Why the hate on Island Packets?

[Frankly]

After a time the color tends to fade to something a little more pleasant to my eyes. When Awlgrip times arrives more on the cream side of tan.

While the chainplate issue is not a trivial repair, it is doable (either via checkbook or BST) and a lot easier than replacing a rotten deck core.

I developed a single small water tank leak 5 years back, looked inside the tank (USB camera) and a few corrosion cells found. Did a West Gflex patch and still holding just fine. Figure I can repeat that for a number of years.

As I mentioned earlier, BJ fiddled around with the design and my experience (4 different models) they do not all sail the same. I have a somewhat odd ball in the keel CB but she sails just as well as my old 89 Hunter 30 (kind of beamy) up wind or down.

Lots of storage, lots of water, updated the electrical system, love the thru legs steering system. Put that dam# staysail boom in the garage. Just a secure comfortable yacht for a couple and occasional visitors.


Frankly

[Berrey]

Originally Posted by mdsdurango

Seems they are either loved or hated. Lots of them out there and they seem to hold their value.
I've been eyeing the brand because I am tall and want a less than 35' boat. It's hard to find the head room in other makes. They are a nice looking boat. But I keep hearing folks say how horrible they are to sail.
What's up with that? Too slow? Hard to manage? Unstable? Uncomfortable under way?
What is the real gripe about Island Packet?
Thanks.

I had an IP 32 for 4 years and loved it. It had lots of room inside. My wife and I stairs on it comfortably for 6 months. It is not the fastest boat around but unless you are in a race who cares. I bought it in Naples Fl and sailed it to Orange Beach Al. There times I hit 7.5 knot a in 20 knot wind . Made it almost 500 miles in 72 hrs. I sold it last month for $1000.00 less than I paid for it

[Justcuz]

Originally Posted by Lowcountry

I have since owned a Mason 44 and a Hans Christian 33, and feel that both of those boats built in Taiwan were more robust and of higher quality.

In our short experience in this cruising world, both of these boats should be of higher quality.......as they seem to generally be of higher price. If I could have afforded a Mason 33 instead of my IP 29 that was similarly equipped I would've jumped on it.

[sailores35]

Owned a 1989, 35' IP for 27 years. Cruised and lived aboard for 16 years. It goes to weather no worse than any other full keel. Sailing on any point of sail on any boat is often more about quality of sails and the abilities of master. As to staysail boom, removed it and got a properly cut sail. Had to replace the chain plates after 22 years. Not easy, but not impossible. Aluminum water tanks are not a problem if you understand the relationship between aluminum and chlorine. New owner still using the original. These are solid boats, hold their value and to my eye the 35 with its shear is a handsome vessel. Before I bought this boat I was in love with a Crealock which are wonderful boats, but in no way was it as suitable for living aboard. My now 31 year old boat is still cruising the Caribbean.

[a64pilot]

My old avatar was taken from a friends Lagoon Cat, we were sailing back and forth across the bay in Panama City FL. Each lap had an upwind component and we steadily pulled away, more than they caught us on the downwind leg.
So far as going to windward, I can attest I go to windward much, much better than a Lagoon Cat, and yet for some reason people don’t seem concerned with windward ability with production Cats.
With my Autoprop I can crank the motor, bump the throttle to 1200 RPM, motor is smooth and quiet, I’m charging batteries and maybe making water and ice, and go to windward faster than even most race boats, burning about a half a gallon an hour.
Since we Retired, I don’t go to windward anymore, I’ll wait and go next week when it’s not to windward

So far as not being a light wind boat, that’s certainly true, but with a code zero, I’m better in light winds than most boats with white sails.
This avatar was taken by a performance boat in the Bahamas as we pulled past them. They did not have a code zero.

But really the honest truth is I spend about 1% of our lives actually sailing. Many will argue that of course, but unless your on a circumnavigation of similar, you probably spend less time sailing than you think, but as we live aboard, we spend 24/7 on board, and that makes for us comfortable living more important than most anything else.

I had the chainplates replaced, it was a big job, I had Allied Titanium make new ones for me from Grade 5 Titanium, chainplates will never be an issue on this boat again, price difference was a couple of hundred bucks, that’s all.

I’ve not heard of any lost rigs, which surprises me, because I’ve seen a few broken chainplates, but for some reason they kept the rig. One was on the port side, and another was a back stay.

[DDabs]

Dang, never heard of titanium being used before- that's really cool. Love titanium.

[ben2go]

Originally Posted by mdsdurango

Seems they are either loved or hated. Lots of them out there and they seem to hold their value.
I've been eyeing the brand because I am tall and want a less than 35' boat. It's hard to find the head room in other makes. They are a nice looking boat. But I keep hearing folks say how horrible they are to sail.
What's up with that? Too slow? Hard to manage? Unstable? Uncomfortable under way?
What is the real gripe about Island Packet?
Thanks.

Are you mistaken the Island Packet for the Out Island models? The Out Island boats have some short comings for most experienced blue water cruisers. I can't say one way or another as I have not sailed either. I do see a general disdain for the O/I and lots of praise for the I/P.

