Island Packet 350 vs 35

[markomarkovich]

I was curious if there are any large differences between a 1992 Island Packet 35 and a 1997 Island Packet 350. I am looking into buying my friends 1992 but i am seeing some nice prices on a 1997 350. The boat will be taken from where its bought to the Keys for about 6-12 months and then in the caribbean. Slowly we will make it west to sail all the way around this earth!

I have sailed with him for a few months over the past two years and feel comfortable on his boat but I'm seeing the newer boats for the same price.

Thanks in Advance

[Fritz Gahagan]

Post this question on the Island Packet Homeport site.

[a64pilot]

I believe the 0 series of IPs are a couple of feet shorter on interior space as the scoop counts in length.
In other words I believe a 380 and a 35 are the same boat, excepting the scoop.
IP forum will be the place to ask.


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[ErBrown]

We did some fairly extensive shopping once we decided on an IP and I agree with a64. The 3-series boats always seemed shorter than their 2-series siblings. If you have a 35 that you like and trust and has been well maintained, I'd do it in a heartbeat. I think the 35 is a lot of boat for the price....don't look back

[Tacky]

Check out the IP Home Port page. It has comparative info for all models. The 35 has a longer LOA of 38' I believe vs. ~ 36, for the 350, both have a 12' beam. Then you have the swim platform transom on the 350 but the longer bowsprit on the 35 but for interior space the 350 will be smaller in length.

I went with a 0 series for the newer design and preferred layout (and fiberglass holding tank) though would have preferred the narrower beam of the older models. The home port page is very helpful.

[sailorman7225]

Besides the sugar scoop another reason some prefer the 0 series is the Pullman berths vs. V-berth.

[NoFireOne]

I have owned my IP350 " Victoria" for over 6 years. There are actually Big differences between the 2 models. The IP 35 has slightly more interior space with a larger galley. However the aft stateroom, refer box & holding tank are larger on the 350. Also the 35 has a V-birth compared to a pullman & seat on the 350. I prefer the arrangement of a pullman berth much better which makes getting in & out easer. I also prefer the locker & storage arrangement in the 350.

Besides the age of both vessel types, much of my decision was based on the mechanical systems handling characteristics. The 350 has the self-tending Holt Boom for the staysail and a furling main which works for me for solo sailing. I also find the scalloped transom a benefit for getting into/out of the water, dingy & from shore, plus the stern seats are very cool.

Most important though, is the full-size wheel and balanced rudder. Believe me, you will appreciate a full-size wheel & balanced rudder. During a double-handed delivery on an IP38, across the Gulf of Mexico, our auto-pilot went out. We were forced to manual steer for 70 km into wind & seas. Two hour shifts at the helm was all we could handle, whereas my IP 350 you can easily steer with one hand.
On the downside of the 350, engine access could be better, compared to the 35.

My suggestion is to sail & motor them both and compare.
John





And most important, full-size wheel and balanced rudder.
Believe me, you will appreciate a full-size wheel & balanced rudder. During a double-handed delivery accross the Golf of Mexico in November on

[ErBrown]

Good point regarding the v-birth vs Pullman. Some people love their v-birth, but since my wife and I are both fairly tall, we learned on our first charter that V-births where a deal breaker for us.

As for the balanced rudder, I wasn't even aware than any IPs lacked having a balanced rudder. I know our 40s rudder is balanced and believed the 38s we looked at where too. Was this something that maybe changed between model years or something?

Also to the best of my knowledge they all have self tending jibs with hoyt booms. The newer boats do have the nicer curved booms that allow a dinghy to clear. We simply removed our straight hoyt boom and haven't missed it. Staysail is still self tacking and very usable. Love the extra space.

