Is this really Irwin?

[epistosaurus]

Hi Irwiners,

I am looking at a boat to buy and came across one which I like. It is an Irwin 38 from 1974 or 1975.

I need some advice about what it is. There is no literature with her (OK, since it is 35y old). It is a shoal keel with 3.9' draft and measuring it sounds about right. But it is a solid keel, not centerboard: has Irwin ever made a model like this? From all I could gather all Irwin early cruisers with shoal keel had centerboards, so I am confused.

She also has a wooden mast (that's in a pretty bad shape), keel-stepped. The owner doesn't know why, he had her for about 5y and that's how it came. As far as I could tell the orginal equipment on all 1970's Irwins was an alluminum mast.

My question is: can I somehow be assured it is an Irwin: should there be an identifier somewhere? How much should I care?

There are obviously other questions about her, but the post is already long enough, so I'll stop.

Any info would be greatly appreciated! You probably guessed she would be my first boat (so far I have been sailing on my fathers-in-law 9 meter S2). Thank you.

 

[Lee Coller]

Easy way to check this is to check the hull number which should indicate the manufacturer. You can find this on the transom, starboard side, 2 inches down from the gunwale. See http://boatsafe.com/nauticalknowhow/hin.htm for how to decode it.

If the boat was built before Nov 1, 1972 it won't have a hull number like that. How about posting a picture?

 

[epistosaurus]

Some pictures

I will be seeing the boat in a few days (she's a couple of h away) but last time I took some pictures: here they are. I will look for HIN (Smack: how could I forget about that! Thanks) next time.

rafal

 

[jimford2158]

http://irwinyachts.com/ scroll to bottom to enter site and on the left it will have aft cockpit or center cockpit. click on aft and you will see owners manuals, check the hull number or you can measure the beam as a good place to start. It doesn't really look like any Irwin, but it could have been modified. Doesn't mean it's not a good boat. Look in all the holds, don't be shy, but ask permission to look it over. Look for seperated bulkheads or rot, or for standing water stains. Look at mast step for settling. If it's not in water it's hard to check all the systems. Check rudder for looseness and all thru hulls to be ball type. The length should be from front of boat to very rear, and does not include the pulpit.