboard bulkhead on original Westsail versions is a known structural weak point that requires reinforcement.
- Extremely rare on the brokerage market, making parts sharing and model-specific advice harder to find than for the Westsail 32.
- The original 32 HP engine can feel underpowered when fighting strong currents or heavy head seas.
