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FIONA: |
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FIONA: |
FIONA is a Westsail 42. My wife, Edith, and I saw the first hull of the series under construction at Costa Mesa, California in 1974. The salesman was very pressing and for a small deposit we arranged to have a hull delivered in 1975. We had sold our beloved Dutch boat, IONA, a couple of years before. On that boat we had cruised the Caribbean with our son Colin, then 3 years old, for 15 months in 1968-69. Both IONA and FIONA have the old-fashioned long keel of the genuine ocean cruiser and when Edith first saw the Westsail 42 on the stocks she exclaimed, “My God, another f-ing IONA!”. This is how FIONA got her name.
Our daughter Brenda arrived on the scene in 1971 and it was clear our cruising days were over for a while. When I saw the Westsail 42 I figured I could complete her in about 3 to 4 years. In fact it took 8 years; she was launched in 1983.
The interior is mostly mahogany and teak. The head liner and most bulkheads are made of white Formica glued to plywood. I added some structural re-inforcing in the form of 1 ½ inch diameter stainless steel poles between the hull and cabin top. These are also very handy to grab for when the boat rolls unexpectedly. The engine is an 85-hp Perkins diesel. The engine room is lined with 1/16 inch thick lead sheet for sound-proofing. There is an engine-driven cold-plate freezer . Eric originally built this using the compressor off a Chrysler Newport air conditioner but in 2004 he installed a 'Sea Frost' freezer kit which uses the newer R134A refrigerant. Electric power is generated while sailing by an alternator coupled to the propeller shaft.
| LOA (Not including bow platform) | 42' 9" |
| Clearance Length, Panama Canal | 49' |
| LWL | 37' |
| Beam | 13' |
| Draft | 6' 3" |
| Displacement, empty | 37,000 lbs |
| Internal ballast (in keel) | 11,000 lbs |
| USCG Net Tonnage | 24 T |
| USCG Gross Tonnage | 25 T |
| Sail Area, working Main | 470 sq. ft. |
| Sail Area, Genoa Jib | 500 sq. ft. |
| Sail Area, Staysail | 150 sq. ft. |
| Sail Area, Storm Main | 310 sq. ft. |
| Sail Area, Yankee Jib | 280 sq. ft. |
| Sail Area, Spitfire Jib | 40 sq. ft. |
| Engine | Perkins, 85 horsepower |
| Fuel Capacity | |
| xxxxxxxxCenter tank | 85 gallons |
| xxxxxxxxPort tank | 50 gallons |
| Water Capacity | |
| xxxxxxxxPort tank | 50 gallons |
| xxxxxxxxCenter tank | 100 gallons |
| xxxxxxxStarboard tank | 50 gallons |
| Mast, Aluminum (deck stepped) | 4 x 7.5" x 50 ft. |
| Air clearance | 59 ft. |
| Rigging | |
| xxxxxxHeadstay and backstay | 3/8" 1x19 stainless wire |
| xxxxxxForestay and 8 each shrouds | 5/16" 1x19 stainless wire |
| Ground Tackle | |
| xxxxxxChain | 7/16" x 280 ft |
| xxxxxxFisherman Anchor | 65 lbs |
| xxxxxxCQR Anchor | 45 lbs |
| xxxxxxDanforth Anchor | 45 lbs |
| xxxxxxDanforth Anchor | 25 lbs |
| 1983 | Shakedown cruise to Bermuda | |
| 1984 | Cruise to Bras d’or Lake, Cape Breton Is., Prince Edward Is. and St Pierre | |
| 1985 | Cruise to St Martin and Virgin Is. | |
| 1986 | Cruise to the Azores and Bermuda | |
| 1987 | Cruise to Bermuda and Maine | |
| 1988 | Cruise to St Martin and Grenadines | |
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| 1989 | Cruise to Newfoundland, Nova Scotia and Maine | |
| 1990 | Cruise to the S. Pacific via the Caribbean, Panama Canal and Galapagos. | |
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| 1991-92 | Eric returned in late October 1991 to sail FIONA home via the Gambier Is, Pitcairn Is, Cape Horn, Brazil, the Cape Verde Is and Bermuda. | |
| 1993 | Cruise to Newfoundland, the Bras d’or, Nova Scotia and Maine. | |
| 1994 | Cruise to Newfoundland, Labrador and Maine. | |
| 1995-97 | Circumnavigation of the world. | |
| 1998-99 | Cruise to Antarctica via Easter Is, the Chilean Canals and Cape Horn. Returned via S. Georgia, Tristan da Cunha, Cape Town, St Helena, Fernando de Noronha and the Caribbean. | |
| 1999 | Maine | |
| 2000-2001 |
Cruise to Iceland, the Arctic, Spitzbergen, Norway, the British Isles, Portugal, Caribbean, Cuba, Bahamas and Bermuda. Cruise to Maine. |
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| 2002-2003 | Eastabout circumnavigation following the old clipper ship route 'round the southern capes. | |
| 2004/2005 | Cruise to Ireland, the Baltic, UK, Brazil and the Falkland Islands. 21,683 nm | |
| 2005 | Six Week Fall cruise to New England and Maine | |
| 2006-2007 | Cruise to Antarctic Circle | |
| 2007 | Six week fall cruise to New England and Maine | |
| 2008 | Four month cruise to Greenland, 8,000 nm | |
| 2009-10 | Circumnavigation of N. America via NW Passage | |
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