Overview
The Allied Seawind is a Thomas Gillmer ketch built by the Allied Boat Company in New York from 1962. Atom counts 161 launched by 1973, about ten of them rigged as sloops or cutters. It is a different boat from the larger Seawind II, which is a foot longer and has wheel steering. The Seawind 30 was the first fiberglass boat to sail around the world, a voyage begun in 1964 by Alan Eddy, who spent four and a half years circumnavigating in Apogee, hull #1. Lunn Laminates made the molds and built the first five boats. Allied was the first company to offer fiberglass hulls in colors other than white, an option that began with the Seawind 30.
Design and Construction
Displacement is about 12,000 lb with 4,200 lb of ballast in a full keel drawing 4 ft 2 in, with a transom-hung rudder. Atom notes that the hull-to-deck joint is reported prone to leaking. Allied’s motto for the boat was “She’ll cross an ocean if you will.” Good Old Boat’s Ted Brewer notes that the full-keel underbody and high wetted surface make boats of this type poor in light air and not strong to windward, though the weight carries them through the lulls. He also found the Seawind’s ballast ratio low and suggested adding 500 to 700 lb for serious offshore work. In his view the husky displacement gives a very easy motion in a blow, but the slow scend means the boat is likely to be wet in extreme conditions.
Under Sail
The masthead ketch carries about 502 sq ft. Atom calls it a bit slow to windward in light air.
Buyers Notes
Check the hull-to-deck joint for leaks, and confirm whether a given boat is a Seawind or the later Seawind II.
