# Pearson 35 for carribean island cruising



## sailforlife (Sep 14, 2016)

Hello everyone I am looking at a Pearson 35 to purchase. The boat is loaded and in great condition ready to sail. My question is does anyone here own one and can provide feedback. Also is this a safe boat to travel the coast of the USA and Island hop the caribbean. I am concern with the boat under ruff seas and conditions. One last thing apparently it has an encapsulated keel. Feedback on that would also be appreciated. All feedback appreciated , thank you in advance.


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## sailforlife (Sep 14, 2016)

What are good electronics to have gps radar etc if going on a long journey island hopping ?


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## krisscross (Feb 22, 2013)

Pearson 35 is a good boat for this kind of sailing. Shallow draft, strong construction, good size. I would add chart plotter to your list. A decent one will set you back 4-5 grand.


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## midwesterner (Dec 14, 2015)

You didn't say what year it is. Apparently there were a couple different versions that were called the Pearson 35. 
SailboatData.com says it has a centerboard?

Have you read these reviews?:

https://www.spinsheet.com/resources1/used-boat-reviews

http://bluewaterboats.org/pearson-35/


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## sailforlife (Sep 14, 2016)

To be honest I have done some research on the boat and for what I intend to do for now it should be suitable. The main problem I have with it is that is a centerboard. The idea of getting capsized in bad seas and having to step on the centerboard to get the boat upright again is not pleasant at al. I think it would prob be more comfortable to have a keel and the boat making itself upright.


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## JimsCAL (May 23, 2007)

sailforlife said:


> To be honest I have done some research on the boat and for what I intend to do for now it should be suitable. The main problem I have with it is that is a centerboard. The idea of getting capsized in bad seas and having to step on the centerboard to get the boat upright again is not pleasant at al. I think it would prob be more comfortable to have a keel and the boat making itself upright.


This is NOT a dinghy!!! It is a keel/centerboard cruising boat with plenty of fixed ballast. Basically a shoal keel with the ability to increase draft (when going upwind to point better) or decrease draft (when entering shallow harbors or reduce drag when off the wind). Main disadvantage is there is some additional maintenance involved in the board the mechanism for raising the board.


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## Tanski (May 28, 2015)

The thing you should be more worried about is a complete lack of skills and experience. Just about any boat will do what you want, It's not hardcore offshore sailing, if the owner is capable is another story entirely. Don't rely on the boat to make up for a lack of sailing skills, you will end up as a statistic this way.
There is a lot more to doing this safely than just knowing which line to pull to make the boat go. Courses will give you the basics, experience will give you the rest.


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## zedboy (Jul 14, 2010)

sailforlife said:


> The idea of getting capsized in bad seas and having to step on the centerboard to get the boat upright again is not pleasant at all.


You do realize you are talking about a boat which weighs 6.5 tons empty, with nearly 3 tons of that being ballast?


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## midwesterner (Dec 14, 2015)

sailforlife said:


> ...The main problem I have with it is that is a centerboard. The idea of getting capsized in bad seas and having to step on the centerboard to get the boat upright again is not pleasant at al....


With this comment, people are left wondering if you are just pulling our leg or just really ill-informed. As was mentioned above, this is a 6.5 ton boat. Even if you weighed 300 lb you would have little impact standing on the centerboard. This is a technique used for righting small sailing dinghies weighing in the hundreds of pounds.

You could stand to do a lot more research before you can even begin to choose a boat.

You might want to read the book:
Fastnet Force Ten: The Deadliest Storm in the History of Modern Sailing.

That book describes what they learned about how to deal with knockdowns of large boats.

Tania Aebi's book, Maiden Voyage, is interesting for how she was so poorly prepared to embark on her round-the-world trip and how she got lucky and learned along the way.

Stuart Woods book, Bluewater, Green Skipper, is informative in its discussion of his rather long process of learning to sail and preparing for a race across the Atlantic.

Joshua Slocum's book, Sailing Alone Around the World, is interesting, as he was the first.

James Nalepka & Steven Callahan's book, 
Capsized: The True Story of Four Men Adrift for 119 Days, is interesting in that it tells the story of how four men survived in a capsized but still buoyant tri-maran. (Also a movie on Netflix or Amazon).

This is how some of us have prepared,.... and by taking lessons and sailing.


