We started searching for our perfect boat in early 2018. We settled on the design in early 2020. Our requirements were:

  • 40-50 feet
  • Heavy stable monohull boat with room below that sailed well
  • Aft cabin with at least a least a queen bed
  • ICW friendly- Air draft no more than 65 and draft no more than 5-6 feet
  • DS type with large ports so we didn’t get that climbing down into a cave feeling
  • Galley separated from the salon
  • Room for the Healer to work below

We looked at cats but ruled them out given their motion underway and light displacement. The Admiral doesn’t take kindly to “bouncy boats”. We narrowed it down the Irwin 46 in January. I found the boat listed in Sailboatlisting.com and we drove from Connecticut down to Virginia to see her. The owner had sent a recent survey that I had reviewed. After a fairly detailed inspection, discussion about price, the Admiral beat me to the punch, stuck her hand out saying “Done” buying Islander. Drove back to Connecticut and COVID hit. Islander is currently under refit at Yankee Point Marina. Below are some notes from my research.

Notes and Boats Reviewed (Listing notes were current in September 2020)

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Sources Used:

  • Sailboatdata.com
  • Sailboatlisting.com -seemed to have the best boat selection
  • Yachtworld.com
  • Boattrader.com
  • Popyachts.com- sometimes has great video tours
  • Google Alerts- you can set a google alert by boat name (ex: Irwin 46)
  • cruisersforum.com- has some very informative posts
  • Facebook Owner Groups