Seawind 1600 Sailboats for Sale

Layouts on the Used Market

The 1600 was offered in both a three-cabin and a four-cabin configuration, and the three-cabin owner's version — where the entire starboard hull is given over to a single master suite — is the more commonly encountered layout on the brokerage market. In that arrangement, the starboard hull carries a queen berth aft and a full head with shower forward, while the port hull holds two separate cabins sharing a single head amidships. The forward port cabin is notably narrow owing to the fine bow entry, a point worth inspecting in person before deciding whether it suits your crew. The four-cabin version splits the owner's hull to add a forward guest cabin, which yields more sleeping capacity but a smaller master suite; it appears less frequently but is available. Whichever layout a buyer encounters, the saloon arrangement is consistent: galley aft on the port side facing the cockpit for easy food hand-off, a large navigation station forward of it, and a U-shaped dinette to port of the nav station.

Equipment and Common Upgrades

Used examples of the 1600 are generally well-equipped, reflecting the caliber of buyer who typically orders one new. Lithium battery banks, solar arrays, watermakers, and autopilot systems are commonly fitted as factory options or early owner additions — this is, by design, a vessel intended for self-sufficient offshore living, and most owners equip it accordingly. Electric winches, inverters, and asymmetric spinnakers or gennakers for downwind passages are also widely seen. Starlink satellite connectivity has become a frequent addition on examples that have been actively cruised.

Radar, chartplotters, and self-tacking jibs are broadly present across the used fleet. The standard rig is set up around a square-top full-batten main and a self-tacking jib, which makes shorthanded sailing genuinely manageable; many examples also carry a screecher or furling asymmetric for reaching and trade-wind passages. The optional 80 hp Yanmar engines appear on a meaningful portion of used boats in place of the standard 57 hp units, and this is worth confirming when evaluating a specific vessel.

Owner upgrades that appear with some regularity include air conditioning systems, washing machines, dinghy davits, cockpit showers, and hardtop enclosure panels for the cockpit sides and aft. These additions reflect the liveaboard character of the ownership community and indicate a boat that has been set up for extended independent cruising rather than seasonal coastal use.

What to Inspect

The 1600's construction quality is generally high — vacuum-infused hulls with vinylester resin, Kevlar reinforcement in the hull topsides and around the daggerboard trunks, and carbon fiber at the chainplates and high-load structural nodes — but the daggerboard and rudder systems deserve close inspection on any used example. The captive daggerboards are recessed into the deck with flip-up protective sections, a clean engineering solution, but the lifting mechanisms and their cockpit controls should be cycled and examined for wear, corrosion, or stiffness. The retractable rudders are an unusual feature that makes the boat beachable with minimal draft when fully raised, but rudder pintles, cassettes, and lifting hardware represent a maintenance item that sees considerable use on a passage-focused vessel. Have a surveyor pay particular attention to the rudder cassette seals and the daggerboard trunk liners, where wear and water ingress can develop over mileage.

The daggerboard casings intrude slightly into the port-hull shower arrangement, which is a known ergonomic compromise rather than a structural concern, but it is worth understanding before purchase. The rig, designed for offshore passagemaking, typically carries heavy loads across long passages; inspect the carbon-fiber chainplate reinforcements, the mast partners, and all standing rigging carefully, particularly on boats that have completed ocean crossings. The centrally located Harken winch system with lines running under the cockpit sole is elegant in operation but should be inspected for chafe and bearing wear at the turning blocks. Fuel systems on bluewater boats often accumulate contamination; a fuel-polishing system is a common addition, and if absent, the tanks and fuel lines warrant scrutiny.

Availability and Buyer's Takeaway

Used Seawind 1600s surface most frequently in the United States — particularly on the East Coast — and in Southeast Asia, notably Thailand and Vietnam, which reflects both the builder's regional base in Ho Chi Minh City and the boat's popularity with the liveaboard cruising community that gravitates to the Indian Ocean and Pacific circuits. Listings also appear in northern European markets. Because production is relatively recent and the ownership community tends to be active bluewater voyagers, used examples are not plentiful, but the pipeline is growing as first owners complete circumnavigations or move on to the next boat.

Before committing, work through this checklist:

• Confirm which engine package is installed — 57 hp or 80 hp Yanmars — and review service records for both drives
• Cycle the daggerboards and retractable rudders through their full range under power and at rest; confirm cockpit controls operate smoothly
• Inspect the daggerboard trunk liners and rudder cassette seals for wear or water ingress
• Verify the battery bank chemistry and capacity against the boat's electrical loads
• Confirm whether a watermaker is installed and when filters and membranes were last serviced
• Review the rig's standing rigging and chainplate reinforcements, especially on ocean-passage examples
• Inspect lifelines and jackline attachment points for wear
• Confirm which sail inventory is included — main, self-tacking jib, screecher, asymmetric spinnaker — and assess condition
• Check fuel tank cleanliness and fuel system integrity; a polishing system is a positive sign
• Establish the full options list against the manufacturer's standard specification to understand what additions the owner made