Westerly GK 29 No. 97, Gopher Kicks
There are many adverts on the internet for project boats, many You Tube videos and many questions on forums about project boats. An increasing number of harbours around the country now have many abandoned boats, so taking on an unloved or abandoned boat seems an attractive proposition. However, many of the questioners on the forums will receive a chorus of replies saying: ‘don’t do it’, ‘it’s far too expensive’, or ‘buy a boat that’s had all the work done on it already’!
So is taking on a project worthwhile, and should old abandoned boats be brought back to life or cut up and put in landfill? Glass-fibre hulls are very long lasting, but does it make any sense to refit them, since the cost could easily exceed resale value?
I believe that it does make sense and all the value that’s put into the boat will be enjoyed by the owner for the next 5-10 years. I had been sailing and enjoying my Hunter Duette, but it wasn’t big enough. I really wanted a boat I could stand up in, otherwise my wife and I, both with back issues, were limited to day sails. Having sailed my Father’s Westerly Fulmar and since chartering one, we looked at a couple of Westerlys for sale: Fulmars, Storms and Konsorts, but they were all well above our budget. Not only that but we were disappointed to realise that most were still with their original engines; the sails and rigging were old and, the cabin linings were usually coming down too. I could probably have just afforded a low priced Konsort, but I knew I then wouldn’t be able to afford the work needed to bring one up to date.
So, on to our project boat: A local Facebook post advertised a Westerly GK29 for sale for £5000. With very low expectations we went to view her. The rigging and sails needed replacing, the instruments were all very dated and the headlinings were well overdue for replacement. 3 stanchions were loose but the deck around the mast seemed firm and solid. On the plus side, the engine had been replaced with a Beta 20. We realised I could do all the work needed, the boat was dry with no mould inside and we had the opportunity to own a boat we didn’t think we could ever afford. So we decided to buy ‘Gopher Kicks’, a 1979 GK29 that hadn’t been sailed in the previous 8 years. We tackled the project in stages as I think this is the most practical and rewarding way of proceeding. My Hunter Duet sold for more than the purchase price of Gopher Kicks, as an added bonus. We spent a while trying to think of another name but we got used to the name, her original, so it stayed.
Stage 1 – get her sailing
Our first priority was to go for a sail and see what were the problems and the potential that we had purchased. This turned out to be a little more complicated than at first thought; lesson one: expect problems!
All the sails were original, but I couldn’t hoist any of them! The first trip up the mast revealed that all the masthead sheaves were seized up and copious dosing of WD40 wasn’t enough to free them. So, plan B kicked in when we arranged to have Gopher Kicks lifted out and the mast removed. This meant all the sheaves could then be replaced and the rigging, which would have been replaced later, was also renewed. It also made sense to replace the inoperative VHF radio with a new unit, install a new aerial and fit a tricolour light. While the rigging was being made the antifouling was renewed. We also repaired the loose stanchions in the deck. All the black woodwork on deck was scraped back and sanded and came up beautifully after varnishing. After 2 weeks ashore the boat was relaunched, the mast was restepped and then we set sail and sailed across to Cowes! Phase 1 complete, and that was a wonderful feeling.
We spent the rest of our first season doing day sails and several overnight trips around the Solent and really enjoyed the sailing performance and comfort of our project boat. The inside layout is almost identical to the Fulmar and Konsort and the sailing performance is probably very similar to the Fulmar.
Stage 2 –Get her smarter inside and sort out the instrumentation
Stage 2 took place the following winter. Renewing the headlining seems a daunting job but there’s plenty of good advice around. There’s also some poor advice, so a bit of discernment is necessary! I watched several You Tube videos where headlining was replaced with poor materials or poor adhesives, and I really didn’t think the work was worthwhile without using the right materials. There’s a very good article on the PBO website on how to do it properly and that’s what I followed. The GK 29 had much of the lining on plywood boards so these could be removed and brought home to be cleaned up, repaired and then relined.
While the headlinings were down I used the opportunity to update the rest of the instrumentation, as I would be able to run the wires behind. I opted for a simple system utilising a Garmin Echomap chartplotter, a Clipper depth and a wireless wind system and an AIS which would link to the chartplotter.
Whilst Stage 2 was underway, I also decided to tackle Stage 3.
Stage 3 – update the sails
I’d already had very good experience with Grant Piggott sails at Warsash so I went to him for a new mainsail and Genoa and, to Selden for a new furling gear so I could dispense with the hanked on foresails. From the previous season I knew that the number one Genoa was much too big for everyday use and the number 2 sail was a much better size, so I had the new Genoa made at number 2 size. I made up and fitted the Selden gear myself enabling us to start season two with the new sails.
Our second season sailing on Gopher Kicks was very satisfying. We found that with her new sails and furling gear she sailed faster and was easier to handle. The new lining in the cabin made her smart and comfortable inside and I really felt our decision to purchase this boat and the ensuing work had been worthwhile.
There’s still a bit to do, but nothing major. The deck paint is flaking, so that’s being scraped off for repainting this winter. The spray hood and sail cover need to be replaced so GP sails will be doing this as well. The interior woodwork needs revarnishing so that will be tackled in the spring.
The cost so far has been about £11,000 in addition to the purchase price which, I believe, has been money well spent. Not only has a boat been saved from the scrap heap but also, I’m now sailing in a boat that sails well and has cost a lot less than a newer yacht. So, I think project boats are well worthwhile, particularly if you can do the work yourself. I also think that a staged approach makes a lot of sense, trying to do everything at once runs the risk of getting out of hand, and is potentially overwhelming and demoralising.
