Meet Bob Johnson, a well-


respected naval architect, a longtime marine-industry veteran and a publicly recognized marine-industry thought leader. Johnson earned his B.A. in naval architecture from MIT in 1967. A short stint with McDonnell-Douglas designing missiles was followed by a tenure at Irwin Yachts in Florida, where he worked as a plant supervisor (he also penned several racing and cruising designs for Irwin while there). Opportunity knocked and Johnson then moved on to the role of head designer at Endeavor Yachts before heading out on his own in 1978. The result was Island Packet Yachts, a legendary name amongst bluewater cruisers. We caught up with Johnson at the


Lake Union Boats Afloat boat show to get a pulse on what this influential designer and industry luminary has been up to, as well as his take on design innovations, as seen in the production- cruiser world.


What is your personal favorite kind of sailing to do? I just like being out on the water!


We built a few Big Fish—they’re sort of like a big Sunfish, 16’ LOA with a Lateen rig—at the shop and they are a lot of fun to sail. I also love to go cruising in the Virgin Islands with my wife and my family. I like racing, but I’m not hard-core. Mostly, I just like boats that sail well.


How has business been for Island Packet during the downturn? Like everyone else [in the industry],


we’ve kept our head in our shell! During our peak years we were building 170 boats a year [back in the 80s and 90s]. Then, we started to build bigger boats. We were selling fewer boats this way, but it was still an increase in overall tonnage [manufactured]. GE calls 2009/2010 a “reset year”. I


stay very active in the industry to know what’s going on. [Across the board] the marine industry is off 50%.


How has 2009/2010 been for you guys? Have you been selling boats? Not enough! But we are selling


boats and we’re working on expanding our dealer network in Europe.


Design Talk: Bob Johnson by David Schmidt


A sit-down conversation with the founder of Island Packet Yachts


We’re seeing production builders


playing around with design details such as hard chines, open transoms, plumb bows and canoe-like underbodies. Have you considered putting any modern touches on your designs or are your customers more traditional? I did all that stuff years ago in the


IOR days. Racing is one thing – you make compromises for racing but not for cruising… I don’t intend to incorporate these [design details and styles] into Island Packet Yachts.


Island Packet enjoys a wonderful


reputation for having an incredible owner loyalty. What do you attribute this to? I always try to hit the soft center


with what people want. Island Packet builds boats for people who sail their boats. People have circumnavigated on their Island Packets, and we also have plenty of customers who go trans-ocean sailing. People don’t want a Spartan experience. They want comfortable bunks, showers and electric heads. I design the ergonomics of the interior [interiors] around my stature. [Ed. Note: Johnson is somewhere between 6’1” and 6’3”.] We’ve earned the confidence of our customers. It’s not a bad thing to have a comfortable boat!


Your background as a naval


architect involves penning some raceboat designs – how have you balanced this background with your work at Island Packet?


These experiences are not little compartments – I try to bring a blended mentality on what I do. [Yacht design usually] starts with a design brief. Then there are considerations to be balanced against the intended use. Boats are a bit like cars; you’ll have a sedan and a sports car. With ‘racer/cruiser’, neither side is ever really happy. I’m not willing to make big design compromises to gain 1/10 of a knot of boatspeed.


You have played around with


some pretty radical interiors in years past – do you see this as an area of innovation more than hull shape? I’ve been all over the board as far as


innovations go. Years ago, I introduced a two-stateroom, two-head boat (this is the Island Packet 38, which debuted in 1986). It had a polarizing affect on people at the Annapolis boat show where it was introduced. Some people couldn’t understand why you’d want a second head on a 38-footer; others thought it was a great idea. But the two-stateroom, two-head design has evolved through several other models over the years and is now the Island Packet 480. So, this was an innovation that we introduced 24 years ago and we’re happy that we did it.


Fifty years from now, what do you


hope your legacy as a designer will be?


[Laughs.] I’d like to think that I


made some kind of a difference… that I was a catalyst for change for the better in the boating industry.


48° NORTH, OCTOBER 2010 PAGE 29


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