Why the hate on Island Packets?

[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.

[LLCoolDave]

Mostly just internet garbage that gets repeated. Every boat has trade offs. I have around 5 cruising friends that have them and love them. Windward performance is the biggest issue. If you look at SA/D they are all around 18 so they have a good amount of sail.

[geoleo]

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 a 44 -it was great met many other IP ers- a 32 is good as is a 38 and a 40 but 35 is doggey upwind

[sailorboy1]

I haven't see IP hate.

[Cheechako]

Not seen much hate either. However, not sure an IP tugs at heart strings like some boats, it's more a utilitarian boat style I guess.

[S/V Illusion]

What hate there is seems more a keel-envy issue.

[Frankly]

They all look similar, but not all IPs are not created equal. They are high quality build, very roomy, extremely well thought out and engineered. Not light air boats and not rocket ships going up wind. A couple of models I have sailed are kind of doggy and some sail pretty good. Chain plates and built in tankage are issues on the older ships but can be repaired.

I consider mine one of the best purchases I ever made. Hope my son will take up the cause and make it a good 50 YO yacht.


Frankly

[sandy stone]

Originally Posted by S/V Illusion

What hate there is seems more a keel-envy issue.

Heh, heh... Uh, that was a joke, right?

[Creedence]

I like them in general. Color matching the hull and deck colors in the event of a scratch or gouge would be a real challenge, but fundamentally they seem a step above the typical production cruisers in the quality department.

[LittleWing77]

Originally Posted by S/V Illusion

What hate there is seems more a keel-envy issue.

LOL!
Is that related to a similar Freudian-related envy...?

LittleWing77

[S/V Illusion]

Originally Posted by LittleWing77

LOL!
Is that related to a similar Freudian-related envy...?

LittleWing77

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

[Frankly]

Mine has a center board, so I am way past that PE crap


Frankly

[Jammer]

Originally Posted by mdsdurango

What is the real gripe about Island Packet?

They are designed as Bahamas/Caribbean cruisers and are spacious, shallow draft vessels, which benefits come at the expense of light air and upwind performance. I think on the whole they are well liked by their purchasers, who are largely people for whom sailing performance is a secondary consideration.


There are several facts to consider before purchasing:

• Large wetted surface compared to sail area results in poor performance in light airs.
• Shallow keel and beamy hull shape lead to comparatively poor performance upwind.
• Most have in-mast furling, for better or for worse depending on your tastes.
• The staysail boom, while a great convenience when short tacking, interferes with using the foredeck for much of anything else, particularly dinghy stowage.
• Chainplate replacement is more often necessary and more costly than on other boats of similar size, at least for certain years.
• They are sought-after boats and command a premium price; yet many were made and there are always quite a few on the market

[sck5]

I had a Caliber 40 in the Caribbean and could easily outsail most IP's. However, IP's are generally more comfy at anchor which is where you spend 90% of your time. All of us did get to the same anchorages one way or the other - People I know who sailed IP's all said they were excellent in trade winds but didnt point as well as e.g. my boat

[BlackHeron]

Keel Envy: when you just hard-grounded your bolt-on fin-keeled boat and realize it's going to cost a significant percentage of what the boat used to be worth a hour ago to fix the damage.