Seawind 1160

[Sea Yawl Later]

We bought our Seawind 1000 last year and sailed her to the Bahamas. We love her. While in Georgetown we had dinner onboard an 1160. She was awesome and if I was going to spend that kind of money on a boat I think it would be the 1160. However, I feel we got the biggest bang for the buck on our Seawind 1000. I wanted the "open floor-plan". We haven't felt the need for covers for the windows but we have friends who have covers that snap on the outside of the windows. The biggest drawback on the 1000 for me was the size of the master berth. Rusty modified the berth and now we have a Kingsize bed that converts back to the normal size in about 60 seconds. We are headed back to the Bahamas next month.
Sea Yawl Later!!
Linda

[SailFastTri]

Originally Posted by Ozbullwinkle

Cmon guys doesn't anyone have an opinion about my 2 posts above which suggested that the Seawind 1160 would look a whole lot better with longer hulls? It certainly made a huge difference to the old 1000 model which gave birth to the current 1000XL model.

Just cut off the aft end of the targa and the davits, and it'll look real cool and will perform a lot better too

[Ozbullwinkle]

Yeah, the targa sure is very functional but its lines doesn't help the 1160 win any beauty contests.

[SailFastTri]

Originally Posted by ty.gregory

Sandy, I like the looks of the Maine Cat 30 very much. I've never been aboard one and would be very interested in your outlook on it. I would be living aboard, (solo) in Bahamas, etc. and the price for a used MC 30 can fit my budget. The Top Cat 9.7 would be of interest, but there don't seem to be alot around (used).

On the plus side it's a very good looking boat, and I love the open hard top convertible to enclosed. Perfect for coastal cruising for a couple or family with young kids. Performance is mid-range and outboards are easily maintained. Self-tacking jib makes for easy sailing. Outboards can be fully raised under sail and are easily serviced/replaced. There is a lot to like about these boats.

Negatives: The outboards are very noisy and the 8HP Yamahas I tested caused a vibration that was magnified to be so intense at the helm position that my eyeballs literally bounced in my head -- I could not stand at the wheel at cruising speed, requiring it to be throttled down. The self-tacking jib does not allow optimum sail trim (the one I sailed had a straight track so was out of trim except under a very narrow circumstance), and there is no fore-aft control of sheeting point so reefing the jib is not practical. Sheeting control does not allow optimum upwind sailing so the boat does not point well. If the tanks are full and/or a dinghy is hoisted there is a tendency to have stern-squat which induces a lot of drag. (This is a boat that would really benefit from lengthened hulls aft).

I still really like these boats -- they're open and airy for a small boat yet can be closed up when weather warrants it. Very attractive for coastal vacation cruisers or weekenders, even with the drawbacks. Not enough boat for long-term cruisers or larger families. Once the kids hit the teens this boat isn't large enough for anything more than a family of three.

[ty.gregory]

Thank you SailFastTri, I'm sorry to hear it, but I think you are probably right about all your view points.

[Double-Wide]

We have owned our 1160 for 4 years, it is the first one delivered in the USA. The last three years we have lived aboard and we since believe it is the perfect size boat for us. When it comes time to do hull waxing and like chores we are very glad that it is no larger.

The boat performs well and we normally out sail much larger cat and monos. We have finished 2nd in the last two Georgetown to Long Island (Bahamas) races. The livabilty of the boat is what we really like. We love the all around visibility from the saloon when living at anchor.


Another great Seawind feature is the excellent customer support from Seawind. When I emailed them about a failed hatch latch a few months ago they immediately sent me replacement latches for all of the hatches - no charge! That is the way keep a customer happy so that he will look for a Seawind when he is ready to buy another boat.

AS far as extending the transoms, thatt is the one design feature that I have long thought would improve the looks and performance of the boat.

Cam
Double-Wide
1160-003

[smj]

Double wide what make of boat came in first in the Georgetown to Long Island race?

[Ozbullwinkle]

Originally Posted by Double-Wide

We have owned our 1160 for 4 years............................................. ..

AS far as extending the transoms, thatt is the one design feature that I have long thought would improve the looks and performance of the boat.

