Pearsons: 424 vs 422

[Bill O]

Here's an old Jack Tyler link to Whoosh. They sailed their 424 all over the place and seemed like a very capable boat.

[Svsumurun]

We have the little sister to the 424 , a 365 ketch ( basically the same just shorter) and agree with peregrine ( who I owe pictures to of my davits.. sorry I forgot) . Solid hull, the big empty bilge in the back just means it has to be blocked right if out of the water. Bill Shaw famously said when he designed these boats to be the perfect boat for him ( or something close to that )
And the cockpit size is crazy big for the size of the boat , which is great for stretching out !

As far as the deck , just find a good maintained one, and low moisture readings. Our heater chimney goes through one of the solid ribs and they kept the plug in the boat - it's crazy - a solid 2 inches of solid glass...

[DeValency]

Originally Posted by Stewie12

sounds like the 424is an ideal live aboard

‘Ideal’ is a relative term of course. For the OP and probably within the targeted budget it is the best they can get out of the known boats out there.
424 and 422 are in fact similar from the live aboard point of view.

[skipmac]

Have owned a 422 for 11 years and spent seven years doing a pretty complete overhaul. Have met several other owners and toured several 422s and 424 plus was active on the respective forums so think I can offer some insight.

First, the hulls are identical, at least from the outside. The big difference is the center cockpit 422 vs aft cockpit 424. They can rigged as sloops, cutters, slutters and ketches. Slutter being a sloop with the added staysail vs a true cutter where the mast is moved farther aft.

On my boat the hull is balas cored from the water line down, solid glass above. I did a peal and seal on the hull and could see the balsa core quite clearly once the gel coat was shaved off and it was bone dry. Verified by two, high end moisture meters and a core sample. Pearson left out the balsa and made a large solid glass area everywhere they installed a through hull. As far as I know all the hulls were built the same way.

Deck is also balsa core and unless the PO took GREAT care of it, you will find some wet spots: around the stanchion bases especially where the gates are and people used the stanchions for hand holds, chainplates. The worst spot for me was around the bolts mounting the manual bilge pump under the floor of the cockpit but none were too extensive and all easily fixed by opening up, taking out a bit of wet and filling with thickened epoxy.

Pinhole leaks are sometimes found in the diesel tanks. 422 the tanks are under the settees in the main cabin and easily removed for repair or replacement. 424 tanks are behind the engine and you have to pull the engine or cut the tanks out. 424 the engine is mounted slightly farther aft and access to belts, pumps, etc is a bit more problematic. 422 the engine is under the cockpit with a door to the engine room in the aft cabin giving great access to the front of the engine. Yes front of the engine because they all have a v-drive with the engine mounted facing aft.

The 422 water tank is installed in the bilge sump area. Not sure where they put it in the 424.

That covers a few of the main differences. Feel free to contact me if you have further questions.

[mlydon]

I was shopping for 424 's before i bought my current boat - really liked the layout, particularly the full pullman bes in tje captains quarters, and secondary companionway amidships - perfect for privacy when you have guests onboard.

Matt

[Dpackie]

Originally Posted by skipmac

Have owned a 422 for 11 years and spent seven years doing a pretty complete overhaul. Have met several other owners and toured several 422s and 424 plus was active on the respective forums so think I can offer some insight.

First, the hulls are identical, at least from the outside. The big difference is the center cockpit 422 vs aft cockpit 424. They can rigged as sloops, cutters, slutters and ketches. Slutter being a sloop with the added staysail vs a true cutter where the mast is moved farther aft.

On my boat the hull is balas cored from the water line down, solid glass above. I did a peal and seal on the hull and could see the balsa core quite clearly once the gel coat was shaved off and it was bone dry. Verified by two, high end moisture meters and a core sample. Pearson left out the balsa and made a large solid glass area everywhere they installed a through hull. As far as I know all the hulls were built the same way.

Deck is also balsa core and unless the PO took GREAT care of it, you will find some wet spots: around the stanchion bases especially where the gates are and people used the stanchions for hand holds, chainplates. The worst spot for me was around the bolts mounting the manual bilge pump under the floor of the cockpit but none were too extensive and all easily fixed by opening up, taking out a bit of wet and filling with thickened epoxy.

Pinhole leaks are sometimes found in the diesel tanks. 422 the tanks are under the settees in the main cabin and easily removed for repair or replacement. 424 tanks are behind the engine and you have to pull the engine or cut the tanks out. 424 the engine is mounted slightly farther aft and access to belts, pumps, etc is a bit more problematic. 422 the engine is under the cockpit with a door to the engine room in the aft cabin giving great access to the front of the engine. Yes front of the engine because they all have a v-drive with the engine mounted facing aft.

The 422 water tank is installed in the bilge sump area. Not sure where they put it in the 424.

That covers a few of the main differences. Feel free to contact me if you have further questions.

$ response. Thanks to all.

[Dpackie]

Originally Posted by mlydon

I was shopping for 424 's before i bought my current boat - really liked the layout, particularly the full pullman bes in tje captains quarters, and secondary companionway amidships - perfect for privacy when you have guests onboard.

Matt

Just out of curiosity, what did you end up with?

[RickG]

A cruising friend has a 424. His biggest challenge is parts for the Westerbeke 60. He had to have an exhaust manifold custom made. It is a good sailor is very livable. We fit 8 in the cockpit.

Cheers, RickG

[skipmac]

Originally Posted by RickG

A cruising friend has a 424. His biggest challenge is parts for the Westerbeke 60. He had to have an exhaust manifold custom made. It is a good sailor is very livable. We fit 8 in the cockpit.

Cheers, RickG

I was able to confirm my W58 is (almost) identical to the Perkins 4.154 so that opened a whole new source for more and cheaper parts. The only exception I've found so far is the starter and some of the raw water cooling system.

I think most common parts for the older Westerbekes can be found, they're just stupid expensive.