"DSK" wrote in message
...
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.

You're right, of course, but I was suggesting the cruising boats for the
original poster. The Irwin Citations are actually fairly fast boats, if not
particularly attractive IMO.

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.

I wasn't aware that the production boats were based upon his personal racing
machines, but I'm not surprised.

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.....

Yup, but it was too small for the boat. It came off his earlier O'Day 35.


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.

They had put a bundle into the Irwin--new sails, electronics, folding wheel,
a complete set of new bronze ports, linear polyurethane paint on the
topsides, deck, and house, new canvas dodger and bimini, and on and on.
Their price was substantially above the average for Irwin 37s, and they got
it almost immediately. We were surprised at how rapidly the boat sold,
considering the price.


.... 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.

They are not unlike the Morgan Out Island series of boats--lots of interior
volume for the buck. I'd have to concede that the Irwin 37 is probably a
better sailor than the Morgans, however, and somewhat better looking.

Max