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## sailforlife (Sep 14, 2016)

Yea, I have lots to learn my apologies for my ignorance. Thank you for the tender response on the matter. Regardless is a keel vs centerboard sailboat more safe? Are centerboards more prone to knockdown or capsizing? Thanks


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## roverhi (Dec 19, 2013)

Own a 1969 P35 that I've sailed to Hawaii from SF. Boat did well on the trip averaging 140 plus miles a day in light winds, for this route. The center board is not big deal. Lower it only for hard on the wind work but sail with it mostly up. Boat is not a light air flyer but will sail in light air. Don't expect to beat any Peterson 34's or other fin keel racers, however. Motion is very comfortable at sea with enough weight to smooth out lumpy oceans and as stiff as most slack bilged boats. Boat does not pound going to windward and very little hobbyhorsing. Interior is a bit cramped compared to a modern fat assed boat but thoroughly livable for a single hander or couple. The large cockpit isn't ideal for ocean voyaging but adding additional drains is easy. The cavernous cockpit lockers and lazarette will swallow a tremendous amount of the detritous that a typical cruising boat accumulates. The negatives are slow speed handling under power means you'll need to develop prop walk skills for tight quarter marina maneuvering. That's a plus when on the ocean as the boat steers itself easily with its installed WindPilot Pacific Plus self steering vane. The boat develops weather helm when the main is over powered and steering becomes heavy. You'll want to ease the traveller down the track and reef early to help balance the boat. The encapsulated keel is a big plus. No keel bolts or other bolt on keel issues. Don't know if I got lucky or it's typical of these boats but most high stress fittings like life line stanchions are mounted over solid glass. There have been no deck core rot issues. The chain plates are easily accessible and replace which I'd reccomend if it hasn't already been done. I've got a bunch of sails but could easily cruise with just three sails; triple reef main, 135% furling headsai with foam luffl, and an asymetrical chute

With the prices I've seen, the Pearson 35 looks like a great boat for those wanting to cruise on a working man's budget.


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## zedboy (Jul 14, 2010)

sailforlife said:


> Regardless is a keel vs centerboard sailboat more safe? Are centerboards more prone to knockdown or capsizing?


Not an easy question to answer. Intuition would say that putting the ballast as deep as possible make your boat as stable as possible upright, and as unlikely as possible to want to remain turtled. That's probably the orthodoxy, and definitely the design pattern of modern racing boats - deep keel, usually with a ballast bulb.

But the French have always had a thing for centerboard boats for offshore ("dériveur intégrale"), with relatively shallow ballasted stub keels. Look up boats by OVNI and several others. The proponents claim the boats side-slip down waves when deep-keel boats "trip" over their keels. Some US designers like Ted Hood seemed to agree with this - all his Bristol/Little Harbor designs are keel/cb, and they are definitely intended for offshore work.

The reality of a dynamic wave situation is complicated and hard to make absolute statements about.

But a boat like the Pearson 35 with significant ballast in the shoal keel will definitely have an angle of vanishing stability ("how far you can roll it and have it pop back up") well past 90 degrees. Given the shallow water of much of the US East Coast, including Florida and the Bahamas, keel/cb is an understandable and common compromise.


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## midwesterner (Dec 14, 2015)

sailforlife said:


> Yea, I have lots to learn my apologies for my ignorance. Thank you for the tender response on the matter. Regardless is a keel vs centerboard sailboat more safe? Are centerboards more prone to knockdown or capsizing? Thanks


As Zedboy said, what you have asked is a difficult question for someone else to answer. Some of it is based on your personality and style of sailing. Some is based on the variety of ways you might use the boat and where you might Sail.

The automotive version of your question would be the person who asks someone to recommend a car for them and says, "Mostly during the week I will use it to drive just myself to work but on occasional weekends I take my family camping and it's the five of us and the dog. Occasionally I would like to tow a medium size trailer. There are about 4 or 5 days a year when I wish I had four-wheel-drive. Should I get a SUV, a crossover with all wheel drive, a 4x4 pickup with a crew cab, a mini-van, or a Volvo station wagon, oh, and fuel economy is important and I really like the Prius. Which should I get?"

These are questions that people can't really answer for you. You have to research all the pros and cons and think about your own needs and preferences and decide what best suits you.

There have been numerous conversations on this forum about the pros and cons of every different type of keel and centerboard configuration. If you use the website search function and search for things like "fixed keel versus centerboard" or "fin keel vs. full keel" and "encapsulated keel" you will probably find all the threads in which these issues have been debated.

