The Islander 21 is a recreational keelboat, built predominantly of fiberglass, with wood trim. It has a masthead sloop rig, a spooned raked stem, an angled transom, an internally mounted spade-type rudder controlled by a tiller and a fixed fin keel. It displaces 1,950 lb (885 kg) and carries 1,000 lb (454 kg) of iron ballast.[1][3]
The boat has a draft of 3.33 ft (1.01 m) with the standard keel.[1][3]
The boat is normally fitted with a small 3 to 6 hp (2 to 4 kW) outboard motor for docking and maneuvering.[1][3]
The design has sleeping accommodation for four people, with a double "V"-berth in the bow cabin and two straight settees in the main cabin along with a dinette table. It has a galley and a head. Cabin headroom is 45 in (114 cm).[1][3]
For sailing the design is equipped with a jib or a genoa.[1][3]
The design has a PHRF racing average handicap of 282 and a hull speed of 5.7 kn (10.6 km/h).[3]
Operational history
In a 2010 review Steve Henkel wrote, "we have no accommodations plan to show here, but her promotional literature says she 'is equipped with four full-length berths, galley, unusual dinette arrangement, modern head, and plenty of storage lockers.' That sounds good to us. The reported 1,000 pounds of ballast seems unusually large—more than half the total weight of the boat—leaving only 950 pounds for the hull, deck, rig, etc. That makes us wonder whether the numbers given in ads are incorrect ... Best and worst features: Not enough information available to comment."[3]