Pearson Prejudice

[Bardo]

Why am I prujudiced against Pearsons? Everything that I hear on the boards here lauds them as great boats. I see them around and they are fairly attractive. I think it is the cheap interiors that make me feel like the construction isn't up to snuff. There is a 365 in our marina that I could get for a song (granted its a project boat), but the cheesy cabin just turns me off. Other good production boats of the period (my Bristol for example) made judicious use of teak in the cabin. What am I missing?

[kwaltersmi]

Maybe it's different values and different perspectives.

Perhaps older Pearsons provide an affordable and generally well constructed option for those that don't care to pay a premium for or can not pay a premium for a vessel laiden with a beautiful teak cabin.

That being said, I don't think you're "missing" anything. It's perfectly ok to prefer some makes and dislike others, even if the majority hold them in high regard. I'm personally not a huge fan of Sabres, though they are widely consider to be very well-made boats. I simple just find other boats much more aesthetically pleasing. Granted, choosing a boat should go far beyond aesthetics.

[norsearayder]

pearsons rule ...sail a pearson and u will fall in love with her

[Bardo]

Norse,
See thats the problem, I have not sailed a Pearson. Are they remarkable sailors? What are they like in light air?

[TrueBlue]

Since the production yards are located on Narragansett Bay, Pearsons are everywhere up here. They're synonymous with mediocre Chevrolets, very vanilla in flavor and economical, but dependable.

We have a dockmate who worked at Pearson Yachts for 22 years - followed his dad who retired from Pearson many years beforehand. He's always telling stories about the shortcuts the workers were forced to make - claimed that knowing how the boats were built back then, he would never buy one . . . but surely that's a biased statement.

[sailingdog]

TB-

If a Pearson is Chevy, what would represent a Hunter, and a Bendytoy??

[k1vsk]

Guess it's all in who you want to believe. Repeating hearsay is not usually a good idea but as someone already did, I'll play along. We never owned one but our carpenter worked for Pearson for 10+ years before they went out of business. His opinion having worked there was they are well-made boats and lots of care was taken in their construction evidenced by the fact that no one ever left and they only hired the best and most skilled craftsman. It wasn't the best or highest cost boat around but I know this guy's work and he is meticulious in everything he does. For what it's worth...

[PBzeer]

Bardo - it's simply a basic part of human nature. It doesn't require a rational explaination, because it isn't a rational thought. Not to mention the fact that if we were all perfectly rational people, we wouldn't own these holes to throw money in

[TrueBlue]

TB-

If a Pearson is Chevy, what would represent a Hunter, and a Bendytoy??

They're all Chevys - Pearson being an Impala, Bendytoy a Chevette and Hunter a Geo.

[sailingdog]

LOL... what would be a Ford, or a Chrysler? And what would be an AMC Gremlin???