Islander

[DirtManly]

I am seriously looking at moving up from a 30 footer to a 34 footer. I have found an 1975 Islander 34 that appears to be in excellent shape at a very reasonable price. It looks like someone has gone to great lengths to fix this boat up for cruising and has for some reason changed thier mind about going. We intend to use the boat strictly for coastal cruising and weekend sailing around Charleston. Anybody know anything about Islanders? How do they sail? Stiff or tender? What kind of ballast do they have? How was the quality of build? I was also wondering about the PHRF rating not that we ever intend to race it, but more as a benchmark to see if she''s a turtle or hare.

[sailingfool]

You can find some PHRF ratings at:
http://www.phrfne.org/baseh.htm
There are two Islander 34''s listed, one''s a dog while the 34-2 is rated size-appropriately - I don''t know what model a ''75 would be.

You should join the Islander email group and see what current owners have to say (treat owner comments with the suitable grain of salt...)

[lporcano]

I own a 1973 Islander 34, and have been very happy with it. I have been sailing it on the south shore of Long Island, where the wind is typically 10-15 knots. In those conditions the boat is fast and comfortable, although definitely not a race boat. I have not sailed it much in light air and so I can not really give you an idea of how it might perform then. The one thing that has really impressed me about the boat is how comfortable and stable the boat is even when the wind really picks up, or in heavy chop. Even without a dodger the cockpit stayed very dry, and the boat really shrugs off any kind of chop or rough water. The only negatives I can think of is that it has limited space for a 34'' boat. Other designs will give you a lot more living area in the same length, of course you would be giving up that smooth ride that this design provides. Also you should have the boat surveyed before buying it. The boats had a problem where the support under the mast compression post would start to rot, and the deck would sag. If this is happening, you would have some repairs to do. It is very repairable by replacing the wood support with a steel support, however it would cost some to complete.