I came across a 30' Irwin that was located in New Bern. The elderly owners hadn't used it in a couple of years and were getting tired of paying for the slip. It obviously needed some work but the price made it worth considering.
It ticked off many of the boxes that I had on my wish list.
- shoal draft keel with centerboard that drew just under 4'
- wheel steering
- diesel inboard
- 135% genny on a roller furler
The Irwin had seen many years of neglect. Several of the lifeline stanchions had been pulled loose from the deck, allowing water to seep into the cabin. The stanchions were fastened to the deck with screws because their location was too far outboard to use backing plates. The hatches were past the point of being repairable. The interior was in rough condition but there wasn't as much water damage as I would have expected.
The standing rigging looked okay but the running rigging was shot. Raising the sails would be a challenge. The sails were stuffed into the v-berth. They had limited life expectancy.
The engine, an 10 hp Yanmar diesel, started up easily. We spent nearly a 1/2 hour removing redundant layers of old stiff mooring lines that had been put on prior to the previous year's hurricane scare.
Under power, she handled adequately in calm waters but given the boat's displacement, she wouldn't be capable of making good headway in a chop or against an opposing tide. Boats this size generally have 18 to 30 hp engines.
The owner dropped the asking price to $5500 but I figured it would cost me several thousand dollars to haul her out, clean and paint the bottom, and put her back into shape. I was prepared to do much of the work myself but the 'to do' list was long and expensive. When finished, I'd still be left with a under powered engine.
The right boat was out there waiting for me. It would just take time and patience. In the meantime, I still had Guppy.
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