Headroom on Pearson Triton

[CaptainShack]

What's the headroom of a Pearson Triton? I'm currently researching older boats known for being solid blue water capable and rather forgiving to there owners pocket book. I'm kinda tall, about 6'2 and even though I'm looking at boats on the "smaller side" I'd rather not have to resemble a Question mark every time I go below.

Any other information would also be greatly appreciated. "pertaining to the Triton"

[GordMay]

I believe the Triton had 6' headroom, under the trunkhouse.

Some excellent Triton websites:
National Triton Association
Triton One Design Class of San Francisco Bay
New England Triton Association
Pearson Triton Sailboat

[s/v 'Faith']

IMHO,

No discussion of the Triton as a cruising boat is complete without; Atom Voyages | Voyaging Around the World on the Sailboat Atom with James and Mei - Across the Atlantic on Triton Pajaro

contains stories and scenes from over 20 years and two voyages around the world seeking adventure aboard our 28-foot Pearson Triton sailboat, Atom.

[San Juan Sailor]

Check out the Mariner 31's and 32's. 6'4" headroom and won't break the bank.


Mariner Yachts - Home of the Mariner Owners Association

[keelbolts]

I'm 6'-1" & I can stand up on my friend's Triton. If the Triton is on your shortlist you have to go to the Plastic Classic Forum. Just google it. It is owned and Moderated by a fellow who restored a Triton. It's a jewel. Google: Triton Glissando. You can't go wrong with anything designed by Alberg. He learned to design boats when the focus was on how she sailed not on how comfortable she was at anchor. Most modern boats remind me of floating Winnebagos and they sail like one. The Triton is a sailor's boat.

A Mariner might be nice. I've never sailed one, but a buddy had an H28 clone by Far East Yachts. If those plastic Mariners are takeoffs from an H28 they're quite likely to be nice also. Herreshoff was no slouch either...

[Zach]

5 feet 11 inches of headroom on my 1961 Triton. Some of the later models have a fiberglass liner overhead, the early ones like mine do not. Looking up in mine, you see the white painted inner fiberglass skin of the deck. The later models also have a deeper bilge, which makes fitting a water tank under the cabin sole a lot easier. Early models have external ballast bolted on, later ones are encapsulated lead pigs.

I haven't been in one of the later model boats, so don't know if they have more or less headroom.

I'm going to lower the cabin sole two inches as right now I have to walk around barefoot with my knees bent slightly... or I rub a bald spot on the top of my head. The sliding hatch opening does not go far enough forward to let me stand up with my head poking out while preparing dinner, but dropping the sole two inches will allow for that. The lowest step of the companionway ladder is the battery box, moving the battery somewhere else would give a toe kick and almost let you stand under the opening. Almost.

Also, the berths are small for 6 foot plus. My notebook with those measurements is missing in action. I'm refitting the interior to make them a little longer. When I got her, laying down with feet flat against the galley cabinet and head was touching the bulkhead, not really a big deal if you curl up a bit... but tough to stretch out. Knobs on the drawers need to be finger holes.

The stock door frames are a little tight getting through, so I removed the doors and frames. Now the width is 19 1/4 inches wide. When I replace the main bulkhead, I will probably widen that an inch or two, or oval the opening a bit. Mainly wanting to do that to ease carrying my #1 genoa through the opening, sausage bags would help...

The forward hatch on mine (stock) is 17 inches square, not really the easiest thing to get in and out of if you've got wide shoulders. Turn sideways and slither through! A larger aftermarket hatch would make life a lot easier when doing sail changes.

The companionway is 20 inches wide. The opening extends 30 inches forward on the top of the roof.

I am 6'1, to give you an idea of size...
http://img404.imageshack.us/my.php?image=me2pc3.jpg

[GordMay]

Originally Posted by keelbolts

... You can't go wrong with anything designed by Alberg. He learned to design boats when the focus was on how she sailed not on how comfortable she was at anchor ...

Most of Carl Alberg’s boats had a narrow beam, slack bilges, and long overhangs, reminiscent of earlier wood boat designs.
They make for ‘pretty” (to some eyes) boats; but limit interior volume (living space), and slower boats (than others of similar LOA but longer LWL).
The Pearson Triton, designed by Alberg, was one of the first production fiberglass sailboats in the world, and catapulted Pearson to the forefront of boatbuilding in the 1960's.

[CaptainShack]

WOW. Now thats an amazing amount of good information. Thanks Faith for the link to James Baldwin site. I've already gone over every page of his site . Gordmay thanks for the links. I've gone though them many a time.

San Juan Sailor the Mariner 31 is now been added to the short list of boats to research. Thanks for the recommendation. I've just had a quick skim over her and I think shes beautiful. What do you think of interior space? Bunk Space? Is she small and easy to single Handel like a triton, if set up properly? I need to do a little more research. Average price, conditions....

Zach thanks for the picture and the very in depth description. Very helpful. Has sleeping been an issue for you? I know I love to stretch out when I sleep. Whats the engine compartment like on a triton? Is it possible at all to get access. I've read story's of some replacing there inboard and setting up an outboard using the extra space as storage, anyone know anything about that? Thanks for the info! Really appreciate it.

It's late, and I'm in desperate need of sleep. So thank you all once again and goodnight

[CaptainShack]

Oh and Zach your blogs awesome.

[Zach]

Thanks!

Yeah, sleeping room is what caused me to start rebuilding the interior. The main bulkhead is 100% structural, the head and hanging locker bulkheads are semi-structural and aren't tabbed in all the way around. I'm going to be adding quite a few stringers to the stiffen up the boat, as I don't really like removing anything that is "semi-structural."

