Pearson Invicta 38

FrankS · #1 03-09-2004

Does anyone have an opinion or expereince on the Invicta in terms of quality of design,construction and sailing characteristics? Many thanks in advance.

Jeff_H · #2 03-09-2004

The Invicta was a wornderful boat in its day. For that era they offered very good upwind and reaching performance in a shoal draft boat. You probably already know that they were the first fiberglass boat to win the Newport to Bermuda Race and for many years (and still might be) the smallest boat to ever win that race. Of course their day was nearly 40 years ago and a lot has changed since then. By any modern standard they would be a little slow and rolly.

We owned a Peason of that same era. Build quality was not very good at Pearson during that era. While the glass work was fairly heavy, it was not terribly well done. Basic systems were okay but not especially great. If some one hasn''t already re-wired, re-rigged and re-plumbed the boat, then that work will need to be done.

While I am not a big fan of CCA era boats, the Invictas were one of the better designs from that era. I guess to really answer your question, it would help to know what you intend to do with the boat. They still make nice shoal coastal cruisers. They would be my idea of a great distance cruiser without a lot of work.

Respectfully,
Jeff

WHOOSH · #3 03-09-2004

...altho'' it is the Zydlers as I recall who have been cruising extensively on both coasts of Central America, wrote their Panama Guide along the way, then enjoyed W Caribbean cruising and eventually found themselves near family in the Carolinas, at which point they have now written a cruising guide for the GA/Carolina Sounds. And all this was I think in an Invicta (or nearly similar design of the same era) with just the two of them. And almost all of this sailing, much of it in areas of large current and high tidal swings, was...wait for it...engineless.

There''s a lot of seamanship wrapped up in that story, but they''ve always been very affirming about the boat''s performance. And in line with one of Jeff''s points, I''ll bet there''s little left of the original boat except the hull, deck and spars.

Jack

FrankS · #4 03-10-2004

Jeff, Jack

Thanks for the quick reply and for the information.

FYI, I''m looking for a classic styled coastal cruiser for use in Chesapeake and possibly some extended Mid Atlantic coast cruising with a family of 4 and found the Invicta styling and size to be appealing. There is one I know of on the market now with some recent upgrades and generally in good condition but with original Atomic power. It is very helpful to know that she may be worth a closer look based on your information. Thanks again.

Jeff_H · #5 03-10-2004

As much as the Invicta is a neat boat in a lot of ways, I am not sure that it is a particularly good boat for the Chesapeake. While it''s shoal draft is really convenient for gunkholing into quiet backwaters, the Chesapeake is known for its light winds and these are not very good light air boats. You would lose a lot of good sailing days with a boat like the Invicta. The other thing about the Chesapeake is that a little bit of performance rewards you with a lot more options as to where to spend the night after a days run. That is somewhat offset by the number of options that a shoal draft opens up over a deeper keel. There is nothing inherrently wrong with an Atomic 4 that has been maintained except that some of the parts are getting a bit harder to find.

Jeff

david105 · #6 02-25-2009

I currently own a pearson invicta mk2. She is a fantastic boat, for me. One of the posts above spoke on the need to redo such things...re-wired, re-rigged and re-plumbed. My pearson invictamk2, Nico was built in 1965. She is certainly a sound boat! the hull in about 1" thick, which I am thankfull for, especially when it came to repairing the blisters she had. The light wind comment is also correct. The nico does best in 15-25knot winds. She is a great sailboat for the single handed sailor, which I am. Also, the atomic 4 has been replaced w/ a yanmar 3 cylider diesel engine. The shoal draft is certainly a good thing, for me. these ga waters have extreme tides we have in this area. I am pretty much agreeing everything jeff h said, with the ownership side in mind. She is an old classic. they are alot of work, age plays the major role in this. good luck with your boat search...

austintown · #7 07-20-2009

David105-
With your ownership of your Mk2 Invicta have you come across any owners group for Invictas? I'm interested in the original "Burgoo style" hull. I know there were few built and they must therefore be rare to find.

david105 · #8 08-06-2009

Quote:

Originally Posted by austintown

David105-
With your ownership of your Mk2 Invicta have you come across any owners group for Invictas? I'm interested in the original "Burgoo style" hull. I know there were few built and they must therefore be rare to find.

austintown,
the mk2 is the same hull as the mk1, burgoo. the difference comes with the cabin trunk on the mk2. the mk1 is a blister deck, but the hulls for the two boats are the same. my mk2 is not the yawl design either, she is a sloop.
i haven't found any owners groups for the invicta mk2. i did find the pearson.net site, though. that was a 5 or more years ago and has since changed names or ??.