Irwin Yacht and Marine Corporation, often just called Irwin Yachts, was an American boat builder based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The company specialized in the design and manufacture of fiberglass sailboats 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 bankruptcies 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 Caribbean yacht charter market, including the Irwin 42, 52 and 65.

History

Irwin was born in Elizabeth, New Jersey in 1940 and developed a passion for sailing at an early age. He built his own Moth and went on to sail it to win the class North American and world championships. He served in the US Coast Guard 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 brochures.

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 Southern Ocean Racing Conference (SORC) in Florida. 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 business.

The company built more cruising sailboats with a length overall 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 Little Rock, Arkansas on 5 February 2015, from multiple myeloma, at age 74.

Boats

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

See also List of sailboat designers and manufacturers

References