Cam
Double-Wide
1160-003

Thanks for your feedback Cam, as an owner of an 1160 I really value your opinion and not just because you agree with my suggestion for extending the hulls.

I would think that surely Seawind would have considered doing this to the 1160 especially after the success of the extension made to the 1000.

As an owner have you ever asked them about this even from a curiosity aspect? Even if you were not intending on doing this to your 1160 it would be interesting to hear the reply from Seawind themselves if you did ask. One would think that they would treat such an enquiry more seriously and give a proper reply if it came from a Seawind owner. But then again if the look of the 1160 was improved it may entice additional new owners as well.

Regards
Steve

[YOGAO]

...by the manufacturing folks @ Seawind with support from sales/marketing?

After the 1000xl, do they have some data that supports rolling out the xl after a certain time period? IOW, when the 1000 dropped to a low level of production, they can create more sales by introducing the xl version?

Or along the same lines, if they were planning to intro the 1250, would an 1160xl cannibalize sales of the new model?

BTW, I always like seeing "Double-Wide" when we were both in the Bahamas. A nice looking boat.

Fair Winds,
Mike

[Ozbullwinkle]

Mike,

You may have a point there but you would think that it would be best to make your model look as good as it can to maximise sales right from the start and draw people to your product instead of going elsewhere. I wouldn't think that a 1160XL would affect sales of the 1250 as it is much more expensive and is a definite step up.

[YOGAO]

Steve,

I agree with you, but clearly the Seawind folks have a 'design philosophy' that they are pursuing with success and success is hard to argue with.

Fair Winds,
Mike

[Ozbullwinkle]

Yeah thats true Mike but something that is so obvious to make this model look heaps better its hard to fathom why they don't do it.

[Curmudgeon]

I would have liked to see the 1000xl with small diesels instead of outboards. Gasoline is a a PITA, changing sparkplugs is a PITA and small 9.9 outboards lack range. Plus they don't generate electicity very well and you can't have a cold plate refrigeration system or a hot water system that runs off the engine's heat exchanger.

If you want hot water in these small cats you either burn amps or propane. And the less propane inside the hull the better.

I realize the diesels are heavier, although some very lightweight ones are available. For example, Beta Marine has a 10 hp diesel that weighs around 200 lbs, including the transmission. (A Honda 9.9 long shaft weighs 110 lbs.)

[smj]

Originally Posted by Curmudgeon

I would have liked to see the 1000xl with small diesels instead of outboards. Gasoline is a a PITA, changing sparkplugs is a PITA and small 9.9 outboards lack range. Plus they don't generate electicity very well and you can't have a cold plate refrigeration system or a hot water system that runs off the engine's heat exchanger.

If you want hot water in these small cats you either burn amps or propane. And the less propane inside the hull the better.

I realize the diesels are heavier, although some very lightweight ones are available. For example, Beta Marine has a 10 hp diesel that weighs around 200 lbs, including the transmission. (A Honda 9.9 long shaft weighs 110 lbs.)

One of the main reasons we bought a Seawind 1000 was the outboards. Ifigure about the same maintenance as a diesel but much easier to get to. The beauty of being able to pull the outboards out of the water thus negating electrolysis, gaining at least 1-2 knots under sail and I just found out the ease of pulling the prop to remove a crab trap line! I would like a little more power but am not complaining.
We have a 12v holding plate system that will run along with all the other systems on our 2 solar panels. On demand propane water heaters are great but the boat came with a 110v model. We have a Honda 2000 that wil heat water in about 20 minutes, not my favorite but will have to do until I put in a Excel propane on demand.

[Factor]

Originally Posted by Curmudgeon

I would have liked to see the 1000xl with small diesels instead of outboards. Gasoline is a a PITA, changing sparkplugs is a PITA and small 9.9 outboards lack range.

Like SMJ I love the outboards. Plenty of boats have circumnavigated with these motors.

Plus they don't generate electicity very well and you can't have a cold plate refrigeration system or a hot water system that runs off the engine's heat exchanger.

I have never turned off the fridge and freezer and have never been connected to the grid in any way. So refridge is just not an issue and hot water is taken car of by on demand LPG system

And I love sailing along and pulling the props up out of the water.