Design and Construction
The Citation’s fiberglass hull brings the material’s chief practical advantage: only minimal upkeep through a sailing season.
Her length-to-beam ratio of 3.35 makes her slimmer than 54 percent of comparable designs. A displacement-length ratio of 256 places her among what reviewers call “moderate racers,” with half of similar designs rated heavier. Ted Irwin clearly chose a slightly faster hull rather than a sluggish coastal tub.
Wetted surface is about 387 square feet, while an immersion rate of 1,322 pounds per inch gives a tangible sense of how the boat responds to added load.
Keel Options and Performance
Buyers could choose between different keel arrangements. The fin keel is the most common and provides splendid maneuverability, although it gives up some directional stability compared with a long keel.
The stub/centerboard version combines a fixed stub with a retractable board. Depending on load, its draft ranges from 4.27 to 4.57 feet, allowing the boat to gunkhole and enter shallow marinas.
The Citation’s capsize screening value is 1.88, which by that formula alone would admit her to ocean racing. Her Motion Comfort Ratio of 28.1 is better than 42 percent of similar sailboats for ride quality. Theoretical hull speed is 7.5 knots.
Rig and Sail Handling
The Citation carries a masthead sloop rig, valued for its simplicity and for carrying a given sail area lower than a fractional rig, reducing heeling moment.
With the ISO reference sail, her sail-area-to-displacement ratio is 17.6. It rises to 21.0 with a 135 percent genoa, making her quicker than 54 percent of similar designs in light wind.
The standing and running rigging dimensions are generous for a boat of this size. All three halyards are 114.3 feet long and half an inch in diameter. The sheets are 40.8 feet long and 0.55 inch in diameter, while the mainsheet is a 102-foot, 0.55-inch line.
Cruising Capacity
The Citation is a large cruising sailboat, with 90-gallon water and 40-gallon fuel capacities suited to extended coastal use rather than weekend racing alone. For crews visiting shallow harbors, the stub/centerboard option also broadens the range of places where she can lie alongside at low draft.
Verdict
The Irwin 40 Citation is a thoughtfully proportioned late-seventies design. She balances a slender, moderately racy hull with genuine cruising tankage and a choice between the maneuverability of a fin keel and the shoal draft of a stub/centerboard.
She isn’t a blue-water specialist by rig alone, but her numbers place her competently among similar boats.
Pros
- Slender, moderately racy hull that is quicker than half of comparable designs in light air
- Choice of a maneuverable fin keel or a stub/centerboard with roughly 4.3 feet of shoal draft
- Low-maintenance fiberglass hull
- 90-gallon water capacity
Cons
- Fin keel provides less directional stability than a long keel
- Motion Comfort Ratio is better than only 42 percent of similar designs
