Island Packet 420, the 420 Boat That Crosses Oceans

The other 420 boat, and it is not a dinghy

Type 420 boat into a search engine and most results describe the International 420, the two-person trapeze dinghy sailed in high school, college and youth racing. This page is about something very different: the Island Packet 420, a 44 ft 7 in, 30,000 lb ocean-capable cutter built in Largo, Florida. If you want a boat that can carry two people and 250 gallons of water to the Caribbean, read on.

Bob Johnson, the naval architect who founded Island Packet Yachts in 1979, introduced the 420 in 1999. Sailboatdata lists a 42 ft length on deck, which explains the name, while the overall length is 44 ft 7 in. Cruising World named it Best Full-Size Cruiser in its 2000 Boat of the Year awards, and SAIL put it on its Top 10 list for 2000. The yard built 111 before the last one left the factory in 2005.

Johnson's evolution of the Full Foil Keel

In his 1999 designer comments, Johnson wrote that almost every aspect of the 420 was a significant evolution from earlier Island Packets in this size range. New bow and stern shapes lengthened the sailing waterline and reduced resistance in waves, while refined keel and rudder foil sections were aimed at better upwind performance, lower drag and better steering.

The hull remained Island Packet's signature: a one-piece molding of hull and keel in solid triaxial fiberglass, with the ballast encapsulated so there are no keel bolts, PolyClad gelcoat below the waterline and DuraShield above. The rudder and propeller sit behind the long keel, protected from lobster pots and groundings. The yard also bonded the deck to an integrally molded hull flange with bolts, lock nuts and urethane adhesive.

Johnson gave the 420 a taller rig than its predecessors to use the extra sail-carrying ability of the hull and improve light-air and upwind performance.

The cutter rig and the Hoyt boom

Island Packet's cutter rig pairs a roller furling genoa with a roller furling staysail set on a Hoyt boom, a self-tending spar that Johnson said had turbo-charged the staysail's contribution. By the time of the 2004 price list, a roller furling mainsail for an in-mast system came standard, and a non-furling mast with a fully battened main was a $1,295 credit option. Johnson noted in 1999 that most new owners were already choosing the furling main.

All sail controls lead aft to the cockpit. The standard winch package used Lewmar Ocean Series winches, with two-speed 54CST primaries for the jib sheets. The practical effect is a boat that one person can reef from the cockpit, which is the whole Island Packet proposition.

Deck details that cruisers notice

Johnson listed the deck features owners had long valued: a recessed foredeck with bulwarks, an anchor platform with Island Packet's patented SeaSafe twin rollers, full-length stainless handrails, Dorade vents with stainless cowls and guards, and a sturdier dodger mount. The cockpit has long contoured seats over big lockers with gas struts, a separate helm seat with backrest, rack and pinion pedestal steering, molded stern rail seats and a gate to the stern platform.

Mid-boom sheeting keeps the mainsheet out of the cockpit and leaves room for a dodger and bimini, which is how most 420s are rigged for Florida and Caribbean sun.

An owner's suite forward and serious tankage

With more than 14 ft of beam, Johnson moved the owner's stateroom forward and gave it a large double berth offset to starboard and angled away from the hull so it can be reached from either side. The adjoining head has a separate stall shower with a molded seat and a folding acrylic door, and space under the shower seat was set aside for a bow thruster installation, then a $5,995 option. A tall door from the shower area leads to a forepeak storage compartment ahead of the divided chain locker.

The aft guest stateroom has a wide double and private access to the aft head, which also opens to the saloon. The saloon uses the long-running Island Packet arrangement of facing settees, the starboard L converting to a double, with a folding table that hinges from a bulkhead rack. The galley is a large wrap-around design with a three-burner LPG range, a top-loading icebox prepared for refrigeration and a microwave; the nav station has a full chart table with a swing-out seat.

Tankage is the 420's quiet strength: 160 gallons of fuel, 250 gallons of water and a 60 gallon holding tank, all under the sole to keep weight low and central.

Power and systems

Power is a 75 hp Yanmar 4JH3-TBE turbo diesel with a 2.63 to 1 reduction gear and a 1.25 inch shaft, according to the IP Home Port owners' database. With 160 gallons aboard, motoring range is very long, though no published fuel-burn test exists for this model, so plan using your own engine logs.

The 2004 standard electrical cruising package included a 40 amp three-step charger, a 110 amp Balmar alternator, four Group 27 AGM house batteries and a dedicated start battery. Twenty years on, most boats have had batteries, chargers and electronics replaced; ask what was changed and when.

Buying an IP420 today

Island Packets hold value unusually well, and the factory still sells pre-owned boats alongside its current IP 349, IP 439 and 42 Motor Sailer. The company changed hands in 2016 and again in January 2017, when longtime San Diego dealer Darrell and Leslie Allen took over, and it continues to build in Largo. That continuity matters to 420 owners looking for factory knowledge and parts.

Expect to spend roughly $18,000 to $36,000 a year to keep a 420 in commission in the US, depending on slip location, insurance and how much yard work you hire out. Budget separately for standing rigging and sails on any boat that still carries its originals.