Irwin Yacht and Marine Corporation, often just called Irwin Yachts, was an American boat builder based in

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. The company specialized in the design and manufacture of

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sailboat A sailboat or sailing boat is a boat propelled partly or entirely by sails and is smaller than a sailing ship. Distinctions in what constitutes a sailing boat and ship vary by region and maritime culture. Types Although sailboat terminology ...

s and became one of the largest producers of sailboats in the United States. The company was founded by Ted Irwin (June 28, 1940 – February 5, 2015) in 1966 and went through a succession of

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and subsequent name changes, before finally closing in 1992. The company produced more than 6,000 boats. Ted Irwin was a competitive sailboat racer, but the company built many of their boats specifically for the cruising market. Many designs were aimed at the

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yacht charter Yacht chartering is the practice of renting, or chartering, a sailboat or motor yacht and traveling to various coastal or island destinations. There are three main kinds of charter: bareboat, skippered and crewed. Bareboat charters require the ...

market, including the Irwin 42, 52 and 65.

History

Brunton Autoprop on Irwin 44 sailing cruiser

Irwin was born in

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and went on to sail it to win the class North American and world championships. He served in the

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and also worked for Charley Morgan at Morgan Yachts as a draftsman, illustrator and boat builder. He commenced his first design, the ''Voodoo'' in 1963, a boat that took six months to complete. He raced the boat from 1964 to 1966 and won 24 of the 28 races that he competed in. Irwin founded his own company, Irwin Yacht & Marine Corporation, in 1966. He ran the company and was also the chief designer. The first design produced was the Irwin 27, in 1967. To control costs, Irwin bought his supplies in large lots and also owned his factory and the land it was located upon, as well as the production tooling. He also produced everything possible in-house, from the boats' masts, right down to the marketing

brochure A brochure is an promotional document primarily used to introduce a company, organization, products, or services and inform prospective customers or members of the public of the benefits. Although, initially, a paper document that can be folded ...

s. The company started out with a factory, but expanded to and employed more than 200 people at its peak. Typical of his cruising boats was the Irwin 41, a blue-water cruiser introduced in 1982.Sherwood, Richard M.: ''A Field Guide to Sailboats of North America, Second Edition'', pages 364-365. Houghton Mifflin Company, 1994. In the 1980s, Irwin designed a series of racing boats, all named ''Razzle Dazzle'', that he raced in the

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(SORC) in

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. His 1982 ''Razzle Dazzle'' was sold after winning the SORC that year, but the design was the basis for the Irwin 41 Citation, of which four boats were completed. Many years he sold his winning boats, which fetched high prices, using the funds and lessons learned to design better boats for subsequent years. Irwin encouraged other builders, even when they became competitors. In 1974 he traded the molds for the 1970 model Irwin 32 in exchange for a small number of shares in the fledgling Endeavour Yacht Corporation to get founders John Brooks and Rob Valdes started in the

boat building Boat building is the design and construction of boats (instead of the larger ships) — and their on-board systems. This includes at minimum the construction of a hull, with any necessary propulsion, mechanical, navigation, safety and other ser ...

business. The company built more cruising sailboats with a

length overall Length overall (LOA, o/a, o.a. or oa) is the maximum length of a vessel's hull measured parallel to the waterline. This length is important while docking the ship. It is the most commonly used way of expressing the size of a ship, and is also ...

of greater than than any other company worldwide, with more than 300 of the Irwin 52, 54, 65 and 68 models completed. Irwin Yacht & Marine closed in 1992 for the final time. Ted Irwin died in

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on 5 February 2015, from

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, at age 74.

Boats

Irwin 30 Citation sailboat Time Out 5928

Summary of boats built by Irwin Yachts: * Irwin 27 - 1967 * Irwin 23 - 1968 * Irwin 24 - 1968 * Irwin 31 - 1968 * Irwin 25 - 1969 * Irwin 28 - 1970 * Irwin 32 - 1970 * Irwin 38-1 - 1970 * Irwin 45 - 1970 * Irwin 37-1 - 1971 * Irwin 43 (1971) - 1971 * Irwin 30 Competition - 1972 * Irwin 32.5 - 1972 * Irwin 37 1 Ton - 1972 * Irwin 37 Competition - 1973 * Irwin 28 Mk III - 1974 * Irwin 33 - 1974 * Irwin 10/4 - 1975 * Irwin Avanti 42 - 1975 * Irwin 1/2 Ton - 1976 * Irwin 28 Mk IV - 1976 * Irwin 3/4 Ton - 1976 * Irwin 30 - 1976 * Irwin 33 Mk II - 1976 * Irwin 37-2 - 1976 * Irwin 37-3 - 1976 * Irwin 42 - 1976 * Irwin 52 - 1976 * Irwin 1/2 Ton Mk II - 1977 * Irwin 30 Citation - 1977 * Irwin 37-4 - 1977 * Irwin 40 Citation - 1978 * Irwin Mini-Ton - 1978 * Irwin 34 Citation - 1979 * Irwin 39 Citation - 1979 * Irwin 21 Free Spirit - 1980 * Irwin 46 - 1980 * Irwin 65/68 - 1981 * Irwin 34 - 1982 * Irwin 37-5 -1982 * Irwin 41 - 1982 * Irwin 41 Citation - 1982 * Irwin 52-2 - 1982 * Irwin 31 Citation - 1983 * Irwin 38-2 - 1984 * Irwin 43-CC Mk I - 1984 * Irwin 32 Citation - 1985 * Irwin 43-CC Mk II - 1985 * Irwin 35 Citation - 1986 * Irwin 38 Citation - 1986 * Irwin 43-CC Mk III - 1986 * Irwin 44 - 1987 * Irwin 52-3 - 1987 * Irwin 54 - 1988

References

{{Irwin Yachts Irwin Yachts

History

Boats

See also

References