For me, and I think this is a personal thing, probably why you have gotten no response. I do not know two other people that I would want with me and my wife on a boat that size for more than a day sail.

 

Other than this past covid year, we have a minimum of another couple aboard every weekend. Often two other couples. Our record is eight 16yr olds, for the weekend, for my daughter's birthday, many years back. All the kids, neices, nephews, etc, all ask to come for their birthday's still. We enjoy having company. Sail all day, party all night. Admittedly, we enjoy the quiet on the evening they depart, but not because we didn't like them with us. To each their own.

I have a bunch of guests tips, if interested. Starts with a cut and paste list I always send out of what they should bring, what they should not bring and what to pack in.

Hope the survey goes well!

 

Hello,

Four adults can definitely fit aboard for a weekend. Weather you all enjoy it is another question. The boat is large enough for comfortable fit everyone aboard (both in the cockpit and the cabin). The aft cabin is small, but should be comfortable to sleep aboard for a night to two. Note that the head is small, and the shower space even smaller. Certainly livable for a weekend, but that's a personal thing.

Would you be staying in a marina slip, with easy access to shore, showers, restaurants, etc? Or were you planning on anchoring out or a mooring? Are you guests experienced sailors or boaters and know what spending a weekend board means, or do they expect your 'yacht' is like a cruise ship?

Regarding the specific boat you are interested in, note that the boat was made in 1986. So just look for all of the typical problems that boats from that era have. There are pages and pages of information on how to inspect a boat. Become familiar with them! When you go to see the boat make sure you have a plan. Have a checklist and if the boat meets your 5 minute quick look-over, then be prepared to take at least an hour to really look it over.

Good luck,
Barry

 

We have had a second couple onboard my Cal 33-2 for a few nights at a time. They had owned boats in the past so knew what to expect. Biggest issue for first timers is the lack of privacy.

One issue with Pearsons of that era was the sealing of the stanchions. Pearson used gaskets rather than typical bedding compound. Make sure the surveyor checks that carefully.

 

A bigger issue is the teak toerails are secured through the edges of the deck core. so that wet decks are the rule rather than an exception. This generation Pearsons are very comfortable, nicely built and excellent sailing boats, but with a major weakness.

 

check the rudder and post, make sure the steering gear and all bearings are all in proper working order, this hull has a Spade Rudder and some times the post will separate from the core more so with the center board keel version, due to cracks around the post allowing water intrusion in to the core form unintentional grounding.

 

Thanks very much for the advice Jimmie Fish. Will make sure to give this special attention during the survey.

 

Huge thank you to all that have responded. I know my initial post was not very clear. I was looking for opinions on the boat in specific and the actual living space in the aft cabin/berth as well as the main saloon. Great responses however and i am keen to go ahead with the survey as my wife seems very interested in this particular boat and layout.

 

RE - the rudder:
I had a rather unpleasant grounding in my boat, an O'day (built about 20 miles away from Pearson) of similar vintage, this past fall. The damage was to the rudder post, which was a 3" tube of stainless steel, yet the rudder itself looked undamaged. I called Foss Foam, the original manufacturer of rudders (for BOTH companies) and shared my plan to try and bend the rudder post back into alignment. I spoke with Al Walker, the president of Foss Foam, who he told me NOT to try to bend the rudder post back, as it would further weaken the rudder post. Instead, he strongly recommended that I simply cut the top edge (about 1" tapering to 0" where the rudder was binding against the hull) off of the rudder. This exposed the high density foam core, which is more like polyethylene concrete, which held up for the remainder of my journey, and IMHO probably would have been fine for a year.

Foss Foam still had the molds and original manufacturer plans for many (all?) rudders that they make. Foss Foam provided me with a brand spankin' new rudder and rudderpost shipped to any location in the USA for LESS than $3K.

 

My boat is smaller than the 33, but it's a similar layout. At least on my boat, the aft cabin isn't big enough to raise your head while sleeping (it's right under the cockpit) and access to the engine intake seacock and fuel shut-off valve are under the mattress so an inconvenient place to sleep or stash guests.

That said, it's really all the attitude of the crew and guests. If guest are expecting yacht accommodations they will be disappointed. A good option for those folks is to visit some nice vacation town with the boat and sail there but have guests stay at a local inn. Many marinas are also attached to inns.

 

Thanks very much for the reply Emcentar. This is the kind of personal experience comment i was looking for. We would love to have a boat with two separate cabins, but i am afraid we are making a mistake trying to find one in our price range. If we move forward with the Pearson my wife is interested in, i am concerned because we would be stretching the budget, and beyond mooring fees, haulout and storage, there would not be much left for improvements or equipment.

She is very keen to have space to allow have guests, while i just want to go sailing.

I initially had been looking at a couple of 30-32' boats that we could buy for $25-$30K that would leave us with a $10K cushion for upgrades and repairs, but my wife is absolutely taken with the layout of the galley and the aft head and second cabin on the pearson, vs. the open quarter berth layout on the boats i have been looking at.

Just trying to weigh out the value of a very happy wife vs. my natural concern that there will be fixes needed and upgrades i want. We have only had 2 boats previously, but in both cases, the purchase price was only about 60% of what we spent in actual money within the first few years.

We still have not been able to go see the boat due to Covid restrictions, but things are looking better in the coming weeks. I guess i will have to reserve judgement until we have actually been on board and seen things in person.

Love your idea of nice day sails to marinas with accomodation for guests rather than trying to cram people in to berths that are not truly comfortable.

Jason

 

Jason

"Wife wants a boat with more amenities" is a classic boat shopping problem. I think the smaller late 80s (28-2, 31-2, 33-2) Pearsons are actually a great boat to focus on - big enough to go cruising, small enough to handle short-handed easily, and they have a lot of space and amenities down below for their length.

