Westerly 36 Ketch / Corsair /Corsair Ii/ Solway/Conway 36 Mkii
Description
The Westerly 36 Ketch, more precisely known as the Westerly Conway 36 Ketch (part of the broader Conway 36 family), is a classic British center-cockpit cruising sailboat designed by Laurent Giles in 1971 and built by Westerly Marine Construction Ltd. from 1975 to 1983. It's renowned for its robust fiberglass construction, seaworthiness, and versatile ketch rig, which splits the sail area between main and mizzen for easier short-handed handling—ideal for blue water passages or family cruising. The Conway 36 lineup includes variants like the Solway 36 (twin keels), Galway 36 (aft-cockpit twin keels), and Medway 36 (aft-cockpit fin keel), but the standard Conway 36 Ketch features a deep fin keel and center cockpit for superior stability and protection. Approximately 200-250 were built, with the ketch rig being a popular option for its balanced performance in heavy weather. In 1979, it was rebranded as the Conway 36 MkII with minor interior tweaks.
Construction Details
| Designer | Laurent Giles |
|---|---|
| Builder | Westerly Marine |
| Length | 36.000 ft |
The standard boat dimensions
| i | 43 ft |
|---|---|
| j | 13.83 ft |
| p | 36.75 ft |
| e | 13 ft |
| p2 | 19.83 ft |
| e2 | 7 ft |
| i2 | - |
| j2 | - |
| I | J | P | E | P2 | E2 | I2 | J2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 43 ft | 13.83 ft | 36.75 ft | 13 ft | 19.83 ft | 7 ft | - | - |
Sails
| Sail Type | MAINSAIL |
|---|---|
| Luff | * 36.75 ft - (11201 mm) |
| Foot | * 13 ft - (3962 mm) |
| Leech | * 38.27 ft - (11665 mm) |
| Tack Angle | * 88 ° |
| Diagonal | * 38.55 ft - (11750 mm) |
| Head (inches) | * 6 in - (152 mm) |
| Area | * 246.69 ft² |
| Sail Type | JIBSAIL |
|---|---|
| Luff | * 36.14 ft - (11015 mm) |
| Foot | * 18.33 ft - (5587 mm) |
| Leech | * 31.35 ft - (9555 mm) |
| Percentage LP | * 114.97 % |
| Length Perpendicular | * 15.9 ft - (4846 mm) |
| Deck Angle | * 12.01 ° |
| Area | * 287.31 ft² |
| Sail Type | GENOA |
|---|---|
| Luff | * 42.91 ft - (13079 mm) |
| Foot | * 22.34 ft - (6809 mm) |
| Leech | * 40.35 ft - (12299 mm) |
| Percentage LP | * 149.96 % |
| Length Perpendicular | * 20.74 ft - (6322 mm) |
| Deck Angle | * 3.98 ° |
| Area | * 445 ft² |
| Sail Type | MIZZEN |
|---|---|
| Luff | * 19.83 ft - (6044 mm) |
| Foot | * 7 ft - (2134 mm) |
| Leech-AftHdBd | * 20.57 ft - (6270 mm) |
| Tack Ang | * 88.02 ° |
| Diag (clew/head) | * 20.8 ft - (6340 mm) |
| Head (inches) | * 3.5 in - (89 mm) |
| Area (no Roach) | * 71.21 ft² |
Disclaimer. Boats are not all the same -- even when produced in the same factory of the same model. Sailrite does its best to publish accurate dimensions, but we often find it worthwhile to have our customers measure their boats carefully before we produce kits for them. You should take the same precautions, especially when the data is not from Sailrite. The information on this site is not guaranteed to be accurate. Sailrite offers this content as a service to our community, but takes no responsibility for the reliability of the data provided.