37' Peterson IOR Sloop

[mmcauley]

Writing from Seattle, WA and a new resident to Sailnet. Glad to be here. I'm considering a 1979 37' Peterson IOR Sloop, which as been kept in wonderful condition by the current owner. She is a beautiful vessel, very clean from my first impressions. I'll be getting a survey done later this month, and as well as a sea trail. I have some coastal sailing experience, yet looking to buy a all around good ship which has the potential to sail off-shore - as well as to live aboard for the next decade.

I've attempted to do my own research on Peterson design, and have found little about the 37' IOR history or even discussion threads specific for the smaller Peterson boats. Yet, considering the decent price range of these smaller Kelly Petersons (less than 50K) i find these boats very attractive, yet i'm unfamiliar with it's reviews

Can anyone who has experience with these boats provide some feedback on the early Peterson's and weather this could be a good buy for what my needs? I've considered other 35'-37' boats, including the Islander, C&C, Morgan, yet having difficultly comparing the major pro's & con's.

Michael

[JomsViking]

I'm no expert on all the different designs that Doug Peterson has made, but a 37 foot Peterson is an eighties thing IIRC. Can you provide more details on the specific vessel?

[mmcauley]

Viking -

Have to post two (2) to forward a link.....hold on.

[mmcauley]

1977 Peterson IOR Sloop Sail Boat For Sale - www.yachtworld.com

[JomsViking]

Hull shape and general outline looks like his other designs from that period, such as a Contessa 35. Those boats won a lot in those days, and IMHO sail great. Others will disagree with me, but they're seaworthy and works nicely shorthanded. Currently I own a Contesa 35 and single- and/or short-hand (man and wife crew) her. If the build quality is great, and nothing major is found in a survey, it would probably be a great boat for you. Hope this helps, even though I do not know the specific model.

/Joms

[Dick Pluta]

IOR boats have a checkered past. In the early days many were rule beaters that sacrificed seaworthiness for ratings and many were considered "unsafe". '79 was a pivotal year, since that was the year of the Fastnet disaster and lots of rule changes resulted. There is a good discussion of the IOR rule on this site labeled "Design effect from IOR rules". Of course, "unsafe" pushing the limits in Force 10 and "unsafe" cruising are two very different issues. One thing is for sure, they weren't big, fat comfy cruisers. She may be a fine boat for what you want but I'd look further into it.

Dick Pluta
AEGEA
On the hard in Florida

[JomsViking]

Originally Posted by Dick Pluta

IOR boats have a checkered past.

That's true, but a heck of a lot of those IOR boats is still going strong and are very seaworthy. The MAJOR learning from the '79 Fastnet disaster was that you should step up into your liferaft. Some (not just IOR) boats capsized, but rigted themselves afterwards, and today we know that ALL vessels will capsize if caught by a wave of the right (wrong) size.

There are other drawbacks, such as manageability when shorthanded. Our solution to that is a smaller headsail on a roller furler complemented by a Genakker for light winds. So while they're not perfect, they're also not as bad as their reputation.

[blt2ski]

"IF" you're going to sail either racing or cruising here in the grearter puget sound region either in Wa or up to BC, an IOR boat of that style will not have the issues of themid 70's pre fastnet designs like the one you are looking at. Even some of the early 80 IOR post fastnet boats like my Jeanneau have some of the rounding up issues etc, even tho it does not look too IOR.

marty

[Faster]

She looks great in the pictures, this boat will be quite similar to JV's Contessa. Not of the "Kelly Peterson" line though. The only question mark to my mind would be the builder - looks like typical asian woodwork (quite nice) but perhaps the construction itself needs a careful check.

These old IOR beasties actually give you a lot of boat for the money, you just need to be prudent about flying the spinnaker esp shorthanded, and you have to realize that with the large genoas the sheet loads and winching duties can get pretty heavy. These designs have most of their power in the headsails. Even so, as a family cruiser you'll find that sailing with a 100% jib will work very well in all but the lightest breezes. The good news, too, is that usually the deck gear is very good and overspecified unlike many mainstream production boats.

We sailed a similar vintage IOR 40 footer for 12 years and enjoyed a lot of boat for a reasonable investment - and excluding the cost of maintenance/refits along the way managed to sell her for the same price!

If this proves as cherry as the pics indicate, you'll have a good boat!

[JimsCAL]

The rap against IOR boats of the era are that they go great upwind but are bears to handle downwind, especially in stronger winds with a spinnaker up. The small mains and big headsails meant you needed to carry a range of genoas to cover the wind speed range. The pinched sterns mean no aft cabin (coffin?), only a narrow quarterberth. That said, as you note they are great values if you find a well-maintained one.

My Cal 9.2 is a Ron Holland design based on his IOR boats of the same era. It is a delight to sail - easy to balance, responsive and lively. I have learned not to get overpowered and reduce sail early if the wind builds.