D
Dennis
Dear Irwin Owners, My wife and I just lost a new 40 ft cat to a fire…tragic story. Once the dust settles, we will be looking for another boat. We are now thinking to go back to monohulls for a while. So we began looking at boats in the 50 ft range. There are several very nice boats we are considering. One is a 1982 Irwin 52 CC Ketch. From the digital pics – she looks great (but don’t all boats look good in digital pics???). She is well appointed and a favorable deal can be struck. However, I know very little about the sailing attributes of this size Irwin. Is it possible for this forum to give me insight into how 52 ft Irwins perform versus say a Pearson 53 ketch or a Gulfstar 50 or Tayana 48. Are we in the same ball park or is there some vast difference? How well do Irwin’s point? How well do they handle extreme conditions? What are her strengths – and what are her weaknesses? We have never owned a monohull of this size before (the biggest before the cats was a Santana 20). So we are truly babes in the woods when it comes to monohulls of this size. So I am asking for a critique of Irwin 52 footers vies a vie the competition and just sailing enjoyment by itself.I hope you can help us – this is a very difficult decision and knowledgeable advice is always helpful. Thanks in advance for your help.Dennis