bluewater

[judgeharper]

Does anyone know about bluewater capabilities of the Pearson 35 Keel/centerboarder?

[Stede]

Hi JH,

I cruised with a couple on a Pearson 35 centerboarder down in the Florida Keys one time,while I was sailing my 26 footer. The boat struck me as being well built when I was invited aboard to take a look at her, but that's the only experience I've had with one.There is a very good website that has some unbiased information on bluewater boats that I like to refer to.It does have the Pearson 35 listed as a bluewater capable boat, but it doesn't specify whether they are referring to a fixed keel, or keel/centerboard. I would assume the build quality would be the same for both, with the centerboard maybe giving up a little more leeway. I've included a link to the site I mentioned. Good luck!

http://www.mahina.com/cruise.html

[Jeff H]

When I think of the attributes that make a desirable offshore boat, I usually think of a low vertical center of gravity, long waterline to overall length, an easy to depower sailplan or a sail plan that offers a lot of easy sail combination options,a small cockpit with large drains, minimal opportunities for downflooding, small, heavily constructed portlights, an interior with the major functions gathered near the center of buoyancy, or just aft of C of B including seaberths for half of the crew, narrow walking passages with lots of handholds, ample storage and tankage, easily accessed systems, robust engineering, etc.

Assuming that you are asking about the late 1960's through early 1980's Bill Shaw designed Pearson 35, while there is a lot to commend these boats as coastal cruisers, Very few if any of the items above would be true of the Pearson 35. Don't get me wrong, these are nice boats for a whole lot of things, they just are not very ideal as offshore boats and most are now approaching 20 to 30 years old and would need to be refit if they haven't been already.

Jeff

[bobola]

Jeff, your thoughts , please, on the older racer/cruiser Tartan 41'

I have recently read a few articles about the boat, the authors had great things to say about them, but the tankage seems a bit slim.

[BC Mike]

I liked the tone of the Mahina site. What the guy had to say was basic stuff that made sense to me. Was pleased that he included the Cascade 36 and 42. They are from the Portland Oregon area. The 36 is not a lot of $$ and has been all the way around with good reviews. They are an older design but can manage 150 mile days, they stay together and did I mention they don't cost a lot. I will also look at the specs of the Ericson 29 and the Morgan 30 to see how they compare to our Tanzer 8.5. I noticed the list did not include any C&C boats. If someone knows the quick way to get info on the two boats I mentioned I would appreciate it. BC Mike C