The hard part here is balancing "have wife enjoy sailing" and "not buying things you don't need". I'm actually with your wife that sailing with friends is more fun than sailing alone. But the biggest surprise I had when I got my first boat was how hard it was to get people to go sailing with us. Turns out lots of our friends who were eager to hear about our boat purchase were a lot less eager to get on it and out on the water. All of a sudden people were confessing their fear of seasickness, storms, heeling and capsizing. Those who are game are often quite busy: sailing is quite weather dependent, and so it's not generally something you can plan out weeks in advance, around family birthday parties, vacations, work obligations.

As it is easier to get friends out for day sails than long trips, you may want to focus more on space in the cockpit than down below, and the ease of operating the boat when the cockpit is full. Here's where more modern designs than the late-80s Pearsons are better (they are sadly usually more expensive too). The Pearson cockpit clearly anticipates that everyone aboard is crew, and the winches, traveler, sheets, and halyards are all well placed unless you've brought along a bunch of people who just want to drink a beer while you sail the boat. In that case, you'll be asking them to move constantly. That said, it's usually not hard to find a few friends who aren't sailors but are happy to help sail the boat. Just something to keep in mind.

 

Jason

"Wife wants a boat with more amenities" is a classic boat shopping problem. I think the smaller late 80s (28-2, 31-2, 33-2) Pearsons are actually a great boat to focus on - big enough to go cruising, small enough to handle short-handed easily, and they have a lot of space and amenities down below for their length.

The hard part here is balancing "have wife enjoy sailing" and "not buying things you don't need". I'm actually with your wife that sailing with friends is more fun than sailing alone. But the biggest surprise I had when I got my first boat was how hard it was to get people to go sailing with us. Turns out lots of our friends who were eager to hear about our boat purchase were a lot less eager to get on it and out on the water. All of a sudden people were confessing their fear of seasickness, storms, heeling and capsizing. Those who are game are often quite busy: sailing is quite weather dependent, and so it's not generally something you can plan out weeks in advance, around family birthday parties, vacations, work obligations.

As it is easier to get friends out for day sails than long trips, you may want to focus more on space in the cockpit than down below, and the ease of operating the boat when the cockpit is full. Here's where more modern designs than the late-80s Pearsons are better (they are sadly usually more expensive too). The Pearson cockpit clearly anticipates that everyone aboard is crew, and the winches, traveler, sheets, and halyards are all well placed unless you've brought along a bunch of people who just want to drink a beer while you sail the boat. In that case, you'll be asking them to move constantly. That said, it's usually not hard to find a few friends who aren't sailors but are happy to help sail the boat. Just something to keep in mind.

Excellent point on whether we will actually end up having people with us often or not, and certainly something to consider. As you have mentioned, this is all about trying to coax my wife into spending more time on the boat away from the dock. She enjoys boating, but on our last boat we only ever did day trips or a single night on the hook. I need to do what i can to hopefully get her interested in weekend long trips and then hopefully weeks at a time. Our discussions on the subject of longer cruises so far have centered on her concerns about the interior of the boat and the amenities it has entirely.

I know that i dont want to look at anything much larger than a 32-34, and would be happy with something smaller if it checked the boxes for her. I need to have something that it is reasonable for me to handle myself while we are out, and hopefully only need her help landing.

The problem (and pleasure) when buying a boat, in our experience, is that it is not like a used car, where you can just turn it in, and pick another if you find that you made a mistake on the features that you want. As a result, i am trying to consider everything and make the best choice we can. The Pearson we are looking at just happens to be the boat with the most checks on the need and the want list of the ones that we have looked at so far.

Really appreciate your input, especially knowing you are commenting based on your experience with your boat being of a similar layout and vintage.

Jason

 

Jason - FWIW, the previous owner of my boat gave it up largely because he thought he could get his wife out more if being on the boat was a less 'camping' experience. He got a Beneteau 311 as his next boat. Last I checked with him, it didn't make his wife any more inclined to go sailing, but he was still happy as it was an easier boat to single-hand and bring friends out sailing. These are pricier than the Pearsons as they are newer but not as pricey as other modern designs.

 

So wife loves the layout but you haven't actually been on the boat? Have you seen siatership?

I understand the attraction of two cabins (aft plus vee) if you plan on a second couple as guests. But in the boats I looked at in the low 30s size range, I found the aft cabin confining (aft coffin?). My Cal 33-2 has a large quarter berth with a privacy curtain and two opening ports providing great ventilation. Works well.

 

Jason, I'm in the process of upgrading as well. Was convinced I wanted a Bristol 35.5 but stumbled upon a Pearson 36-2. Showed my wife the photos and once she saw the space below, 2 cabins and large galley, she said "get it, we can have friends for the weekend!" I'm not suggesting you go for a 36 but the moral of the story is, Happy wife, Happy life. Buy the boat, what's the worst that can happen, you end up selling it and losing a few bucks? You can't take it with you. Good luck, and remember, life is a short ride and you never know when your stop is next.

 

Very good advice Jeff. Starting to get excited about the sailing season ahead.

 

This may sound dumb, but think about hanging closet space, how much there is in the design of the boat, and where your Guests are expected to hang their clothes (or put their bags) when they are aboard. Arrange who is providing which meals for the duration of their stay (train your Guest in advance that you’re not a free hotel), and you’re not a free bar either, so ask them if they are bringing wine or whatever for alternate nights stay for all of you. Tell them you are looking forward to them help you sail, so encourage them to bring sailing gloves to protect their hands when they are pulling ropes, or have some spares on board. There is nothing worse as the Owners of a boat than when you realize that some guests think you are a free hotel with free booze and all meals included, and that they won’t be asked to do any work, including hauling up sails or working winches.

 

3-1/2 year old thread