Westerly Typhoon 37

Rupert Holmes looks at his favourite Westerly model of all time and other alternative boats you might consider

- Rupert Holmes

Westerly had a reputation for building sturdy, though unexciting, cruising boats that offered a lot of space and comfort by the standards of their era. However, it also produced some less well-known, more performance-oriented boats that can be an excellent choice for many owners.

Among the 60-plus models produced by Westerly in its long and chequered history, the 32ft Fulmar is often cited as the best boat the yard ever built. In many ways, this Ed Dubois design broke ranks with earlier mainstream Westerly models, offering a more performance-oriented boat with a powerful fractional rig. Yet it was still easily handled and offered decent accommodation.

The Fulmar also quickly gained a deserved reputation as being an excellent sea boat, as well as one that's tough enough to withstand the inevitable knocks and bumps that a hard-worked boat will gradually collect. Both these points were amply demonstrated when the Westerly Sea School opened in 1987, with a fleet of a dozen Fulmars that operated all year and in almost any conditions, including winter gales.

Equally the Storm 33 and Tempest 31 are excellent designs that are more performance-oriented than most Westerlys, but there's one later and lesser known model that embodies everything that was good about the Fulmar, adds a higher standard of finish and larger interior, plus a more efficient, low centre of gravity bulb keel: the Typhoon 37.

Another Dubois design, this 37-footer was launched in 1990, a decade after the Fulmar and remained in production in various guises until the firm's final demise a decade later.

The Typhoon was originally conceived as a bigger and better Fulmar, with good performance that includes excellent ability upwind, manageable handling and very civilised accommodation in either two-or three-cabin layouts. It also spawned two later models, the Regatta 370 and Ocean 37.