# Pearson 36



## miatapaul (Dec 15, 2006)

I am considering looking at a Pearson 36. The boat is a 1975, but at least in the photos looks very clean, looks very original but well maintained. I know it is IOR influenced, but how do you think it would be in light air? I am planning on living aboard and sailing cruising coastal and Hudson River for now. I want something that will be comfortable and good in light air as the Hudson tends to have fluky winds. I want also to have a lot of confidence if I run into a storm. 

Anything to look for on these? I understand the 365 would likely be more to my needs, but this particular boat keeps coming up on my searches. I understand Pearson has a good rep for build quality and making fairly quick boats, though I don't imagine I will be racing. Will be short handing a lot though.


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## SloopJonB (Jun 6, 2011)

Never sailed one but I've always thought that was one of the best looking boats that Shaw drew for Pearson. That low cabin top looks very good and is so low you would virtually have a flush deck for all practical purposes.


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## Faster (Sep 13, 2005)

Like this one?

1975 Pearson 36 Sail Boat For Sale - www.yachtworld.com

A couple of things we didn't like about this vintage of Pearsons was the binnacle-fwd-against-the-bridgedeck setup, and the what looked like arborite bulkhead faux woodgrain finish.

She seems to have a fairly heavy IOR 'bustle' and a largish skeg - the latter will help tracking but slow tacking and perhaps adversely affect reversing under power. Cleaned up, though, like SJB said, pretty boat!


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## miatapaul (Dec 15, 2006)

Faster said:


> Like this one?
> 
> 1975 Pearson 36 Sail Boat For Sale - www.yachtworld.com
> 
> ...


I agree the interior is very fake wood covered. I would prefer the real wood, but I don't think it is a deal killer if I like the boat otherwise. the binnacle location is not ideal either, but as I keep coming back to the ad. The boat is very beautiful, and if as good in person as in pictures (rare I know) it might not be a bad boat.


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## SloopJonB (Jun 6, 2011)

The binnacle forward is awkward for going below but would be wonderful for winter sailing behind a dodger. 

The wood grain Arborite can be painted easily. I have sometimes wondered what it would look like if it was varnished by hand. The imperfect finish of varnish might well disguise the "perfection" of the surface that makes it look so fake. I find the flawless factory varnish on new boats is virtually indistinguishable from Arborite.

Guess I should get a piece and try it.


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## chef2sail (Nov 27, 2007)

Definately worth looking at. Good luck


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## CalypsoP35 (Jul 24, 2006)

The 36 has a lot of similarities with my P-35. I actually like having the wheel at the front of the cockpit. It makes it easy to single hand as you have easy access to jib sheets and winches, and you can avoid a lot nasty spray and weather by ducking behind the dodger. One downside is that there is no seat at wheel. Many owners have built seats behind the wheel. I'm thinking about doing it but it's not high on my list of upgrades.

I'm not sure I would like having the traveler in front of the wheel. Mine is at the rear of the cockpit, but at least it frees up room at the back of the cockpit.

The PO of my boat painted all the formica faux wood white and replace all the cabinet doors and draw faces with varnished wood. He did a nice job with it.

As for light air sailing, I would guess it is not very good. The older Pearsons tend to be good heavy air boats, and not so good in light air.

Good luck!


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## Mobnets (Apr 24, 2011)

I tried varnishing all the fake wood laminate surfaces on my previous boat (Paceship PY23) after a (very) light hand sanding with very fine grit sandpaper. It improved the look/feel somewhat but still left a lot to be desired. I believe I used a satin varnish. Perhaps gloss would yield better results.

Mobnets
1973 Paceship Chance 32/28 "Westwind"


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## GeorgeB (Dec 30, 2004)

MiataPaul,
The yachtworld boat has an owner installed wheel helm. As you do your research further, you will find that these were tiller boats when new. As this boat is in Washington and you are in New York, do you have a link to the photos of the boat that you’re interested in? Transport costs would add $15k to the $27k purchased price of the boat, making it a little “spendy”. From the “for what it’s worth department, that particular boat was a frequent participant in the Swiftsure Race.


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## miatapaul (Dec 15, 2006)

GeorgeB said:


> MiataPaul,
> The yachtworld boat has an owner installed wheel helm. As you do your research further, you will find that these were tiller boats when new. As this boat is in Washington and you are in New York, do you have a link to the photos of the boat that you're interested in? Transport costs would add $15k to the $27k purchased price of the boat, making it a little "spendy". From the "for what it's worth department, that particular boat was a frequent participant in the Swiftsure Race.


