The Island Packet 35 is an American

sailboat A sailboat or sailing boat is a boat propelled partly or entirely by sails and is smaller than a sailing ship. Distinctions in what constitutes a sailing boat and ship vary by region and maritime culture. Types Although sailboat terminology ...

that was designed by Robert K. Johnson as a

cruiser A cruiser is a type of warship. Modern cruisers are generally the largest ships in a fleet after aircraft carriers and amphibious assault ships, and can usually perform several roles. The term "cruiser", which has been in use for several ...

and first built in 1988.Sherwood, Richard M.: ''A Field Guide to Sailboats of North America, Second Edition'', pages 320-321. Houghton Mifflin Company, 1994.

Production

The design was built by

Island Packet Yachts Island Packet Yachts is an American builder of blue water cruising sailing and motor yachts, based out of Largo, Florida. The incorporated name for the company is Traditional Watercraft, Inc. Production facilities are located on five acres of gr ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

, with 178 examples completed between 1988 and 1994. It is now out of production.

Design

The Island Packet 35 is a recreational

keelboat A keelboat is a riverine cargo-capable working boat, or a small- to mid-sized recreational sailing yacht. The boats in the first category have shallow structural keels, and are nearly flat-bottomed and often used leeboards if forced in open w ...

, built predominantly of

fiberglass Fiberglass ( American English) or fibreglass (Commonwealth English) is a common type of fiber-reinforced plastic using glass fiber. The fibers may be randomly arranged, flattened into a sheet called a chopped strand mat, or woven into glass cl ...

, with

teak Teak (''Tectona grandis'') is a tropical hardwood tree species in the family Lamiaceae. It is a large, deciduous tree that occurs in mixed hardwood forests. ''Tectona grandis'' has small, fragrant white flowers arranged in dense clusters ( pan ...

wood trim. It has a

cutter rig A cutter is a type of watercraft. The term has several meanings. It can apply to the rig (or sailplan) of a sailing vessel (but with regional differences in definition), to a governmental enforcement agency vessel (such as a coast guard or bor ...

with anodized

aluminum Aluminium (aluminum in American and Canadian English) is a chemical element with the symbol Al and atomic number 13. Aluminium has a density lower than those of other common metals, at approximately one third that of steel. It ha ...

spars, a

raked stem The stem is the most forward part of a boat or ship's bow and is an extension of the keel itself. It is often found on wooden boats or ships, but not exclusively. Description The stem is the curved edge stretching from the keel below, up to ...

, a vertical transom, a keel-mounted

rudder A rudder is a primary control surface used to steer a ship, boat, submarine, hovercraft, aircraft, or other vehicle that moves through a fluid medium (generally air or water). On an aircraft the rudder is used primarily to counter adve ...

controlled by a

wheel A wheel is a circular component that is intended to rotate on an axle bearing. The wheel is one of the key components of the wheel and axle which is one of the six simple machines. Wheels, in conjunction with axles, allow heavy objects to be ...

and a fixed long

keel The keel is the bottom-most longitudinal structural element on a vessel. On some sailboats, it may have a hydrodynamic and counterbalancing purpose, as well. As the laying down of the keel is the initial step in the construction of a ship, in Br ...

or optional long keel with a

centerboard A centreboard or centerboard (US) is a retractable hull appendage which pivots out of a slot in the hull of a sailboat, known as a ''centreboard trunk'' (UK) or ''centerboard case'' (US). The retractability allows the centreboard to be raised ...

. It displaces and carries of ballast. The design features a platform-type

bowsprit The bowsprit of a sailing vessel is a spar extending forward from the vessel's prow. The bowsprit is typically held down by a bobstay A bobstay is a part of the rigging of a sailing boat or ship. Its purpose is to counteract the upward tensio ...

