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Review of Irwin 54


Basic specs.

sail specifications
The Irwin 54 is a large sailboat designed by the maritime architect Ted Irwin in the late eighties. The Irwin 54 is built by the American yard Irwin Yachts.

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Hull

The hull is made of fibreglass. Generally, a hull made of fibreglass requires only a minimum of maintenance during the sailing season.


Interior

The boat is equipped with 0 cabins, 6-8 berths, 1495.0 liter fresh water capacity, toilet facility and 75.0 liter waste water capacity.


Rig
Rig
Rig of Irwin 54 anno 1989. Estella Mae at anchor in Brunswick, GA

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.


Keel

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.


Engine

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.

Stability and Safety

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.


Theoretical Maximum Hull Speed

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.


Immersion rate

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.

Motion Comfort Ratio

What is Motion Comfort Ratio (MCR)?

The Motion Comfort Ratio for Irwin 54 is 39.7.

Low High 73% 0 50 100
Comparing this ratio with similar sailboats show that it is more comfortable than 73% of all similar sailboat designs. This comfort value is just above average.


L/B (Length Beam Ratio)

What is L/B (Length Beam Ratio)?

The l/b ratio for Irwin 54 is 3.53.

Slim Wide 58% 0 50 100
Compared with other similar sailboats it is more spacy than 58% of all other designs. It seems that the designer has chosen a slightly more spacy hull design.


Ballast Ratio

What is a Ballast Ratio?

The ballast ratio for Irwin 54 is 35%.

Low High 42% 0 50 100
This ballast ratio shows a righting moment that is higher than 42% of all similar sailboat designs. A righting moment (ability to resist heeling) just below average.


D/L (Displacement Length Ratio)

What is Displacement Length Ratio?

The DL-ratio for Irwin 54 is 241 which categorizes this boat among 'light crusers & offshore racers'.

Heavy Light 38% 0 50 100
38% of all similar sailboat designs are categorized as heavier. A heavy displacement combined with smaller water plane area has lower acceleration and is more comfortable.


SA/D (Sail Area Displacement ratio)

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.

Low High 1% 0 50 100
The SA/D ratio indicates that it is faster than 1% of all similar sailboat designs in light wind.


Over- / underrigged


Maintenance

Bottom Paint

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.


Rig

Dimensions of sail for ketch rig.

mainsail specifications headsail specifications

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.



Guiding dimensions of running rig
UsageLengthDiameter
Mainsail halyard 39.5 m(129.5 feet)14 mm(0.55 inch)
Jib/genoa halyard39.5 m(129.5 feet)14 mm(0.55 inch)
Spinnaker halyard39.5 m(129.5 feet)14 mm(0.55 inch)
Jib sheet 16.5 m(54.0 feet)16 mm(5/8 inch)
Genoa sheet16.5 m(54.0 feet)16 mm(5/8 inch)
Mainsheet 41.2 m(135.0 feet)16 mm(5/8 inch)
Spinnaker sheet36.2 m(118.8 feet)16 mm(5/8 inch)
Cunningham5.8 m(19.0 feet)14 mm(0.55 inch)
Kickingstrap11.6 m(38.0 feet)14 mm(0.55 inch)
Clew-outhaul11.6 m(38.0 feet)14 mm(0.55 inch)

Boat owner's ideas

This section is reserved boat owner's modifications, improvements, etc. Here you might find (or contribute with) inspiration for your boat.

Do you have changes/improvements you would like to share? Upload a photo and describe what you have done.



Finally

We are always looking for new photos. If you can contribute with photos for Irwin 54 it would be a great help.

If you have any comments to the review, improvement suggestions, or the like, feel free to contact us. Criticism helps us to improve.



References