1975 Pearson Pearson 36 sailboat for sale in New York

I would prefer a tiller, but this one is wheel. One of the things I like about it is the "newer" Yanmar.

The vintage picture on sailboatdata looks to have the wheel further back, but all the photos I have seen of the actual boats have them forward.

PEARSON 36 sailboat specifications and details on sailboatdata.com

I have not seen any photos of a tiller steered one, wonder how much work it would be to revert back?


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## Faster (Sep 13, 2005)

I see in his bio that Bill Shaw worked with S&S for a time... that sure shows with this boat. Paul that's a much prettier example than the listing in WA state. Very clean looking.

The only thing that gives pause is the statement in the listing 'sold as is where is'... standard CYA brokerspeak? or something more ominous?


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## SloopJonB (Jun 6, 2011)

CalypsoP35 said:


> As for light air sailing, I would guess it is not very good. The older Pearsons tend to be good heavy air boats, and not so good in light air. Good luck!


I wouldn't assume that without sailing it. Its Sa/D is 17 and D/L is low 200's - very typical of IOR One Tonners. The One Tonners around here are still fast boats and our air is about as light as it gets.


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## miatapaul (Dec 15, 2006)

Faster said:


> I see in his bio that Bill Shaw worked with S&S for a time... that sure shows with this boat. Paul that's a much prettier example than the listing in WA state. Very clean looking.
> 
> The only thing that gives pause is the statement in the listing 'sold as is where is'... standard CYA brokerspeak? or something more ominous?


Yea, it is being represented by a non traditional broker, really more of an internet marketing firm, and they post the listings on Craig's list and Sailboat listings. They put that language in all of there listings. I don't know how much of a cut they take because I don't think they have a physical office and don't seem to be traditional licensed brokers. I have called on a few other listings, and they had already sold. So they do seem to be moving some boats. But they have some that are very over priced. I know this one started off last fall at least 10,000 more than it is listed for now.


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## GeorgeB (Dec 30, 2004)

MiataPaul,
Thanks for the additional info. The Anacortes boat had a little bit of the “ol war dog” look to it and I couldn’t quite see the attraction (other than all of those Swiftsure plaques!). Curious about that wheel helm location as both your target boat and the Anacortes one have it in the same location. But, note that the accompanying photo with the line drawing has it aft in the more traditional location. I know that the 70’s versions of the Catalina 30 came either tiller or wheel from the builder and many tiller boats were later retrofitted. Pearson could have been in the same boat.

When you look at the boat, do a bit of crawling (as I’m sure you will) in the aft end and really look at the steering cables and gear. There must be some cogent reason on why the wheel is where it is and I’m interested in learning your thoughts. The “war dog” had some interesting pictures and my, how far the building standards have come since then. Again, really look over the Stb lazarette as the “war dog” had some funkiness in both the electrical and plumbing systems. I would consider on reworking that hatch to make it really water tight as there is a lot of important stuff down there and it is also opened to the bottom of the boat.

As you know the three rules of older boat buying is “condition, condition, condition”. The interior and cockpit layout isn’t my particular cup of tea, but I’m not buying the boat. As the build standards were different back then, you might be spending some money modernizing a bit like replacing the fuse panel with circuit breakers or even moving the panel away from the companionway and galley. But again, we all have a mountain of personal upgrades we want to do on our own boats. Good luck on your quest and enjoy the process!


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## JimsCAL (May 23, 2007)

A friend had one of these for a number of years. Actually a pretty good sailing boat and really doesn't have the bad handling of many IOR race boats of that era. It is very similar in design to the smaller P30 and 10M Pearson built in the 70s, both known as pretty good sailing boats. The interior is not the most attractive, but very usable.


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## patrscoe (May 9, 2011)

Our past sailboat was a P35 which had the wheel towards the front of the cockpit. It did take up some of the space within the cockpit but it made it very easy to single hand; both mainsheet and geona sheet was within hand reach. I saw that someone moved the wheel back with some modifications but not sure if that makes any sense and if I was not happy with the wheel location, a tiller would be a better choice. 

While looking for a different sailboat about two years ago, I ran across a few Pearson 36s. I like the 36 and especially the hint of the S&S. This sailboat looks very clean and for $24k, it appears to be a fair price based on it's age. The interior, like most older (70's) Pearsons, lack solid teak and trim. 