If you are going solo, you can move the icebox to the starboard side up into the nook the hanging locker bulkhead makes. One big berth, and a sitting area on the other side.

I installed an outboard on mine, because I broke down, sheared a key inside the transmission. Borrowed the outboard, bought a bracket and installed it in the water. Coinjock, NC. Can't really sail out of there it is a ditch, and only had a weekend to get a fix enacted.

I'm not going to reinstall the A4. It is really tight to work on, though I do not have the big access hatch in the cockpit sole that everyone seems to end up installing.

Reverse doesn't really work with the A4. You've got 2-3 seconds of power, then you have to drop to neutral wait a second and do it again or prop walk will take over. The inboard cavitates in a 4-5 foot chop, the outboard lifts clear of the water in a 3-4 foot. The outboard is just about worthless in 4 foot and more, and the A4 is only good for 2 knots or so straight into the wind and waves. In other words... don't get into anything you can't sail out of and have an anchor ready to go.

With the outboard you've got a stern thruster, and it docks like a day sailer... not a 8,400lb boat with a 2 blade prop and barn door rudder. (Spin it around in its own length!)

If you want to go with an outboard, remove the engine and fuel tank/copper exhaust first. Then figure out where the bracket needs to go. You need an adjustable angle bracket, because the transom really slopes, as well as a mounting pad, because the transom isn't flat, it curves. I measured the slope and had a welder build an aluminum "door stop" as my garelick bracket lacked the angle adjustment. Garelicks are really nice brackets, spring loaded! I would not advise going fixed mount, as a long shaft sticks out a couple feet laid back, and the ability to raise the engine way up is nice when waves try to come on board. (Interesting sensation...)

Right now the prop is half out of the water when I lower it down, but I think I'm going to build a new mount to shave some weight off the stern.

My outboard is a 6 horsepower Mercury long shaft 4 stroke. It is a Tohatsu, rebranded. I love the thing, starts on the first or second pull always, and I got 13 miles per gallon (statue) on a windless day down the aligator river.

Here is what Don Moyer has to say about the A4. Moyer Marine is where you get parts for an Atomic Four, carry spares... walking into NAPA about all you will get are spark plugs.
Atomic 4 Fuel Consumption - Moyer Marine Atomic 4 Community

Better fuel economy, lighter weight and the ability to pull the prop clear of the water for better performance under sail... but if you really, really need an engine a little outboard isn't going to get you out of a jam.

[s/v 'Faith']

It sounds like you are really happy with your stern hung outboard.

My boat, the Pearson Ariel (drawn as a little sister to the Triton) has an 'outboard in a well'. It has all the advantages you mention, but the prop does not come out of the water in chop. It also is controllable from the cockpit, without leaning over the stern.

The outboard in a well has much to recommend it. It is kind of like having a steerable saildrive without the maintenance problems.

Some problems folks have with stern hung outboards are; Weight issues (especially on boats with long overhangs), cavitation, difficulty in operation, and the aesthetics. I have sailed an Alberg 30 with a stern hung outboard, and can verify these issues can be a real problem. The Pearson Ariel owners forum recommends against converting inboard equipped boats to stern hung outboards because of the safety problems with reaching over the rail to deal with the outboard.

The outboard in a well has none of these drawbacks, and many boats are convertible.

Here is a link to 'The inside outboard' on James Baldwin's site. Atom Voyages | Outboard motor well for a Taipan 28 sailboat

[San Juan Sailor]

Capt. Shack,
The Mariners feel roomy inside for a boat that size. All bunks are 6'4" min. and could accommodate six people. Beam is 9'9". Easy to single hand although the difference between the Mariner and the Triton is of course the Mariner is a ketch and the Triton is a sloop. One thing to consider is that the cabin roof on the Mariner is split (the reason it has 6'4" headroom) and that makes it difficult to run lines aft so requires one to go to the mast at least to raise and lower the main. Another consideration is that the Mariner only draws 3'8", a very shallow draft for a boat that size and a big advantage in a lot of places. I would suggest you find some of both, and other designs as well for sale and look at them and get a feel for what they're like.

[Zach]

Faith,

Yup, I'm pleased with the outboard. Though if I had an inboard diesel my tune would probably change... In the mean time I'm building Pylasteki for low operating costs.

An outboard on the transom for sure isn't the best solution, and an ugly one at that...

Zach

[CaptainShack]

San Juan Sailor
I really like the look over her, and the over all setup. Sounds almost perfect. I did a little snooping around looking at Mariner 31's and the average price on the few "I found 4" was about 28-35k. Anyone got any good sites for looking/pricing boats. Whats the average price of a good condition Mariner 31-32. Good condition meaning the only work she needs is cosmetic.

[keelbolts]

I feel like we've wandered off the subject, but while we're here, I like my OB as well. My controls are in the cockpit like an IB engine so there's no dangling over the transom trying to operate it. When I got my plastic boat, I decided to eliminate as much complexity, from my life afloat, as possible. With the OB there are no through hulls deal with, no stuffing box to repack, no alignment issues, no standing on my head trying to work on my engine, no $100 an hour to get somebody to fix what I can't, and my prop is always clean. A friend couldn't believe I was using an OB voluntarily, and insisted on giving me a small Yanmar. I got a free diesel & I don't need the trouble. No thanks, I like my OB.

...oh yeah, and I took almost 300 pounds out of my boat.