One thing that concerns me about center boards is the fact that, due to the price range I can afford, I am likely to buy a boat that is 30 years old. I am concerned about large hard to access movable parts that may have 30 year old parts involving a cable, a winch, pulleys, and pivot bushings that may need expensive servicing and repair.

Matt and Jessica of MJsailing.com posted a video of what it took for them to re-install the center board on their Trisalu 38 after removing, stripping, and refinishing it. The reinstallation of their centerboard is shown at the between the 1/4 and 1/3 point in the video. Keep in mind that what you see in this video is less than one third of the process, the easy part.

http://www.mjsailing.com/our-great-escape-from-the-work-yard-to-the-water/


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## TQA (Apr 4, 2009)

You are concerned about draft. Well once out of he ICW and past the Bahamas there are VERY few places that draft is an issue in fact almost none. 

As for your current choice being a centerboarder, I have a New Bombay Trading Company Explorer 44 which has a CB. She draws 5'6" board up 9' board down. I am happy taking it offshore.


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## roverhi (Dec 19, 2013)

The center board on the Pearson 35 is a pretty straight forward, simple affair. Not much there to cause problems. The board pin is bronze, large diameter, and really not prone to wear. Removal is unscrewing the pipe threaded caps on either side and pulling it out. The board itself has a hole molded into it that the pin goes through. lifting is via a cable that runs over a bronze shieve in a housing and bronze tubing to a double sheave winch that gains mechanical advantage by the different diameters of the sheaves. The center board well is cast into the lead ballast so virtually indestructible. It is a fairly wide puka so not much chance of anything jambing up the board and relatively easy to antifoul. The lifting cable is about the only service item. Changed out the wire cable for equal diameter Dyneema single braid so no more possibility of corrosion and the synthetic hasn't given me any trouble since installing it 5 years ago. The board itself is foam with a fiberglass skin so nothing there to cause problems as long as you don't break it off. Even then, the boat sails well enough without it for almost all points of sailing. Replacing the board is pricey as I hear the company that inherited the Pearson Molds wants more than 3 boat units for a new one. 

With the installation of the Dyneema lifting cable only have to worry about antifouling board and well during an antifouling haulout. I arrange with the yard to lift the boat and let it hang overnight the last thing in the day before we launch. Paint the board and well as soon as the boat is hanging and let dry overnight. Launch the boat first thing the next morning. That has been standard procedure for the two C/B boats that I've owned and the yards were familiar with it. Unfortunately the bandit yard at the marina, which is the only haul out facility on the Island, charged me $500 to let the boat hang overnight even though it was a no cost procedure for them. They've permanently lost my business because of it. So be sure the yard understands the need for the overnight hang and doesn't try and rip you off for doing it.

The negative stability issues that were revealed in the Fastnet race had nothing to do with center board boats. The boats at issue were deep fin keeled boats. Slack bilged boats, center boarders as well as deep keel more traditional designs, are initially tender but stiffen up significantly and have better ultimate righting characteristics than many of the new designs. Saw a video of a righting test for one of the new flat bottomed, wide assed, narrow keel with a bulb boats. Amazing at how long it took for the boat to right itself from the inverted even without a mast and sails. In short, for the real world of ocean survival the older boats may be safer designs.


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## sailforlife (Sep 14, 2016)

So I found this Pearson and it is ready to sail and is being surveyed. My only concern is the boat is a federal registered vessel coast guard registered I believe. The boat is in Florida but titled in Ohio. The gentleman says it does not matter I don't need a boat title and I don't have to pay any taxes on the boat purchase price. He states that all I have to do is change the name with the coast guard and have a bill of sale. The boat will be stored in Florida. I went online and looked at the coast guard website and it states that you can't have a vessel documented in a different state in Florida for more than 90 days. The gentleman stated that you can be in Florida indefinitely. Also another question what if the taxes on the boat back in Ohio have not been paid? Any advice or help would be appreciated thanks.


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## roverhi (Dec 19, 2013)

You will probably need to pay the Florida sales tax if you leave the boat in Florida. Can't believe a State without an income tax wouldn't rigorously enforce a sales tax. You may be able to remove the boat from Florida within a specific amount of time and avoid Florida taxes but will be subject to some States taxes if you don't keep moving on on a regular basis. Might investigate States with a favorable or possibly no sales tax to use as a home port. Know that our former Secretary of State registered his boat in Rhode Island to avoid his home states taxes.

Federal Documentation is through the Coast Guard. The homeport is required on the boat but the requirements for it are very lenient. