Westerly case, or the good investment of a restoration

It caused a stir when a fiberglass boat more than 20 years old, born for cruising and certainly not for racing, won the most important offshore race in the United States, the Transpac (more than 2,000 miles from Los Angeles to Honolulu-Hawaii) on corrected time.

The surprise overall winner of this iconic regatta is the 1999 Santa Cruz 52 named Westerly (photo above), which took the satisfaction of beating the best superboats in the U.S., all of which were present at the start.

A true restoration enhanced

Westerly has just been refurbished, equipped with new sails, carbon shrouds, a fixed bowsprit, rating optimization.

The uniqueness of Westerly’s achievement highlights a trend that has been going on for a few years around the world: how long the life of a sailboat can be, while maintaining and increasing its value. Provided, of course, that it is constantly maintained and updated.

Just as owner Dave Moore did with his beautiful Santa Cruz 52 Westerly that enhanced the investment because it is a great “beautiful” boat with a pedigree that deserved the investment. If you notice in the more mature car world there is a thriving market for classic and vintage cars, not to mention houses where seniority of construction is often an added value. Cars and houses are constantly being maintained and renovated so that they maintain their value and in many cases, increase it.

How to recover the investment

In the case of sailboats, until now, except for sporadic phenomena of some prestigious shipyards such as Swan or Hallberg-Rassy, renovating and maintaining them constantly is not worth it from the economic point of view, because their true value is not recognized by the market. But things are changing, and finally the value of “nice boats” over 20 years old is beginning to rise.

With the consequence that for a shipowner to make an investment to renovate it can become not only a story of unwritten emotional passion, but also an expense justified by the incremental value of the asset. Is so in the world of cars and houses. Now is the time for boats to follow this logic and market dynamic as well. Just see how many Classic Boats kept with care and love by their owners you find on our site!

Luca Oriani