The Mystery of the Build Number

Mystery solved! Something else I no longer have to think about. What build number is Something Else? Was Something Else the first GK29 built? No, though Something Else was built during the first year of GK29 production. I don't know why I want to know this about Something Else. I guess it is just something else to know.

  According to the WOA's Westerly Wiki, 

"The Yard Number [aka build number] is the number on the plate in the hatchway and consists of a letter then 3 numbers i.e. A 123 The prefix letter originally indicated from which shed in Waterlooville the hull was made but soon came to represent the specific model being built. The digits represent the number of that specific hull. You'll also find the number in wax crayon on the underside of removable wood panels."

Many GK29 owners I talk with via the internet have a Westerly factory build plate attached to the frame for the sliding hatch. The build prefix for GK29s was "B".



Build plate for the 100th production Westerly GK29



Something Else did not have a build plate. It is long gone. Maybe lost after refinishing the wood or it just fell off. I tried to interpolate the build number using other owner’s hull Identification number and build numbers compared to my hull ID. It looked like maybe 110th boat. But that would only have been a guess. I knew they only built 182 or so GK29 and mine was one of them.

On the back of sliding doors for the cupboard and the ceiling panel for the navigation station I found B50. The 50th production Westerly GK29 build.

Westerly is no longer in business however Caroline, at Trafalgar Yacht Services in the UK, found the specification sheet for my boat B50 was made out to Westerly and it was to be launched as a demonstrator. She indicated that there was no mention of who eventually bought the boat or where it went. But maybe it went directly to San Diego California as Westerly demonstrator. That would be interesting story but the invoice only says Westerly demonstrator.  I guess how Something Else came to be in San Diego is still a mystery.