Why the hate on Island Packets?

[geoleo]

Originally Posted by LLCoolDave

If you wanted to save some money, look at some Pearson 365s. Prices are $20k to $35k. 6'3 headroom. Very generous tankage. 4.5ft draft. Encapsulated lead keel. I'm 6'4 and lived on my 367 with 6'3 headroom for 1.5 years. It hasn't bothered me a bit.

When you said "look" IP s won---- because they are very "good looking:. LOL

[stormalong]

The only serious criticism I have heard about IPs is that the tanks are installed and then a fiberglass floor pan in installed on top of them. Any tank issue is a nightmare to repair.

[geoleo]

Originally Posted by dennismenace111

It couldn't be that they are relatively expensive yet have a habit of losing the rig due to stainless chainplate failures?

Yes! They rare relatively expensive because every single IP will be dismasted because the chainplates are certain to break. Yes indeed.

[RaymondR]

Apparently Volvo drivers have all the same perceptual problems.

I have an IP40. It was not that I went out looking for any particular type of boat just one that was pretty solid (Former steel boat owner) and roomy to live in and the IP was available at a good price.

The builder appears to have made absolutely no concession to weight saving so everything in it is solid and durable and the full internal fibreglass liner is far easier to keep clean than all the cheap coverings I see in more modern designs. The chain plate problem appears to be easily solved and I have not had any problems with the alloy tanks so far however I expect them some time in the future.

I tend to live in a place where the prevailing winds blow me towards warmer places at the onset of winter and to cooler at the onset of summer so windward ability is not important to me. As a permanent Live aboard, live aboard comfort at anchor takes priority over speedy sailing anyway and the boat is generally excellent in that respect.

Nor at all sorry I bought an IP and would do the same again tomorrow if I needed another boat.

[sailorman7225]

Wow! Interesting to read this thread. I recommend you decide what you want in a vessel than do your homework to learn which boats are designed to do what you want.
IP’s are known world wide as excellent cruising boats.
And you are correct, they do hold their value. I should know, I’ve owned 3.
Do your research, read and talk to experts and you will come to know why IP’s are still in business and suffer from that envy thing.
You can also check out these sites: ipyoa.com and I
iPhone port.com for more information. Good luck in your search.

[Mag3]

I've not sailed one, but I've crawled all over a few of them in different sizes...

as a few folks have said - all boats have trade-offs. for sure, given the market over the years, if they didn't produce a reasonably high quality product at a reasonable price there is no way they'd still be in business..

so the real job here is for you to decide if the particular trade-offs made by this brand (and specific boat of theirs.. each have differences) is whether or not these are the trade-offs you yourself would want made on your behalf (ie. interior headroom is a highly valued thing you don't want traded off!).

My opinions:

• WAY too many people professing to be cruisers (read: not racers) care way too much about upwind performance... i'd let that go.
• Down wind and light air performance are things that should be considered.
• These are great value for money boats.
• Is the particular boat you're looking at capable of growing with you? Ie. can you without completely rebuilding the boat add amenities you'll want?
• does the boat you're looking at have good access to the key aspects you may need to repair or service (electrics, tanks, engine)... in general, my memory of IP's is that these are pretty good, but it really depends on both the boat you're looking at and your assessment of "easy". YMMV
• Company is healthy with a strong / active owners group... an underrated plus.

Exciting times! Good luck in this big decision!

[Boatyarddog]

Originally Posted by S/V Illusion

Yes. I never understood why anyone would criticize someone else’s boat except to fulfill some internal inadequacy. (See - Hunter bashers).

They are generally confused about how to sail anything besides their own.

[S/V Illusion]

Originally Posted by sailorman7225

Do your research, read and talk to experts and you will come to know why IP’s are still in business and suffer from that envy thing.
.

To be completely forthcoming, IP was bought out in 2016 so that company isn’t the same as Hank Marine which I believe now makes the boats with the IP nameplate. How that changes anything isn’t clear to me but the boats IP made prior to that time were very well made.

[Hudson Force]

Originally Posted by geoleo

IP produced their own core material. No imagineable person would trade their IP for any Out Island tub.

There it is,- I think geoleo could share his insights to answer the "Why the hate.." pat of this question.

