Allied Seawind Mk II Ketch Buyer's Guide
The Allied Seawind Mk II Ketch on the used market is Thomas Gillmer's 1975 successor to the original 30-foot Seawind, built until the end of 1981 with 130 examples launched. Most survivors are the standard masthead ketch, but 11 cutter-rigged and five sloop-rigged boats were also produced, all using the same mainmast shifted aft about a foot on the alternate rigs. A shopper is looking at a traditional hand-built American cruiser with lead-encapsulated ballast, a barn-door rudder, and an extruded aluminum rub rail.
Layouts on the Used Market
The Mk II stretches 31 foot 7 inches overall with a 25 foot 6 inch waterline and 10 foot 5 inch beam, yielding a narrow companionway with almost parallel sides leading below. Forward is a V-berth cabin with hanging locker, wash basin, and a sizable stainless waste tank housed under the berth. The head is small, containing only toilet and shower, while the main cabin has asymmetrical settees around the table. Later boats show the best-finished interiors Allied produced, with teak throughout and 5-inch foam cushions. Headroom is 6 foot 2 inches, and the deep sink offers both pressure and manual freshwater draw.
Equipment and Common Upgrades
Power and energy center on the original Westerbeke 27-horsepower diesel with a welded aluminum bilge tank and fixed three-bladed bronze prop; an oil pan under the engine keeps the bilge clean. Canvas and sail handling came with Hood working sails and Awlgrip-painted spars, while an optional anchor windlass fit between the two 12-inch foredeck cleats at the divided anchor locker. Navigation and comfort items include an Edson rack-and-pinion steering with teak wheel, ten bronze opening ports, solid bronze seacocks, full engine instrumentation, a custom electrical panel, and a freshwater cockpit shower recessed in the footwell.
What to Inspect
Some owners have complained the bilge fuel tank lacks an inspection port, so confirm whether any access has been added. Check the double bow rollers at the teak bowsprit end: they sit far outboard, and the anchor rode tends to chafe the pulpit stanchion when the rollers are used. Verify the shower and icebox do not drain into the deep bilge, and inspect the companionway ladder and bulkhead panel removal path, since the engine is tucked under the cockpit and oil checks require both removed.
Availability and Buyer's Takeaway
For a buyer, the practical checklist is short: confirm rig type and mast position, inspect fuel tank access and anchor-roller chafe, test engine access through the companionway, and verify the bilge-separate drains and later-boat interior finish. A well-kept Mk II rewards the careful shopper with a stiff, stable ketch of genuine offshore lineage.
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