We end up settling on a S2 36' but would have been happy with a clean early 80's Pearson 36, cutter or sloop.

Good luck.


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## hellosailor (Apr 11, 2006)

paul, I don't think Pearson ever was known as a light air boat, any of them. Well made, solidly made, but not so much "light air". On the Hudson, between ducking traffic, and the tidal flows, and all the twisty parts, I'm not sure that would matter since you may wind up lighting the engine more often than not.

I haven't sailed north of the TZB, but I've seen the river and the river traffic many times in many places. A real light air boat...something like a retired J/boat would fill that role better.

And for a liveaboard, the P36 might be too much cockpit, too little cabin for you. Or coming up from a smaller boat, that might not matter. Nice that they put the wheel up by the traveler to make shorthanding easier though.


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## miatapaul (Dec 15, 2006)

hellosailor said:


> paul, I don't think Pearson ever was known as a light air boat, any of them. Well made, solidly made, but not so much "light air". On the Hudson, between ducking traffic, and the tidal flows, and all the twisty parts, I'm not sure that would matter since you may wind up lighting the engine more often than not.
> 
> I haven't sailed north of the TZB, but I've seen the river and the river traffic many times in many places. A real light air boat...something like a retired J/boat would fill that role better.
> 
> And for a liveaboard, the P36 might be too much cockpit, too little cabin for you. Or coming up from a smaller boat, that might not matter. Nice that they put the wheel up by the traveler to make shorthanding easier though.


Yea, I am willing to have cramped living quarters to have better sailing. I don't plan on being at the dock only, and I have pretty limited needs. I had been looking at 30-33 footers mostly. Just north of the Tappan Zee it gets really wide at the Haverstaraw bay (about 3.5 miles wide by 8 miles long) and then wider again up in the Newburgh just north of West Point, Newburgh is where I likely will be living during the summer. There is a lot of fun weekend cruising destinations between Kingston and NYC.

Not sure I would want to live on any J Boat I could afford! The more cruising versions are pretty nice (yet pricy) but the more racing oriented ones can be pretty bare bones. By the time they make it to my price range they are pretty beat up, at least the ones I have seen.


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## mother goose (Feb 1, 2013)

I had a Pearson 36 for 5 years. Raced and cruised it extensively. A wonderful boat. It had a custom tall rig due to light airs here in Puget sound. Was boat of the year in PHRF racing and carried an "X" rating due to the tall mast.We raced the boat on 15 Swiftsure races to the open ocean. 

Two can handle it easily for cruising. With modern sails it could outpoint most boats of the era. Even today it can outperform its PHRF handicap with good sails. You should note it has a very thick lifting foil keel. No problem backing. Only slightly larger turning radius than a spade rudder boat. 
Carried a spinnaker well but did broach a few times in 25-35 kts. I sold the boat some time ago. The current owner did needed work such as: rebonding all the bulkheads, new sails, roller furling, new Kubota 25 engine, new fuel tank, new through hull valves and hoses. He also rewired the AC and DC systems. All these things were needed due to the age and wear factors. The original gel coat (turquoise) has held up well.

Check that the boat has a really good anti siphon loop for the engine as it is below the water line. Get rid of any old umbrella style exhaust muffler(an engine killer).

The interior finish is really low maintenance....if you like. The formica material can be enhanced with an oil polish such as "Liquid Gold" 

Best of luck


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## diz (Nov 14, 2011)

I have one of these, hull 45. 

Though it's not a light air machine, it's a good sailing boat in anything above 5 knots or so. Give it 10 or more, and it'll keep up with most any displacement boat with a similar waterline. 

It handles well in a blow. The forward wheel is odd at first, but it works well there. I actually had to cut out the rotten core from the cockpit sole and have that built up again, so when I had a fresh cockpit sole with no holes, I experimented with moving the pedestal aft. But the boat is so narrow at the aft end of the cockpit that it doesn't really work there. And it's not bad where it is if you have an autopilot, or when you are sailing and sitting on the rail holding the wheel. When not sailing and hand steering, I use the autopilot exclusively, and tend to sit facing forward at the aft end of the cockpit to keep watch. 

I've made and filled a lot of holes. The hull is certainly solid. The decks are cored w/ balsa, and carry the normal risks there. We repowered the boat, did a bunch of primary electrical work, replaced the plumbing, replaced some through-hulls, etc. 

