Review of Westerly Conway

Westerly Conway anno 1978. Photo from 2025.

Basic specs.

The Westerly Conway is a sailboat designed by the maritime architect Laurent Giles. A few hundred boats have been built. The Westerly Conway is built by the British yard Westerly Marine Construction Ltd..

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Hull

The hull is made of fibreglass. A hull made of fibreglass requires only a minimum of maintenance during the sailing season.

The deck is a sandwich construction which improves the indoor climate. Especially when the water is colder than the air in the cabin, then the double hull insulates against cold water and reduce the condense water in the cabin.

Interior

Floor plan of Westerly Conway. One of four floor plans labeled: layout A

Floor plan of Westerly Conway. One of four floor plans labeled: layout B

Floor plan of Westerly Conway. One of four floor plans labeled: layout C

Floor plan of Westerly Conway. One of four floor plans labeled: layout D

The boat is equipped with 2 cabins, 4+3 berths, a galley and toilet facility.

The interior is like most other boats made of teak. Teak has the advantage of being naturally very oily and therefore water-repellent, which is suitable on boats.

Rig

Rig of Westerly Conway. Masthead version.

Rig of Westerly Conway. This picture shows the ketch rig version.

The boat has more than one rig.

One option is a masthead rig. The sail area for the mailsail + jib is 46.6 m² (501.6 ft²). The advantage of a masthead rig is its simplicity and the fact that a given sail area - compared with a fractional rig - can be carried lower and thus with less heeling moment.

Another option is a ketch rig. A ketch rig is generally considered easier to handle, because the sails are smaller, and because it can sail on most points to the wind with one sail completely taken down for repair or while reefing. The sail configuration of a ketch allows for better comfort and stability when sailing downwind or on a broad reach.

Engine

Westerly Conway may be equipped with an inboard Volvo Penta MD3B diesel engine at 36 hp (26 kW). Cruise speed is 7.0 knots.

Sailing characteristics

This section covers widely used rules of thumb to describe the sailing characteristics. Please note that even though the calculations are correct, the interpretation of the results might not be valid for extreme boats.

Stability and Safety

What is Capsize Screening Formula (CSF)?

The capsize screening value for Westerly Conway is 1.77, indicating that this boat could - if evaluated by this formula alone - be accepted to participate in ocean races.

Theoretical Maximum Hull Speed

What is Theoretical Maximum Hull Speed?

The theoretical maximal speed of a displacement boat of this length is 7.4 knots. The term "Theoretical Maximum Hull Speed" is widely used even though a boat can sail faster. The term shall be interpreted as above the theoretical speed a great additional power is necessary for a small gain in speed.

Immersion rate

The immersion rate is defined as the weight required to sink the boat a certain level. The immersion rate for Westerly Conway is about 211 kg/cm, alternatively 1184 lbs/inch.
Meaning: if you load 211 kg cargo on the boat then it will sink 1 cm. Alternatively, if you load 1184 lbs cargo on the boat it will sink 1 inch.

Sailing statistics

This section is statistical comparison with similar boats of the same category. The basis of the following statistical computations is our unique database with more than 26,000 different boat types and 350,000 data points.

Motion Comfort Ratio

What is Motion Comfort Ratio (MCR)?

The Motion Comfort Ratio for Westerly Conway is 31.0.

Comparing this ratio with similar sailboats show that it is more comfortable than 73% of all similar sailboat designs. This comfort value is just above average.

L/B (Length Beam Ratio)

What is L/B (Length Beam Ratio)?

The l/b ratio for Westerly Conway is 3.19.

Compared with other similar sailboats it is more spacy than 50% of all other designs. It seems that the designer has chosen an average hull design.

D/L (Displacement Length Ratio)

What is Displacement Length Ratio?

The DL-ratio for Westerly Conway is 257 which categorizes this boat among 'moderate racers'.

54% of all similar sailboat designs are categorized as heavier. A light displacement requires less sailarea and has higher accellerations.

Maintenance

Rig

If you need to renew parts of your running rig and is not quite sure of the dimensions, you may find the estimates computed below useful.

**Guiding dimensions of running rig**
Masthead rig
Usage	Length		Diameter
Jib sheet	10.9 m	(35.7 feet)	14 mm	(0.55 inch)
Genoa sheet	10.9 m	(35.7 feet)	14 mm	(0.55 inch)
Mainsheet	27.2 m	(89.3 feet)	14 mm	(0.55 inch)
Spinnaker sheet	24.0 m	(78.6 feet)	14 mm	(0.55 inch)
Ketch rig
Usage	Length		Diameter
Jib sheet	10.9 m	(35.7 feet)	14 mm	(0.55 inch)
Genoa sheet	10.9 m	(35.7 feet)	14 mm	(0.55 inch)
Mainsheet	27.2 m	(89.3 feet)	14 mm	(0.55 inch)
Spinnaker sheet	24.0 m	(78.6 feet)	14 mm	(0.55 inch)

Boat owner's ideas

This section is reserved boat owner's modifications, improvements, etc. Here you might find (or contribute with) inspiration for your boat.

Do you have changes/improvements you would like to share? Upload a photo and describe what you have done.

Finally

We are always looking for new photos. If you can contribute with photos for Westerly Conway it would be a great help.

If you have any comments to the review, improvement suggestions, or the like, feel free to contact us. Criticism helps us to improve.

References

[Ref 1]: ISO 8666 Small craft — Principal data.
[Ref 3]: ISO 12215-5 Small craft — Hull construction and scantlings.