Small Westerly yachts

Roomy 10ft to 26ft family cruisers that can be found at dinghy prices

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Westerly yachts can be seen at most UK ports and harbours: they're roomy family boats and some are designed for racing. The smaller 20ft to 26ft yachts, can often be bought for £4,000 to £7,000 which is about the same price as a good quality used sailing dinghy.

Westerlys are very well made although, like many yachts, they may have no adequate builtin buoyancy. In my experience this means that when holed, they can -like my old Westerly Cirrus was - be pulled down to Davy Jones's Locker quickly by its ballast (PBO, March 2022). Modifications such as making doors and lockers semi-watertight will give you more time in the unlikely event of a holing.

Prices vary depending on whether the boat has been re-engined, had the headlining replaced, had the keel bolts renewed and on the overall condition.

I bought my Westerly Cirrus as a project boat at a knockdown price, but she needed the lot doing.

Project boat reality

By the time I had finished getting Ella sea-ready, she'd cost me more than a refurbished boat, but I decided to go down this route to be sure that I could rely on everything being done properly.

The worst job of all was removing the saggy headlining. You need a mask and goggles because of the dust, and this is best done by a professional with all the health and safety kit.

I stripped all the antifouling off to inspect the hull for osmosis. I found what I thought was one blister, but it turned out to be a solid lump of gel coat. Not a problem, Westerly hulls are well laid up. Boats of this age might have some osmosis, but my Cirrus had none.