[Elie]

These boat are in fact very conservative in their way of yachting. In fact reminescent of 'classic' wooden shapes of an other era, when fiberglass molding was unknown, finite element design, inexistant, and naval architecture concepts for sailing yachts very primitive. Nice looking, spacious, strongly built(heavy), confortable in a seaway(relatively!), but heavy and slow and horrible upwind. They just can't compare to modern design performance wise. But they are well built !.
Strangely enough, conservative concepts(and politics!) are attractive to American while the rest of the developped world consider this simply as backward(except maybe some sons of Albion).

I'm no fan of this type of slow boat!

[LLCoolDave]

Originally Posted by S/V Illusion

To be completely forthcoming, IP was bought out in 2016 so that company isn’t the same as Hank Marine which I believe now makes the boats with the IP nameplate. How that changes anything isn’t clear to me but the boats IP made prior to that time were very well made.

I've heard a few things but haven't read anything official. New hull designs but still full keel, choice of gel coat colors, the larger models have center cockpits.

[esarratt]

Originally Posted by mdsdurango

Being a few inches over six feet tall makes finding a boat under 35' challenging. I will be living aboard and cruising for at least a year and want the head room. My intent is to cruise up the east coast from Florida following the weather and either continuing into the great lakes and back down following the loop, inland, or heading back down the coast. Consequently, not only do I desire the cabin head room but need to keep the draft below five feet. IP fits the bill and they are easy to find. I am certainly open to other suggestions if you have them. Thanks again!!

You probably aren't interested, but check out the Aquarius Pilot Cutter. It is 24' (32' w/bowsprit) and has 6' 3" head room. The berths are 6' 7" and 3' wide. It is 4' draft and can be trailered. Note: there is a similarly named sailboat, the Aquarius, but it is only 21'.


Here is our forum: http://www.aquariuspilotcutters.com/ You can access just about everything without logging in.


The boat was built by Frank Parrish, who was tall. He wanted a boat that was capable of taking him comfortably to the Bahamas. The APC is similar in size to a PSC Dana, but not as costly. The interior does not have nearly as much teak as the Dana.



James Baldwin, if you haven't found it, has a 32' and under Water boats">blue water boats list: https://atomvoyages.com/planning/goo...oats-list.html Headroom is listed for each of the boats.

[DDabs]

Originally Posted by LLCoolDave

I've heard a few things but haven't read anything official. New hull designs but still full keel, choice of gel coat colors, the larger models have center cockpits.

The were bought by Hake, not Hank. Island Packet has already introduced two new models- the 349 and the 439. They are now offering boats with little to no teak as well. A new Island Packet 349 recently docked at our marina and there was not a single piece of teak on the exterior- a strange sight for an Island Packet, but it's cool to see them adapting to what boaters want. They also offer new rigging packages, with a Solent Rig being quite popular.

[Lost Horizons]

Originally Posted by mdsdurango

What is the real gripe about Island Packet?

I suppose, people tend to hate things they do not know or cannot have. You need to ask this question at a psychiatry forum.

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by wingssail

Several of my friends have Island Packet yachts. The owners invariably love their boats and care for them. Around here nobody hates Island Packets and I have never personally seen one which was not well cared for. I am often surprised to find the ages of these boats; they look like new but are often quite old! The owners are invariably competent people, however these are often their first boats, and often their first real sailing experience.

Mostly the Island Packets are sailed very little, yet I know one which has crossed the Pacific twice, each direction, at the equator, so they do get out.

I think they are well built, very well finished, boats which suit their intended purpose, and are marketed to people based on perceived quality, not on sailing performance, however they can sail, even to windward.

So I don't think there is good reason to "hate" them. Somebody who arrogantly assumes that if the boat can't climb to windward like a race boat it is no good; well that person's opinion isn't worth much in my view.

We recently (before Covid) had a sail training exercise in which 5 out of the 9 boats which went out were Island Packets. Here is a photo of one which I got from shore. Amazingly, it is going to windward and was not the last boat to the windward mark!

I think this is all correct.


"Hate"? I've never heard any "hate".


Either it's your cup of tea or it's not. Not my cup of tea, personally, but IP's are fine boats, loved by their owners.


There is no shortcut to figuring out what your own cup of tea is -- you have to read, look, try, and see for yourself. Every boat design is a big pile of compromises, and only you can know which are the right compromises for you.