Pearson 40 for first boat? Thoughts?

[vicpr25]

Hi All,

I've been searching around for boats and I found this one and put a deposit for it (I got a few days before closing). For what I read, these are very capable boats and fiberglass work is top notch. Not too big inside for a 40, but if it safer and more performance, its something I can live with..

I went to see the boat, it has the original standing rigging, but looks in decent shape (definitely needs to be checked out in the future, im not a rigger) and running rigging is dirty, needs cleaning or replacing. No soft spots on the the deck or spider cracks. The boat is in the hard, I didn't noticed anything with the hull, no blisters or anything. Needs sanding and new paint. We connected a hose to the engine, de-winterized it, ran it, switch to reverse, turned off, turned on the first try and we then winterized it again. Now the boat is barebones, no A/C, Dodger or Bimini, or fancy stuff, it does have a water heater, but don't know of the condition. It has a max prop and tiger rope cutter. I believe it has the original rudder, not the Mark II.

The only bad thing I could find was in the inside. It seems it has a leak, either through the compression post or the hatch, and that got all the cabin top core rotted and the headliner is pealed off and hanging. I don't think that is a major work to fix. It definitely doesn't look structural, is more cosmetic.

Now, I have a little bit of experience in sailing, I participated this season in races as a foredeck. Next season I want to sail on my own. I know this seems a very big boat to learn with, but I got a feeling that for the price and for the boat of this caliber, is a deal I should not let pass by.

Any thoughts? Am I crazy or let's call it adventurous?

If you guys want to take a look at the boat ad, THIS IS THE BOAT.

PS: got it for less that the asking price in the ad..

[Benz]

Rotted core is a major red flag and potentially a big and expensive deal. I'm not sure how you think it isn't structural: any cored portion is structural, in some way, and rot travels from areas that may not be a huge deal to areas that are.
Anything cosmetic is NBD, but I'd get a surveyor or boatbuilder out there to look at the water intrusion and advise you better.

[vicpr25]

Originally Posted by Benz

Rotted core is a major red flag and potentially a big and expensive deal. I'm not sure how you think it isn't structural: any cored portion is structural, in some way, and rot travels from areas that may not be a huge deal to areas that are.
Anything cosmetic is NBD, but I'd get a surveyor or boatbuilder out there to look at the water intrusion and advise you better.

I did a little bit of research and I found this post on how they fixed their headliner.

https://www.hiflite.org/headliner.htm

It seems what got rotted is the wood between the fiberglass and the headliner, removing it would look like this:



That's why I said it was not structural, on the deck it seems the wood is not rotted, or any soft spot I could feel.

[Bowdrie]

Originally Posted by vicpr25

The only bad thing I could find was in the inside. It seems it has a leak, either through the compression post or the hatch, and that got all the cabin top core rotted and the headliner is pealed off and hanging. I don't think that is a major work to fix. It definitely doesn't look structural, is more cosmetic.

Is the "compression post" actually a guide tube for the cable that raises the centerboard?
If the core of the overhead does have rot, then that can be major/structural depending upon the area affected.
Looks like a boat you can have fun with, and it doesn't appear to have been owned by any hard-core racers.
Classic interior arraignment for seagoing.

[vicpr25]

Originally Posted by Bowdrie

Is the "compression post" actually a guide tube for the cable that raises the centerboard?
If the core of the overhead does have rot, then that can be major/structural depending upon the area affected.
Looks like a boat you can have fun with, and it doesn't appear to have been owned by any hard-core racers.
Classic interior arraignment for seagoing.

Yes, I believe it is the guide for the cable that raises the centerboard. That was what I was told.

[vicpr25]

I believe these are the "core" or wood that got rotted behind the headliner:



These pictures are from a restoration of a Person 424..

(https://www.hiflite.org/headliner.htm)

[sailorboy1]

I think there is nothing wrong with a Pearson 40 as first boat. I would disagree with thinking it is some kind of hardcore built boat etc. etc. and just think of is as what it is. An old 40' boat that has/has had coring problems and will most likely have more plus lots of other things, but is only $16k

[psk125]

The flush-deck Pearson 40 is a cool boat. The headroom is amazing, even in the forward cabin. Possible issues: the v-drive transmission can be tricky to fix, and they can be squirrelly dead downwind under spinnaker. The lack of opening ports may also make it a bit stuffy down below.

[Kettlewell]

They are fun boats to sail, and quite a bit faster than many cruising boats. As noted above they need to be steered constantly downwind--not a boat where you can let go of the wheel. They were designed for crewed racing back in the day. https://sailboatdata.com/sailboat/pearson-40/

[Cloroxbottle]

If you haven't concluded the sale, reconsider.


An aft cockpit 40 foot boat is - in my opinion - far too large for a first boat. You are approaching boat sizes that are the limit of reasonable doublehanding with an experienced crew.


A Pearson Triton or 365 would be a much better first keel boat choice.

[sailorboy1]

Originally Posted by Cloroxbottle

If you haven't concluded the sale, reconsider.


An aft cockpit 40 foot boat is - in my opinion - far too large for a first boat. You are approaching boat sizes that are the limit of reasonable doublehanding with an experienced crew.


A Pearson Triton or 365 would be a much better first keel boat choice.

I feel this is just laughable. You feel a 40' is past handling ability, but a 36' isn't. That, IMO, is just silly.

[cram]

Did you get a survey?

[Ixium]

Originally Posted by sailorboy1

I feel this is just laughable. You feel a 40' is past handling ability, but a 36' isn't. That, IMO, is just silly.

Well yeah, the magic of seeing the first number a 4 makes them impossible to learn on.

Luckily I just squeaked in after buying my boat this year with 0 experience at all. It’s 39ft… but that isn’t including the bow pulpit… or the 2ft swim platform on the back…

[Kettlewell]

One interesting problem with that big centerboard is you need a very high Travelift to be able to drop the board and properly clean and paint it, or a boatyard that has a trench for such a process. You can't block up the boat high enough to get at the board. We had some friends who owned one in South Carolina and fouling on the board and in the slot was a problem.

[Cloroxbottle]

Originally Posted by sailorboy1

I feel this is just laughable. You feel a 40' is past handling ability, but a 36' isn't. That, IMO, is just silly.

The issue isn't the four feet.

The issue is that the displacement of a Pearson 40 is 22,800 vs that of a Pearson 30 at 13,500.

The sail area of a Pearson 40 is 800 sq feet vs 550 in the Pearson 35.

In every measurable respect, the 40 is a much bigger vessel than the simple math problem 40-35 would indicate.

The Triton with a displacement of 6,900 and sail area of 370 sq feet would be the best first boat of the three, but if there's a second person living aboard that might just be too small a boat to get approval from both.

People do all sorts of things, wise or unwise. If the prospective purchaser just plans on buying it, parking it, and living on it, the 40 would be fine. If they want to get off the dock regularly and become better sailors, the two smaller choices are better. It's not that the Pearson 40 is a bad boat - it's not - it's just not a right *first* keelboat.