[Luff Shack]

Island Packet was using internal ballast made up of cast iron ingots and concrete.

Employing the same amount of weight as lead along a good length of the keel bottom would make it a bit stiffer while also reducing pitching due to lower center of mass

I like all kinds of (sail)boats. Started with a Cape Dory 28 back in 1988, went thru several others (5) and now sail a Corbin 39 and an F-27 trimaran

Polar opposites, 22,000 lbs. vs. 3,200 lbs. displacement operating in the same waters, although usually at different times.

Sail On

[DaveNC]

We have our third, a 99 320 and enjoy her. We like the old school look and the color. We don’t consider ourselves racing sailers and are fine with her power and sail performance. She is lovely below and very comfortable to live aboard. I’ve sailed an IP from Bermuda to VA and all over the Chesapeake and North Carolina. For us, the IP is optimal.

[a64pilot]

Originally Posted by DDabs

Dang, never heard of titanium being used before- that's really cool. Love titanium.

It largely because now there is a way to continuously refine it, has gotten much, much less expensive, Ti is an extremely common element, it’s not rare at all, just it’s been very difficult until recently to refine.

I’ve talked to at least one supplier that has told me that with a min order of 5,000 parts, think screws or bolts for instance, that they can beat Stainless prices.

For boat builders to build in and encapsulate SS chain plates is just criminally stupid today, maybe in the 80’s it wasn’t but with Ti being as cheap as it is now it’s stupid not to use it. I mean if nothing else wouldn’t having Titanium chain plates be a good ploy for the marketing dept?

Ti is not a magic material, it’s not for everything, it’s a bear to machine and you’ll likely never see a Ti crankshaft for instance because it doesn’t withstand wear at all well, so a Ti motorcycle racing chain for instance isn’t happening.

[K100Fran]

Obviously beauty is in the eye of the beholder and I love the color. It's also easy on the eyes in bright sun.

The interior wood doesn't age that well though. The couple I've looked at (early 2000s) the wood was worn and faded, not sure if it is the type of varnish (or lack of) or lack of owner maintenance, but it was a real turn off for me.

[Happ]

I’ve been sailing for over 50 years. Most of it racing. Back in the 80’s I was a full time Captain of a cutting edge race boat. That was the time that all races were won and lost going upwind. During the winter I often had a month or two free to jus go sailing. For several months I sailed a Hans Christian. The first time n really light air I was stunned to see how well the boat moved. Once I got the boat moving it would glide through the patches of no wind.

When I decided to go cruising I looked at all kinds of boats. Island Packets were in the top boats. Why? First of all I wanted a boat that was sea kindly. When on anchor I want to be able to sleep well at night. I wanted an interior that was very comfortable doing overnights. The fold up table is perfect for opening up the interior while under way. The traditional layouts are great. Very wam and inviting. They have geared steering so the chances of failure are minimal. They are cutter rigged so minimizing sail area is easy. They have a bow sprit so keeping multiple anchors at the ready is easy. It also allows for an additional Furler for a Code Zero or other off wind sails to be easily deployed and retrieved without having to leave the cockpit. The shoal draft full keel allows you to sail in shallow water and protect the rudder at the same time.

Do IP’s go to weather like a race boat no way. Yet they do go to weather better than most people think. Why? During the past 5 years I have sailed on a number of cruising boats. WIf the weather isn’t perfect they power. The sails are usually stretched out of shape so of course they won’t go to weather. When I have mentioned trimming their sail differently they say “were cruisers.” In light air they never think to twist off the top of the leach and center the boom. They just don’t know any better.

Like others have said every boat is a trade off. Cruising boats will never go to weather. Race boats will never carry the weight cruising boats do. For me an IP 380 is. A great option.

[highside]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p2lCM0EnFAk

That video shows light wind performance in our IP 485. 5 knots in 8 knots apparent. We crossed the Pacific from Mexico to the Marquesas with a Tayana 58 as our buddy boat. We left at the same time. They had a crew of 4 racers with a full compliment of sails, a spinnaker and a whisker pole. We had a crew of three, no spinnaker and no whisker pole. We were lazy and prided ourselves on not making trim or sail changes for days at a time. They were constantly working to go faster. We beat them to the Marquesas by 2 hours. They did better in light air but in rough conditions we had the advantage.
The newer, larger Island Packets like the 485 are not slow. They switched to 316 stainless in the chainplates and have had NO chainplate issues since this change. The tanks are molded fiberglass except for the stainless steel fuel tank. 340 gallons of water and 300 gallons of fuel. This is a fast and strong cruiser with few peers.

[Eder]

I had 2 ex racers for crew when we took our IP460 from Raitea to Oahu...most of our trip was wind forward of the beam...we did many 200 nm days something I previously had a hard time doing with just the wife & I. I guess knowing how to sail helps.

[wingssail]

Originally Posted by Eder

I had 2 ex racers for crew when we took our IP460 from Raitea to Oahu...most of our trip was wind forward of the beam...we did many 200 nm days something I previously had a hard time doing with just the wife & I. I guess knowing how to sail helps.

A very impressive report. Maybe it will encourage more IP owners to get out more often.