Island 17 Buyer's Guide
The Island 17 is a 17-foot trailerable centerboard daysailer and pocket cruiser designed by Johann Tanzer, built first by Ocean Yachts and later by Sumner Boat Works after 1979. On the used market it draws vintage enthusiasts looking for a lightweight, easy-to-tow boat for protected-water sailing, family outings, or casual beer-can racing. With 575 pounds displacement and a 6 foot 6 inch beam, it remains simple to keep and move behind a small car.
Layouts on the Used Market
Two ownership eras define the used fleet. Early Ocean Yachts hulls from the late sixties to 1979 were apparently built only in bright yellow, while the Sumner Islands boats that followed were mostly white. Both share the same reverse-transom hull that added length over the Tanzer 16 parent, an open cockpit that seats four comfortably, and a basic cuddy forward for overnighting. The centerboard layout gives a min draft under a foot for shallow launching and a max draft of 3 foot 6 inches board down. Later Sumner boats added cockpit flotation and other refinements, but the accommodation plan stayed essentially unchanged.
Equipment and Common Upgrades
The Island 17’s fractional sloop rig carries a 100 square foot main and 35 square foot jib as standard, with a 55 square foot genoa and a 205 square foot spinnaker available for light-air or downwind fun. No factory option lists survive to show commonly fitted or often-seen gear, so buyers should expect a bare boat and treat any added items as owner upgrades. The most consequential buyer items to look for are rig and sail handling pieces—a serviceable genoa or spinnaker and a sound outboard bracket at the transom—since the original plywood transom core is a known weak point. Navigation and comfort additions, if present, are purely owner-supplied and not characteristic of the class.
What to Inspect
The one documented defect to check is the original plywood inside the transom where the gudgeons and motor mount are attached; on a recorded example that plywood had delaminated, so probe the transom for softness or separation at those fittings. Beyond the structure, bear in mind the boat’s low righting moment demands respect in gusts, a handling trait rather than a fault, but one that bears on how the prior owner sailed and stored the boat.
Availability and Buyer's Takeaway
The typical market for these boats is the United States. For a shopper, the checklist is short: confirm which build era you are looking at by hull color, inspect the transom core at the motor mount and gudgeons, verify the centerboard and rudder gear, and assess the sail inventory for a genoa or spinnaker if downwind sailing matters. A sound Island 17 is a low-cost entry into vintage trailerable sailing with minimal systems to fail.
Price & volume trends
Monthly asking-price and listing-volume trends for the Island 17. The line shows the median ask each month; the bars show how many listings appeared.
Monthly breakdown · 1 row
| Month | Listings | Median ask | Δ vs. last mo. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 26 | 1 | $2,450 | — |
Where they're listed
Island 17 listings appear across 1 country. United States has the most listings with 1.
Country view
1 listings · 1 country| Country | Median ask | Listings · 12 mo | Active · 90 d | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | $2,450 | 1 | 0 | 100.0% |
Comparable models
Similar length, displacement, and era. Open a row to compare that model's market page.
Similar boats to compare
2 similar designs| Model | LOA | Median ask | Listings · 12 mo | Active · 90 d |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Leisure 17 | 16.99' | $ 2,923 | 10 | 2 |
| Island 17You are here | — | $ 2,450 | 1 | 0 |