If you want pictures and some of the projects I've done to help you figure out what you might be getting into, that info is up on a little website. There's also an incomplete owners list there; maybe someone in your area owns one and would take you for a sail. 

I can't post a link, but if you point your browser to 

pearson36.net

You should find that site.

Anything I can do, let me know.


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## miatapaul (Dec 15, 2006)

Thanks the web site looks really good.



diz said:


> I have one of these, hull 45.
> 
> Though it's not a light air machine, it's a good sailing boat in anything above 5 knots or so. Give it 10 or more, and it'll keep up with most any displacement boat with a similar waterline.
> 
> ...


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## jamesorr (Feb 3, 2013)

I have a '79 365 ketch and we love it. The mizzen mast is a bit of a pain to walk around but otherwise it's a nice roomy cockpit with great storage. Ours sails very well and if done right can be pretty speedy.


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## SloopJonB (Jun 6, 2011)

jamesorr said:


> I have a '79 365 ketch and we love it. The mizzen mast is a bit of a pain to walk around but otherwise it's a nice roomy cockpit with great storage. Ours sails very well and if done right can be pretty speedy.


Completely different boat. The designer & builder are the same but any similarity ends there.


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## miatapaul (Dec 15, 2006)

SloopJonB said:


> Completely different boat. The designer & builder are the same but any similarity ends there.


different but also quite nice, if I could find one in my price range (not set yet, but looking to be under 30,000) I would snatch it but likely to need a lot of work.


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## hellosailor (Apr 11, 2006)

If I'm remembering them correctly, the P36 is a nice boat for sailing. Where the P365 is targeted a little more towards the folks who might want to squeeze a very small billiards table in the salon. Nice, just targeted to different purposes.

In port or living aboard, wide spaces are nice. At sea in rough wx, wide spaces just mean a better chance of getting thrown further and landing harder with less to grab onto.

Horses for courses.


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## kwaltersmi (Aug 14, 2006)

And then there's the Pearson 36-2, a deep draft (6'6") fin keeler that was one of the last Pearson models in production and said to sail great. I can't vouch for the sailing characteristics, but the cabin has excellent space/design for cruising.


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## miatapaul (Dec 15, 2006)

kwaltersmi said:


> And then there's the Pearson 36-2, a deep draft (6'6") fin keeler that was one of the last Pearson models in production and said to sail great. I can't vouch for the sailing characteristics, but the cabin has excellent space/design for cruising.


Yea, it is my understanding that the 36-2 and 37-2 (aka the condo boat with built in TV and Microwave) and the 38 (added sugar scoop) are all based on the same Hull. I do like the idea layout of the 36-2 but have not seen one in person. I am kind of going crazy now, as I am getting revved up for the purchase. I just bought a house and am getting the family moved into that and I get to move out as soon as they are settled. Long story, but looks like May is when I want to be able to splash.


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## Faster (Sep 13, 2005)

The 36-2 is a BIG boat... good cockpit, roomy decent layout..another VERY different boat from the P36. We have one in our club, quite like it.


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## kwaltersmi (Aug 14, 2006)

Faster said:


> The 36-2 is a BIG boat... good cockpit, roomy decent layout..another VERY different boat from the P36. We have one in our club, quite like it.


I agree Faster. We've looked at 2 separate 36-2's recently and think they'd make an excellent cruiser for our growing family. I'm tempted...


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## miatapaul (Dec 15, 2006)

kwaltersmi said:


> I agree Faster. We've looked at 2 separate 36-2's recently and think they'd make an excellent cruiser for our growing family. I'm tempted...


I would be tempted, but we just closed on a house last week so funds are limited. I want out on the water, and think this looks to be a good boat.


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## SloopJonB (Jun 6, 2011)

miatapaul said:


> I would be tempted, but we just closed on a house last week so funds are limited. I want out on the water, and think this looks to be a good boat.


You're buying a house AND a 36 footer at the same time? 

Life is good.


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## miatapaul (Dec 15, 2006)

SloopJonB said:


> You're buying a house AND a 36 footer at the same time?
> 
> Life is good.


Yea, it is kind of complicated, the house is for the kids (and wife) while the boat will be for me. House was a deal, and cheaper than rent, and will hopefully have some value when the wife buys me out, or we sell.

But that does limit the funds I have to spend.


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