Cruising Sailors Forum Archive

I've owned several Irwins. Yes, I

heard all the lines about poor construction, inferior craftmanship, not a bluewater boat, etc..etc... I put many miles on both of them including blue water in gale conditions off the Atlantic Coast in the Gulfstream. It never felt out of control, or in danger of a structural failure and it had very nice speed. I loved the look of his boats. His deck salon design on his center cockpits was years ahead of other companies. I'm not sure today but for years, the irwin 52 and 65 were the "go to" design for crewed charter boats all over the Caribbean. Even as Ted aged he would still answer the phone personally at Irwin Yachts. I'm sure a lot of you are aware that he was run over in his dinghy in Key West by an idiot flying through the anchorage in a cigarette boat. He was in the ICU for weeks. And then, of course...one of the nastiest divorces in Florida history. RIP, Ted.

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