Island Packet Yachts, Florida's Full-Keel Cruising Specialist

Bob Johnson and the full-foil keel

Naval architect Bob Johnson founded Island Packet in 1979 through his company Traditional Watercraft in Largo, on Florida's Gulf Coast. His idea was a cruising boat that felt secure and comfortable rather than fast: a long, shallow full-foil keel with encapsulated ballast, a protected rudder, a wide beam carried well aft and a cutter rig that a couple could manage. The early Island Packet 26, 27, 31 and 38 established a style that the brand has refined ever since.

Johnson's designs earned seven Cruising World Boat of the Year awards and three SAIL Best Boats awards over the years, and he received SAIL's Industry Award for Leadership in 1999. Island Packet built boats in Largo on five acres with about 52,000 square feet of covered production space.

The 380, 420 and 45, and the modern range

We cover three Island Packets from the late 1990s and early 2000s, the period many owners regard as the brand's peak. All are Bob Johnson cutters with the one-piece full-foil keel, a protected rudder and propeller, and tankage sized for weeks away from a dock.

The Island Packet 45 came first, built from 1995 to 1999 as the successor to the IP 44. Only about 44 were made, and it was Cruising World's Overall Cruising Boat of the Year for 1996. Two private staterooms, each with a stall shower, suit a couple with occasional guests, and its rarity means it usually costs less than the boat that replaced it.

That replacement was the Island Packet 420, launched in 1999 and built until 2005, when the IP 445 took over. It is the larger and more refined of our pair of mid-40 footers, with a forward owner's suite, about 250 gallons of water and a 75 hp turbo Yanmar. Cruising World named it Best Full-Size Cruiser for 2000, and 111 were built.

The Island Packet 380, built from 1998 to 2004 with roughly 169 hulls, is the smaller sister and the most common of the three on the brokerage market. It is a roomy 38-footer with a big aft cabin, a cutter rig and the full-foil keel, a favorite of couples cruising the Bahamas and the East Coast and a frequent choice for liveaboards. Used prices on our guides run from about $125,000 for an older 380 to nearly $300,000 for the best 420s.

After Johnson's era, the company passed briefly to Hake Yachts in 2016, and in January 2017 Darrell and Leslie Allen, longtime Island Packet dealers in San Diego, took ownership. They launched the IP349, Cruising World's 2019 Domestic Boat of the Year, followed by the IP439, a 42 Motor Sailer and the new IP459.

Resale, support and what to inspect on an older Packet

Island Packets are among the best-holding sailboats on the US market. Owners tend to keep them a long time, and active owner associations, rendezvous and a factory still in business support resale. They are not fast, especially upwind in light air, so buyers should be honest about how they plan to sail.

Common survey points on older Island Packets include the following.

• Chainplates and their deck penetrations, which can leak over time
• Encapsulated keel sump for water intrusion after groundings
• Rudder and skeg condition, plus the rudder shoe
• Deck moisture around hatches, stanchions and the cutter stay fitting
• Engine access, hours and exhaust system condition
• Tank condition, plumbing and the age of standing rigging