. The keel-equipped version of the boat has a draft of , while the centerboard-equipped version has a draft of with the centerboard extended and with it retracted. The boat is fitted with a Japanese

Yanmar is a Japanese diesel engine, heavy machinery and agricultural machinery manufacturer founded in Osaka, Japan in 1912. Yanmar manufactures and sells engines used in a wide range of applications, including seagoing vessels, pleasure boats, cons ...

diesel engine The diesel engine, named after Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which ignition of the fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to mechanical compression; thus, the diesel engine is a so-cal ...

of . The fuel tank holds and the fresh water tank has a capacity of . The

galley A galley is a type of ship that is propelled mainly by oars. The galley is characterized by its long, slender hull, shallow draft, and low freeboard (clearance between sea and gunwale). Virtually all types of galleys had sails that could be u ...

is located on the starboard side and includes a three-burner gimballed liquid petroleum gas stove and oven, a double sink with pressurized hot and cold water and

icebox An icebox (also called a cold closet) is a compact non-mechanical refrigerator which was a common early-twentieth-century kitchen appliance before the development of safely powered refrigeration devices. Before the development of electric refrige ...

. The

head A head is the part of an organism which usually includes the ears, brain, forehead, cheeks, chin, eyes, nose, and mouth, each of which aid in various sensory functions such as sight, hearing, smell, and taste. Some very simple animals ...

is located forward, just aft of the "V"-berth in the bow. Additional sleeping accommodation is provided by an aft private cabin with a double berth, plus the main saloon settees which convert to a single berth on the starboard side and a double on the port, for a total sleeping space for seven people. A navigation station is located on the port side of the cabin. The interior trim is

with a

holly ''Ilex'' (), or holly, is a genus of over 570 species of flowering plants in the family Aquifoliaceae, and the only living genus in that family. ''Ilex'' has the most species of any woody dioecious angiosperm genus. The species are evergreen o ...

cabin sole. Ventilation is provided by two opening ports and an overhead hatch in the aft cabin, a hatch and two opening ports in the bow cabin and a hatch and more opening ports in the main cabin. The cockpit has pedestal-mounted wheel steering, a coldwater shower and a separate icebox. The jib and boom-mounted

staysail A staysail ("stays'l") is a fore-and-aft rigged sail whose luff can be affixed to a stay running forward (and most often but not always downwards) from a mast to the deck, the bowsprit, or to another mast. Description Most staysails are ...

have furling systems, while the

mainsail A mainsail is a sail rigged on the main mast of a sailing vessel. * On a square rigged vessel, it is the lowest and largest sail on the main mast. * On a fore-and-aft rigged vessel, it is the sail rigged aft of the main mast. The sail's foot i ...

has a single-line reefing system. The mainsail is mid-boom sheeted to the cabin roof and has a

mainsheet traveler A traveller is a part of the rigging of a boat or ship that provides a moving attachment point for a rope, sail or yard to a fixed part of the vessel. It may take the form of anything from a simple ring on a metal bar or a spar to, especially in a ...

. There are two mast-mounted

halyard In sailing, a halyard or halliard is a line (rope) that is used to hoist a ladder, sail, flag or yard. The term ''halyard'' comes from the phrase "to haul yards". Halyards, like most other parts of the running rigging, were classically made of ...

winches and two cockpit jib winches. The design features double

backstay A backstay is a piece of standing rigging on a sailing vessel that runs from the mast to either its transom or rear quarter, counteracting the forestay and jib. It is an important sail trim control and has a direct effect on the shape of the ma ...

s and an adjustable

topping lift The topping lift (more rarely known as an uphaul) is a line which applies upward force on a boom on a sailboat. Part of the running rigging, topping lifts are primarily used to hold a boom up when the sail is lowered. This line would run from nea ...

Operational history

In a review in 2000, yacht designer Robert Perry praised the style of the Island Packet 35 and wrote, "the Island Packet combines contemporary hull design with the forgiveness of a long keel to give the owner an easily handled yacht that takes care of itself with little helm assist. This is what a long keel boat should do." A 2017 review in the ''Spinsheet'' said, "I would characterize this design as a conservative, traditional cruiser that is likely to appeal to sailors more interested in comfort than speed made good to weather. The design has quite high freeboard and a high cabin trunk, but these features are disguised by a beautifully drawn sweeping sheerline and bowsprit, which make the boat look longer and lower than it really is ... For coastal cruising and livability aboard a 35-footer, this model has a lot to offer, and the prices reflect Island Packet’s popularity and reputation for solid construction."

References

{{Island Packet Yachts Keelboats 1980s sailboat type designs Sailing yachts Sailboat type designs by Robert K. Johnson Sailboat types built by Island Packet Yachts

Production

Design

Operational history

See also

References