[a64pilot]

38 has a balanced spade rudder and If sail trim is even close, there is no real pressure.
However, it is a little, tiny wheel and the ergonomics are in my opinion, horrible. My boat didn't have an autopilot when I bought her and the week of bringing her around and the first year or so I had her, it was all hand steering and your in a hunched over position at the helm, which makes my back ache, seemed to be purely designed by an Engineer who never had to sit behind the wheel.
But what the tiny wheel gives you is a direct drive rack and pinion system that is dead simple and very strong, and being tiny, it doesn't take up much room in the cockpit.
But forget that Commanding stance of standing behind the big wheel at the helm of a 38, cause that ain't happening, more of a bent over Hunchback of Notre Dame look.
The autopilot was a real life changing experience, and I think the typical cruising boat is rarely ever manually helmed for long periods, so now I understand the tiny wheel, as it frees up space in the cockpit and allows a very simple, strong direct drive to the rudder.

You literally just removed the boom, no other mods required, and the staysail still works correctly?
What made you think to try that?


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[ErBrown]

Originally Posted by a64pilot

You literally just removed the boom, no other mods required, and the staysail still works correctly?
What made you think to try that?


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We got the idea after having to give-up on using the staysail due to stowing a dinghy on deck rendering the sail unusable because of the boom not clearing the dinghy. This was a 2000+ mile trip from Maryland to Texas (via the Bahamas) and we realized pretty quickly that not having the staysail was not an option. Several folks on the IPYOA site mentioned having removed the boom with no ill affects. So we had a local rigger take a look and are now running a single sheet and furling line. It helps that we had new sails made and cut the staysail high to clear a dinghy. We can still control it with the factory car setup and the single sheet. It self tacks fine.

I'm sure if you're super concerned with sail shape, it would be better with the boom but the space it frees up is great. We always have the option of running a barber hauler or even dual sheets if we want to tune the shape. For now though, we've been pretty happy with how she sails and knowing we can get the dinghy on deck without compromising the staysail is a big win.

If you want to keep the boom, then the curved boom on the newer boats is nice. But at least for us, I can say we haven't missed the boom since we removed it.

[jhstacy]

I agree with a64pilot.
I bought an IP 35 two years ago after looking at almost every 35, 350 and 38 on the market. The IP 35 is a lot more boat and much more beautiful inside than the 350 which has much less interior woodwork. At times, I have really wished I had purchased the IP-38 but the ones I saw were not in as great a shape as my 35.

[a64pilot]

Easy now, all I said was that the 35 was I think a bigger boat than the 350.
I base that on being pretty sure the 380 and 35 interior wise are so close to being the same, I couldn't tell the difference.
I started out with the misconception that a 380 was a newer version of the 38, which is I believe what the OP is thinking, that a 350 is a newer version of the 35.

[missourisailor]

To the OP, jhstacy..... and really everyone else too,

For the last two to three years, we also were looking at both the 35 and 350. I'm pretty confident in saying that we looked at almost every 35 on the east coast and most of the 350's. Mind you that not too many 350 are or was on the market so we really only looked at about 4 or 5 of them.

The interior differences between the two, have pretty much be talked about already. With the 35 being more roomier. The 35's galley is a heck of a lot larger. I personally don't like the "Pullman" style berth in the fwd cabin, of the 350. Whether on the inside or outside position, either I'm crawling over or the wife is crawling over me. Makes for a disturbed sleep.

I've also sailed on several of each models. Both types sailed about the same. The small wheel verses big wheel was not really an issue. I found that with the sails in proper trim, very little helm input was needed with either model. I can see that if you are in very heavy seas, during a gale, the bigger wheel on the 350 would be helpful. But that is not the condition where most of my sailing is done.

In the end, we settled on a mid production run 35. It was a much better deal than any of the 350's we looked at.

[Frankly]

IP 350 replaced the 32, 37 replaced the 35, and I think the 40 was the replacement for the 38. Don't recall how the 380 appeared on the scene but might have been a replacement for the 37. IP Homeport has the dates and numbers of the different production runs.

[DDabs]

Not sure where you are located but a really nice IP 350 was just listed here in St. Petersburg, FL. Located at the Harborage Marina.