Secondhand Sailboats

Island Packet 35

35.3 ft · cutter · full keel

Builder
Island Packet Yachts
Designer
Bob Johnson
Built
1988–1994
Hulls
178
Also known as
IP 35, IP35

Overview

The Island Packet 35 is a Bob Johnson-designed full keel cutter built by Island Packet Yachts at Largo, Florida from 1988 to 1994, with 178 hulls completed. It is a heavy, beamy, shoal-draft bluewater cruiser with a bowsprit, encapsulated lead ballast and a keel-attached rudder, and it remains a sought-after used offshore boat.

History

The 35 followed Island Packet's 27, 31 and 38 as the company's mid-size cruiser of the late 1980s. In 1997 it was replaced by the Island Packet 350, a lengthened and refined development with a finer entry and a swim platform; the 350 is a distinct model and is not catalogued as a generation of the 35.

Design

Johnson drew a long 'full-foil' keel that encapsulates the ballast and protects the propeller and rudder, on a hull with a sweeping sheer, high freeboard and a platform bowsprit. Construction is solid fiberglass with vinylester resin below the waterline and a resin-filled Polycore deck rather than balsa. The cutter rig carries a roller-furling genoa and a self-tending staysail; main plus 100% foretriangle is 639 sq ft, or about 735 sq ft counting the staysail. Power is a 35–38 hp Yanmar diesel.

Variants

A keel/centerboard version drawing 3'8" board-up was offered and is modelled as a keel option; everything else is common. Only one production run and one builder, so no generations are needed. The Island Packet 350 (1997 on) is a successor rather than a variant.

Known issues

Rudder delamination and separation at the keel strap is common on older Island Packets including the 35: the foam-cored rudder admits water and lets go. Also reported are chainplate corrosion and leaks, pitting in aluminum tanks, and leaks at the mast/deck seal and wiring runs.

Buying used

Have the rudder sounded and, ideally, inspected internally; a rebuilt rudder is a plus. Check chainplates, aluminum tanks and the mast boot. The Yanmar and the fixed three-blade prop are robust but check hours. Because the hull is solid laminate and the deck has no wood core, osmosis and core rot are less of a worry than on many contemporaries.

Factory options

  • Keel/centerboardKeel

    Keel/centerboard · draft 3′ 8″ (1.12 m) / 7′ 2″ (2.19 m)

    Shoal full keel with a centerboard for thin-water cruising.

Is it right for you?

Editorial judgments, not measurements. Each one says why.

  • Bluewater / offshoreSuitable · high confidence

    Full keel with keel-attached rudder, 8,000 lb of encapsulated lead in a solid fiberglass hull, cutter rig with self-tending staysail, 90 gal water and 48 gal fuel. Robert Perry called it 'what a long keel boat should do' and SpinSheet describes it as unflappable in choppy head seas; the trade-off is modest windward performance.

  • TrailerabilityNot suited · high confidence

    12 ft beam and 17,500 lb: yard haul only.

  • Living aboardSuitable · medium confidence

    Twelve-foot beam, 6'6" headroom, two private double cabins, a large galley with 12 cu ft icebox and generous tankage in a 35-footer; the successor 350 is bulkier still, but the 35 already gives more volume than most boats of its length.

  • RacingNot suited · high confidence

    Heavy full-keel cutter (D/L around 290) with a shallow 4'6" draft; reviewers say it makes 'no pretense at being a performance cruiser'.

Sources5 sources · 38 accepted facts

Every number on this page is traced to a source. Sources are listed in our order of preference: builder documentation first, then owners' associations and references, then the sailing press, then secondary summaries.

Magazine

Boat database

Secondary source