Review of Irwin 54
Basic specs.
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The hull is made of fibreglass. Generally, a hull made of fibreglass requires only a minimum of maintenance during the sailing season.
The boat is equipped with 0 cabins, 6-8 berths, a galley, 1495.0 liter fresh water capacity, toilet facility and 75.0 liter waste water capacity.
The Irwin 54 is equipped with a ketch rig. A ketch rig is generally considered easier to handle, because the sails are smaller, and because it can sail on most points to the wind with one sail completely taken down for repair or while reefing. The sail configuration of a ketch allows for better comfort and stability when sailing downwind or on a broad reach.
The Irwin 54 has been built with different keel alternatives.
Full keel
One option is a long keel. A full keel provide a better directional stability than a similar boat with a fin keel; on the other hand, better directional stability means also that the boat is more difficult to handle in a harbour with less space.
The boat can enter most marinas as the draft is just about 1.68 - 1.78 meter (5.51 - 5.81 ft) dependent on the load. See immersion rate below.
CentreBoard
Another option is a centreboard keel. A centreboard keel is a pivoting lifting keel, allowing to sail both coastal and inland waters.
Irwin 54 can enter most marinas as the draft is just about 1.68 - 1.78 meter (5.51 - 5.81 ft) dependent on the load. See immersion rate below.
The boat may be equipped with an inboard Yanmar diesel engine at 77 hp (57 kW). Calculated max speed is about 6.4 knots
The transmission is a shaft drive. A shaft drive will in the long run require less maintenance than other types of drive e.g. a sail drive.
The fuel tank has a capacity of 1438.0 liters (379 US gallons, 316 imperial gallons).
Sailing characteristics
This section covers widely used rules of thumb to describe the sailing characteristics. Please note that even though the calculations are correct, the interpretation of the results might not be valid for extreme boats.
What is Capsize Screening Formula (CSF)?
The capsize screening value for Irwin 54 is 1.71, indicating that this boat could - if evaluated by this formula alone - be accepted to participate in ocean races.
What is Theoretical Maximum Hull Speed?
The theoretical maximal speed of a displacement boat of this length is 8.9 knots. The term "Theoretical Maximum Hull Speed" is widely used even though a boat can sail faster. The term shall be interpreted as above the theoretical speed a great additional power is necessary for a small gain in speed.
The immersion rate is defined as the weight required to sink the boat a certain level.
The immersion rate for Irwin 54 is about 418 kg/cm, alternatively 2344 lbs/inch.
Meaning: if you load 418 kg cargo on the boat then it will sink 1 cm.
Alternatively, if you load 2344 lbs cargo on the boat it will sink 1 inch.
Sailing statistics
This section is statistical comparison with similar boats of the same category. The basis of the following statistical computations is our unique database with more than 26,000 different boat types and 350,000 data points.
What is Motion Comfort Ratio (MCR)?
The Motion Comfort Ratio for Irwin 54 is 39.7.
What is L/B (Length Beam Ratio)?
The l/b ratio for Irwin 54 is 3.53.
The ballast ratio for Irwin 54 is 35%.
What is Displacement Length Ratio?
The DL-ratio for Irwin 54 is 241 which categorizes this boat among 'light crusers & offshore racers'.
What is SA/D (Sail Area Displacement ratio)?
The SA/D for Irwin 54 with ISO 8666 reference sail is 13.4, with a 135% genua the SA/D is 16.0.
Maintenance
When buying anti-fouling bottom paint, it's nice to know how much to buy.
The surface of the wet bottom is about 64m2 (688 ft2).
Based on this, your favourite maritime shop can tell you the quantity you need.
Note: If you use a paint roller you will need more paint than if you use a paintbrush.
Dimensions of sail for ketch rig.
Are your sails worn out? You might find your next sail here: Sails for Sale
If you need to renew parts of your running rig and is not quite sure of the dimensions, you may find the estimates computed below useful.
| Usage | Length | Diameter | ||
| Mainsail halyard | 39.5 m | (129.5 feet) | 14 mm | (0.55 inch) |
| Jib/genoa halyard | 39.5 m | (129.5 feet) | 14 mm | (0.55 inch) |
| Spinnaker halyard | 39.5 m | (129.5 feet) | 14 mm | (0.55 inch) |
| Jib sheet | 16.5 m | (54.0 feet) | 16 mm | (5/8 inch) |
| Genoa sheet | 16.5 m | (54.0 feet) | 16 mm | (5/8 inch) |
| Mainsheet | 41.2 m | (135.0 feet) | 16 mm | (5/8 inch) |
| Spinnaker sheet | 36.2 m | (118.8 feet) | 16 mm | (5/8 inch) |
| Cunningham | 5.8 m | (19.0 feet) | 14 mm | (0.55 inch) |
| Kickingstrap | 11.6 m | (38.0 feet) | 14 mm | (0.55 inch) |
| Clew-outhaul | 11.6 m | (38.0 feet) | 14 mm | (0.55 inch) |
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