Seeking advice for first time buyer of IP42

Greetings. My wife and I are based in Asia and have had several cruising sailboats, the most recent being a Mason 44. We had decided to down-size so that sailing would be a bit easier and the boat easier to handle. However, we have fallen in love iwht an IP42 with in--mast furling (our M44 was traditional slab reefing at the mast). We absolutely have fallen in love with the boat. However, I am concerned that perhaps it will prove a bit difficult for a couple to sail alone across oceans. Can anyone please provide their thoughts?

Hi Tobin
I'm Nancy Knight. My husband, John, and I own an IP 420. I assume that's what you mean by IP42. If you are looking to downsize from a Mason44 you might want to check the specs on the IP420. They are listed on our blog: AdventuressSailing.blogspot.com. I believe the yachts are quite similar in size. Even though the IP420 is a large boat it handles like a dream offshore with two people. She can be reefed easily from the cockpit, handles heavy seas very well and is fast for a heavy full keeled boat. As a rule John and I get one or more crew when our passages exceed 4 Days because of safety (in case someone is injured) and we don't sleep on watch so it's much less exhausting with an extra crew man. Check our blog and you'll see our passages. This is John's fourth IP and it's the best yet. You can't go wrong with an IP420 for passage making. Good luck. Nancy Knight

Nancy, thank you very much for your kind response. We are indeed looking at an IP420, but I have found that more information can be found by googling "IP42" than IP420 for some reason, and thererefore have stuck with that. You are right in that the IP420 is about the same size as the Mason 44, but there are so many things that would seem to make the IP more manageable. Engine access is a big one: the M44 engine was below the waterline in the cockpit sole and the impeller took a circus act to get to. In mast furling would seem to be a real help vs. the at-mast work done on the M44 (I realize the pros and cons of the in mast furling but have made my peace with it). I visited your blog (had no idea there was an "up-mast" option in Holland!). You guys have a tremendous amount of experience! Looks like a great boat and great experiences.

Tobin - Cheri and I have had our 420 for six years now. We've modified it to suit our needs and absolutely love the boat. We haven't done extensive cruising yet, plan to start this winter, but have sailed to Bermuda and back from Annapolis. We sail with just the two of us and have had no problems handling the boat in all kinds of weather. Even in extreme conditions the boat made us feel secure, that she could handle anything. For more info see our blog (ip42035.blogspot.com).

Tom Ward
IP420-35
La Vida Dulce

Tom, thank you very much. Hopefully your blog will explain the modifications that you've made. I'll check it out. If not, when you have time we'd appreicate knowing what they were. Thanks again!

Tobin - most of the work we've done is discussed on the blog under "Projects" (ip42035-3.blogspot.com/2010/01/projects-on-la-vida-dulce.html). At one point a few years ago we thought we could sell the boat and find one that suited us better. In the end we found it made more sense to make some changes to the 420 to make it work better for us. We've invested the money into improvements in the galley, up to date electronics, improved comfort and more. At this point we have a boat that really suits us and we've invested less than we would have spent on a higher end boat. We always want more but the 420 is the best platform to build it on. She's well built, extremely stable in bad weather and plenty fast enough for us. The sense of security we get with this boat and the nice layout down below makes it worth investing in.
- Tom