Irwin Citation 34''

[Bob Turk]

Help, I am thinking of buying my first boat, an Irwin Citation 34'', but I have a concern regarding the centerboard. our family always had full keel sailboats,(ocean sailing) so that is what I am familiar with. This boat will sail Lake Ontario. My question is, was this boat, with it''s shoal keel, made specfically for shallow, easy sailing and/or how is it for hard handling? Am I asking for trouble with the centerboard? Also, is there a supplier for Irwin yacht parts? Thanks, I am looking forward to responses. Bob

[irwin34bob]

Hey Bob, Bob here, I can't shed light first hand with regards to the centerboard other than I have heard the cable that moves it does get jammed, there may be an easy fix, hopefully you will get more insight on that. I purchased a the same(1984 nodel) last December with a shoal draft keel. I have had very few issues,seems to sail fast and feels solid. as far as spare parts, it seems slim pick'ns. Good luck!

[sailingdog]

Bob-

Keel/Centerboard boats have been sailed around the world. They really aren't much different to handle most of the time from a keeled boat. They have a bit more maintenance, since the centerboard pivot mechanism needs to be looked after, but also have a few advantages over a regular keel.

First, they can go in to more waters more safely than a keel boat—due to the reduced draft allowed by retracting the centerboard.

Second, they can alter the helm balance of the boat by adjusting the centerboard's position. Raising it slightly moves the center of lateral resistance aft, lowering it more moves it a bit forward. This can help reduce or eliminate any lee or weather helm issues a bit more easily than on a keel boat.

A centerboard boat often can have better windward performance than a shoal keeled boat with the same draft as it would have with the centerboard retracted, since the centerboard adds lateral plane area below the water.

[citation34]

Bob, I can't help on the center board issue. But, as far as the Irwin 34 Citation goes, I love it. I bought a 1984 34' Citation shoal draft this past year and sail it on Lake Michigan. It handles heavy air and swells well and I don't need to reef 'til 20 knots apparent air. Boat is not tender and seems to refuse to heel past 30 degrees. Even with a shoal keel it points with the best of them. Wife wise, the cabin has real room and is equipped from Irwin very comfortably. Prop walk to port is the story when powering in reverse until you have some motion going (3 cyl yanmar). I've had to replace the ports and the surroundin panels as the originals (Greys) were installed over the paneling and leaked as flex let in H2O. Installed new Greys (sailboat owners.com) directly to the fiberglass (couldn't afford better than Grey) and applying new panel butted up to flange of ports. This past summer I've sailed with the best of them and this Irwin continues to impress me. This boat is not talked about enough (alhough I've gone on, haven't I).

Mark
Citation 34' 'Liberty'
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