Been waiting for this moment to start the blog properly! We have been keeping an eye out for something we like, mostly on craigslist, since about March and have finally been able to seal the deal on s/v Panacea and are both really happy with her.
She's a Westsail 32 (hull #50), a "classic plastic" long keel blue water cruiser renowned as being one of the sturdiest and best built boats of its kind. Might not get you there the quickest, often called a Wetsnail by those wishing they had one, but she'll get you there safely. We are incredibly pleased that Panacea is the one we ended up with.
Originally we had been looking at a Cape George 36 which had been owner finished with a junk rig! It looked really great and the thought of a junk rig for trade wind short handed cruising was really attractive but after seeing her we realised it would be too much work to get her offshore ready. We don't have the time or the money for a big project so had to move on.
We were really lucky to be able to get Mr. Bud Taplin of Westsail Parts to survey Panacea and she came back with a relatively clean bill of health. A few minor repairs and replacements are critical for the safety of the boat but they are relatively small things (like fitting a proper toggle on the staysail stay for instance). Nothing came up that would make us worried about getting the boat ready in time. We already had a rough idea of what needed doing to the boat but the survey just make everything incredibly clear and pointed out many things we would not necessarily have thought of. I can tell it will prove to be worth every single penny when it comes to making sure Panacea is ready to go. I guess I shouldn't be so surprised at how useful the survey is since everyone says so but having never done one before I wasn't prepared for just how awesome they are! If in doubt, do one.
Anyway, really happy we've made the purchase now. Between that and having booked my flights its making the entire project feel real for the first time. Until now there has been a lot of chat and planning but very little concrete progress. Now it's actually happening!
She's a Westsail 32 (hull #50), a "classic plastic" long keel blue water cruiser renowned as being one of the sturdiest and best built boats of its kind. Might not get you there the quickest, often called a Wetsnail by those wishing they had one, but she'll get you there safely. We are incredibly pleased that Panacea is the one we ended up with.
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| She got new bottom paint over the weekend. Everything red is now black. |
Originally we had been looking at a Cape George 36 which had been owner finished with a junk rig! It looked really great and the thought of a junk rig for trade wind short handed cruising was really attractive but after seeing her we realised it would be too much work to get her offshore ready. We don't have the time or the money for a big project so had to move on.
We were really lucky to be able to get Mr. Bud Taplin of Westsail Parts to survey Panacea and she came back with a relatively clean bill of health. A few minor repairs and replacements are critical for the safety of the boat but they are relatively small things (like fitting a proper toggle on the staysail stay for instance). Nothing came up that would make us worried about getting the boat ready in time. We already had a rough idea of what needed doing to the boat but the survey just make everything incredibly clear and pointed out many things we would not necessarily have thought of. I can tell it will prove to be worth every single penny when it comes to making sure Panacea is ready to go. I guess I shouldn't be so surprised at how useful the survey is since everyone says so but having never done one before I wasn't prepared for just how awesome they are! If in doubt, do one.
Anyway, really happy we've made the purchase now. Between that and having booked my flights its making the entire project feel real for the first time. Until now there has been a lot of chat and planning but very little concrete progress. Now it's actually happening!
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