Vessel: Westerly 57 Sailing Yacht

Name: Ara
Owner: Steve P.
Hailng Port: Camden, Maine

When this Westerly 57 first came to GIBY it was a newly acquired boat with a new-owner punch list. The most significant project on the list was to repair a cracked gooseneck on a carbon fiber boom. Following this, and other winter maintenance work, Steve, the owner, departed to cruise Maine. He did so for the better part of the summer. But by August he was back at GIBY, much sooner than expected. He had struck bottom. Hard. Given his previous experience and established relationship with GIBY, it was important to him to have the yard perform the surveys and repairs. The project would be significant. Once the full extent of the repairs was determined, Steve decided to turn lemons into lemonade. He would take advantage of the downtime and the interior access the repair work would create.

“I decided to incorporate changes to the battery/electrical system for two reasons. One, the boat was already torn apart for the grounding repair; and, two, perhaps more importantly, I was comfortable working with Steve (and the GIBY team) on such a technically demanding project.”

In addition to the structural repairs, his goal would be to outfit the boat for long-range cruising. He would travel north to Labrador and south as far as the wind might take him.

The following season, during his voyage to Labrador, his relationship with GIBY proved invaluable. He had damaged his rudder…in Nain, Labrador! His location was remote and any support was welcome. After splinting the rudder, he returned to GIBY where the rudder was replaced. During this time, a final punch list was tackled to prepare the boat for sailing south.

Work Scope:

• Repair crack in carbon fiber gooseneck
• Survey keel & hull structure post grounding, using thermal imaging & hull sounding
• Remove keel for straightening & bolt replacement
• Rejoin keel
• Remove cracked rudder & reinstall custom rudder
• Disassemble interior – remove galley, built-ins, bulkheads, water & fuel tanks, systems, batteries, wires & hoses
• Identify micro fractures – find broken longitudinal/latitudinal stringers & areas of hull delamination
• Excavate sections of delaminated hull – replace core with new material laminated more securely to hull
• Replace low-density foam-filled stringers with high-density, polyurethane foam-reinforced board
• Wrap keel grid in fiberglass
• Sand & fair bilge, coat with high-gloss finish
• Refabricate old support frames for water tanks
• Fabricate new battery platforms
• Paint, service & reinstall engine
• Design new electrical system to ABYC standards, convert from 12v to 24v
• Install Lithium-Ion based AC/DC electrical system
• Install two 5000-watt Victron inverter/chargers
• Organize control circuitry and wires to ABYC specifications
• Install soft start on water-maker and AC unit
• Update fire protection
• Service domestic systems
• Reassemble systems, interior cabinetry, and cabin sole
• Fabricate & glue teak/maple veneer to match existing cabin sole
• Varnish cabin sole
• Facilitate installation of custom hardtop by SEAmless Marine
• Wire hardtop for cockpit lighting
• Connect Sirius Satellite Weather
• Install Raymarine Axiom 15 at helm
• Install Ray CTS 600W transducer
• Repair/touchup Awlgrip on hull
• Bend on new Doyle sails