Island Packet Closing doors

[Eder]

Its nice to have the option to get rid of the table...we often entertain a lot of people , I like the open space for everyone. When its just the wife & I we leave the table down .

[Scout 30]

I spoke to the salesmen on the Seawards at the recent St Pete Boat Show. They said Hake bought Island Packet & they are actually building one right now. I think they're doing them to order along with the Seawards & Blue Jackets. The bad news is that they are not honoring the warranties of boats bought from Bob Johnson. I asked them what happened to Bob Johnson & they had no idea.

[a64pilot]

I don't think IP actually built any boats in the last couple of years, or very few anyway?
I know they were trying to get by on a refit program there for awhile, but the transportation prices alone made that a tough one. I know because I toured the factory a couple of years ago and talked about having mine re-fit.
You could tell then that they were not going to last long, the buildings were essentially empty with only a few working here and there no real production line going at all.
I work in manufacturing and you can tell when a place gets to where its not covering fixed costs, and they were there.

[ontherocks83]

I hope they make a strong come back as I previously wanted one, but when they started to fall I have since focused my sights on an Outbound.

[Black Diamond]

IP closed its doors after the bankruptcy court slapped a sticker on them and said "out of business". They had done well for a while, but that altitude just gave them time to spiral in over the last 5-6 years.

IP made a good boat, but their designs were getting stale and the manufacturing process ended up as low-volume and high cost, not a good combination for survival. I've been thru the IP factory in Largo, FL where they made them, the Hylas Factory in Taiwan, and the Hanse factory where they make Hanse, Dehler and Moody sailboats. The volume guys are making a pretty solid boat these days. Its tough to justify the difference in cost when you can buy two Hanse 575 for the price of one Oyster 54. There isn't that much difference in quality (again... opinion)...

I am really pleased that the new owners (Leslie and Darrell Allen) are going to give it a go. They need to think hard about the business model. If you make less than 100 boats/year, its tough to get the economics right for a value price. If you make a high price boat, then you better be ready to compete with the Hylas/Moody/Passport/Oyster/etc.. for comfort, fit, finish, etc.. IMHO, this is their greatest challenge.


Here are the boats they will be taking to the shows for sale. In general it was the existing IP line, with the models renamed to be an LOA vs. Length-on-Deck scheme that IP followed.

Rick

[Suijin]

I agree that revamping their lineup might be necessary. Boat design and technology has changed, the market has changed, cats have swallowed a big share of buyers who would have bought a high quality monohull years ago.

I think the Outbound 44/46 is an example of a more modern approach to quality cruising monohulls that they should look at, if they want to evolve.

Valiant threw in the towel, and Pacific Seacraft, now in Washington NC, is right on the edge. Yes, their designs were great and they made good boats. But things have changed a lot.

I expect that the capital costs of revamping your entire line are considerable. Sort of puts you between a rock and a hard place.

[Kenomac]

Why would anyone seriously consider a dated design like IP 485, when a lightly used Oyster, used Hylas or brand new Lagoon 450 can be had for less money? To name just a few.

Is it the 1980's design and hull color they find so attractive?

[Colin A]

Originally Posted by Kenomac

Why would anyone seriously consider a dated design like IP 485, when a lightly used Oyster, used Hylas or brand new Lagoon 450 can be had for less money? To name just a few.

Is it the 1980's design and hull color they find so attractive?

A fair number of people do find the older designs more attractive. However those people have a huge choice in the used market with prices low enough for a small refit and still be under the cost of a new one which makes the market a hard sell. IP's also maintain a fairly good resale value so again demand is there it's just filled with the used market.

[Colin A]

Originally Posted by Black Diamond

IP closed its doors after the bankruptcy court slapped a sticker on them and said "out of business". They had done well for a while, but that altitude just gave them time to spiral in over the last 5-6 years.

IP made a good boat, but their designs were getting stale and the manufacturing process ended up as low-volume and high cost, not a good combination for survival. I've been thru the IP factory in Largo, FL where they made them, the Hylas Factory in Taiwan, and the Hanse factory where they make Hanse, Dehler and Moody sailboats. The volume guys are making a pretty solid boat these days. Its tough to justify the difference in cost when you can buy two Hanse 575 for the price of one Oyster 54. There isn't that much difference in quality (again... opinion)...

I am really pleased that the new owners (Leslie and Darrell Allen) are going to give it a go. They need to think hard about the business model. If you make less than 100 boats/year, its tough to get the economics right for a value price. If you make a high price boat, then you better be ready to compete with the Hylas/Moody/Passport/Oyster/etc.. for comfort, fit, finish, etc.. IMHO, this is their greatest challenge.


Here are the boats they will be taking to the shows for sale. In general it was the existing IP line, with the models renamed to be an LOA vs. Length-on-Deck scheme that IP followed.

Rick

Also the US market is now a lot smaller, the market for new cruising sailboats in under 1000 a year. Which is fraction of what it was 20 years ago. Europe has a much stronger sailboat market but you don't see many US sailboats over there as they have a much larger industry.

[Eder]

Why pick an Oyster...most likely because you fell in love with the boat. Surprised you need to ask that question.

[a64pilot]

A big issue is that IP's hold their value well, except for chainplates and tanks, they really don't have any other issue, and will last until I guess the interior is worn out.
I assume having to replace the interior of one might get to where the cost isn't justified?

With the boats lasting so long, and that there is nothing really radically new with he newer ones, I can see how its a tough sell.
Myself I never considered a new boat, not really, and I really didn't intend for this boat to be the one we go off cruising in, but after having it awhile, other than it being older than I originally wanted, it ticked all the boxes of what I thought we needed, and if I change my mind, they seem to sell well on the used market.
They do have a following. It was the ease at which they sell is why I bought this boat, I wanted a learner boat, and wanted one that would sell easily

[neilpride]

Making a new line of boats take a huge investment , my guess is probably they are keep the actual full keel line and maybe in a short future invest in NA and tooling for something more updated , dont get me wrong i love the quality of this boats but quite frankly 700.000u$$ for the 52 hufff i dont know , they look really outdated ....for that kind of money i can try a 65 ft 1984 Swan with a recent full refit in Finland and ready to go.. The swan is a outdated design to but hell yeah, faster...

[robert sailor]

In the Med there were very few IP sailboats but in a couple of years we did see a couple. When we crossed over to the Caribbean it was like we sailed into IP country as there are an awful lot of IP's cruising here. Somebody is buying them, not new but the used market has to be pretty good for these boats. Owners are not interested in performance, they are interested in safety and comfortable living aboard features.

[Colin A]

Originally Posted by neilpride

Making a new line of boats take a huge investment , my guess is probably they are keep the actual full keel line and maybe in a short future invest in NA and tooling for something more updated , dont get me wrong i love the quality of this boats but quite frankly 700.000u$$ for the 52 hufff i dont know , they look really outdated ....for that kind of money i can try a 65 ft 1984 Swan with a recent full refit in Finland and ready to go..

Well they do have the Blue Jacket 40 (well I assume it came when the bought IP) which has a much more modern underbody and cockpit layout. But I know not many of those have been sold since it was introduced.

[neilpride]

Originally Posted by Colin A

Well they do have the Blue Jacket 40 (well I assume it came when the bought IP) which has a much more modern underbody and cockpit layout. But I know not many of those have been sold since it was introduced.

But as far i know they never reléase the Blue Jacket to the market? or im wrong?