1986 Island Packet IP 31

Broker's Comments
1986 Island Packet 31
If you have ever wanted a solid Island Packet 31, this is your boat! She is very clean and has been well taken care of and upgraded over the years to keep her in great shape and extremely seaworthy.
The exhaust system was recently replaced and there are only 700 hours on the engine. Please be aware we are selling at a discount as the chain plates need to be relaced. One is broken but all four need to be changed out.

Contact Information
Captain S. Lee Bowden
IYBA Licensed Broker
Manatee Pocket Yacht Sales
Lee@manateepocketyachtsales.com
802 734 0757 (Cell)
772 925 1173 (Home)

Article description
The Island Packet 31 was offered as a cutter or sloop. Most owners seemed to have chosen the cutter. One reader wrote: The boat is not a true cutter, but a double-headsail sloop with a 110-percent lapper and a free-set staysail. I recommend either a staysail stay and a hanked-on staysail or disposing with the staysail and sailing her as a proper sloop with roller reefing 150-percent genoa.

This is technically correct, though the line between cutter and double-headsail sloop is not always clear. On a cutter, the mast is usually stepped near the center of the boat.

Island Packet 31 Cabin Layout
On a double-headsail sloop, the mast is stepped farther forward, which is the case with the Island Packet 31. There are no running backstays, but the company says the Isomat spar was engineered to withstand the loads of the inner forestay without additional support.

Owners report being very happy with the cutter rig. Some admit to having to learn the nuances of proper trim of the staysail and jib. While not necessarily as efficient as a large genoa on a sloop, the advantage of two sails occupying essentially the same area is that trimming is easier, and when the wind pipes up, the jib can be dropped altogether.

Not surprisingly, the Island Packet 31's best point of sail is a reach. Owners say she's quite fast. Upwind is a different story. One reader said, "Forward wide beam slows boat in seas." Another said, "she's slow in light air, fast in heavy air." Several reported difficulty tacking through the wind, finding it easy to end up in irons. Full-keel boats don't tack as readily as fin keel boats, but on the Island Packet this tendency seems to be exacerbated by the wide beam forward.

The boat balances well. Readers say she will steer herself for miles with little attention to the helm. One wrote: Sometimes we thought the autopilot was on and then discovered she was just tracking on her own. And she is stiff. I can't intentionally wet the rail, said one reader.

Performance under power is rated as good, as is engine accessibility and reliability.

The only complaint is control in reverse, which is to be expected of a full keel design with the propeller in an aperture. But for a serious cruising boat, that's exactly where you want the prop backing down be damned.

Interior

Besides looks and quality, many readers chose the Island Packet for its voluminous interior.

There's nothing particularly unusual about the layout, which is fine. It works. There are 6' 6" Vberths forward, a generous head compartment with shower, settees in the main cabin, a doubled quarter berth aft to starboard, and a U shaped galley in the port quarter.

The quarter berth doubles as a nav station, and can be enclosed by a folding door. Headroom in the cabin is 6' 3".

The icebox is huge and exceptionally well insulated (we have Adler-Barbour refrigeration), wrote one owner. Used as an icebox it is also great. The interior design is user friendly.

Conclusion

We have reviewed few boats whose owners are more uniformly enthusiastic. This applies to the company as well as the boat itself.

Ask any owner how they feel about their boat, wrote one owner. All Island Packet owners are the sales force of the company. Sit aboard one for an hour, sail one and it's yours.

Disclaimer
The Company offers the details of this vessel in good faith but cannot guarantee or warrant the accuracy of this information nor warrant the condition of the vessel. A buyer should instruct his agents, or his surveyors, to investigate such details as the buyer desires validated. This vessel is offered subject to prior sale, price change, or withdrawal without notice.

Disclaimer
The Company offers the details of this vessel in good faith but cannot guarantee or warrant the accuracy of this information nor warrant the condition of the vessel. A buyer should instruct his agents, or his surveyors, to investigate such details as the buyer desires validated. This vessel is offered subject to prior sale, price change, or withdrawal without notice.