What's a Redwing 30 and other FAQs?
This page is a form letter which I sent out to answer many requests for info on the Redwing 30s. Hope that it can answer some questions. If not, drop me a note. AHHHHHHH
Thanks for the inquiry, and having raced the same Redwing competitively for the past 30 years I may have some answers for you.
First a little history. The Redwings were designed by C&C ( Cassion and Cuthburtson) and built by Hinterholler Ltd. in Niagara-on-the-Lake ,Ontario between 1968 and 1972. When C&C decided to get into the manufacturing of boats in 1972, they bought out George Hinterholler's plant, and the Redline series was the first casualty. Two Redwing 35's were built before the line was changed to C&C 35 Mark I.
Apart from her very graceful lines and traditional styling, she is quite solid. Her empty displacement of 7500 attests to the extensive use of fiberglass. The thinnest part of the hull is over 1/4", and I drilled through over 2" of solid fiberglass (no balsa core) when installing a depth sounder. While Hinterholler did run an efficient production line, most of his boats were built to close to custom standards. If you have inspected a Redwing, you will discover that the wood joinery is still tight after 30 years.
Drawbacks and alert areas: Due to the shallow bilge and poor ventilation down there, rot can take hold under the dinette floor and spread to the adjoining bulkheads. Also, because the floorboards were screwed into the end grain of the plywood floor stringers, I discovered that they were very soft and opted to replace the stringers and floorboards myself. These faults may have been aggravated by the fact that our boat was raced constantly, and spent a good deal of time heeling at 35-45 degrees, sloshing the bilge water under the dinette. The original floorboards were 3/8 or 1/2", which I beefed up to 3/4" teak and holly to eliminate any give. The later models have a molded in interior and liner, which eliminated the rot problems near the bilge. The large boom can sometimes cause a bit of a weather helm if you don't reef down soon enough, but if you tame the main, it is no problem. After wiping out my rudder in the lower rapids of the Niagara River, I built a deeper elliptical rudder with Harken bearings that allowed us to comfortably enjoy dinner while surfing down Lake Ontario at 9 1/2+ knots under total control. This modified rudder eliminated the tendency to wipe out in heavy conditions found on most C&C boats.
As with any older boat, a check of the moisture content in the deck and cabin is mandatory. Poorly bedded deck fittings and fracture cracks around highly loaded areas (stanchion bases) can allow moisture into the balsa core . This can be tested with a moisture meter (about $400), or having a professional survey done (about $250). Additionally, I replaced the stanchion base backing plates with 1/2"x.8"x.8" aluminum plates to help distribute the load on the deck. If the topsides have never been painted and are nice and chalky, that is a plus for the buyer. They look like hell, which detracts from the price, but Hinterholler used the best gelcoat that I have seen on any boats. This translates into some polishing and wax to make them look new again because the thick gelcoat can usually be resurrected.
Positive points: Handles beautifully and is very, very sea kindly--probably due to her weight. Loves reaching, especially with a loose-footed main, flies down wind with an oversized or normal spinnaker, and can ghost like a bandit in the drifters due to her mass and momentum. Her exceptionally large cockpit (larger than most 40 footers) allow you and many friends to enjoy sailing her. With a good working Atomic 4, she powers quite well at about 6 ½ knots. I briefly contemplated getting a diesel for her, but couldn't stand the smell or complexities of a diesel. As long as the bilge is well ventilated, explosions from gas-fumes are minimal, and the Atomic 4 is a very simple motor to maintain and repair. The two most frequent engine problems are fuel (rebuild or replace carburetor), and electrical (usually in points). I have a martec folding prop, which isn't quite as efficient in reverse as a fixed prop, but does the job and makes her sail faster.
While I am not in Yacht sales, I heard of a Redwing in Toronto going for $10-12,000 CDN(Beaver-bucks) which equates to about $7-8,500 US. A very good Redwing just sold in Youngstown this past winter for about $12,500 US, however she had very little go-fast equipment on her. Another beautiful Redwing, MACWING, was sold in the spring of 2000 for about $23000 CDN=~$15000+ US.
I purchased BATTLESTAR PEGASUS from my father in 1985, and have done numerous improvements over the years, which I would gladly share with you. I sail out of Youngstown , New York (home of The Level Regatta), directly across the Niagara River from Niagara-on-the-Lake.
If I can be of further help, or if you would like to go for a sail on the best Redwing around, drop a note.
Andy Hooker, President Lake Yacht Racing Association
ahhooker@buffnet.net
