How can you mention Ericsons and Irwins in the same post??




Maxprop wrote:
I know it's a stretch of the imagination, but they are in the same
resale price range.

Well, that just goes to show that the marketplace ain't
everything. Irwins were well advertised and mass numbers
were built, so they have a type of appeal (familiarity?) and
for some types of sailor they are practical boats.

.... While the Ericsons are well-built,
performance-type cruisers, the Irwins are big-ass bathtub-like
cruisers with lots of interior space and substandard construction.

No, Irwin built a number of racier boats too... they even
called some of them "competition" models. Some of them sail
well and the K/CB models might make the start of a pretty
good shoal-draft low-budget fun cruiser.

Ted Irwin was a top racing skipper in his day, he had the
Irwin factory built a number of custom boats for him and
these were the basis of a few production models.


Amazingly they resell very well. People seem to be unable to look
beyond the voluminous interior.

Well, that's a desirable feature, no? Reflected in the
marketplace?

... A friend owned a 37' Irwin up until
this past fall--we tried repeatedly to bury the rail on the damn
thing, but never could--not even in 30+kts.


No spinnaker, I take it.....

katy wrote:
Glad to hear he finally got rid of that leaky thing...hope they got a
better one....

Lots & lots of boats on the market right now, that's fer shure.


.... That sort of stiffness
tends to instill confidence in those who are too ignorant to realize
just how poorly constructed they are.

High initial stability is also a desirable feature,
reflected in the marketplace... but I happen to agree that
the overal worth of a boat is more subtle & complex than
that. As far as I care, let them all buy Irwins... it will
leave more choices for me.

Actually, a good friend of mine is probably going to buy one
of the center-cockpit Irwin 37s for a live-aboard...
basically a semi-portable waterfront condo. Not likely he'll
ever take the thing out of the ICW and the budget picture
makes more sense than real estate in his neighborhood.

Fresh Breezes- Doug King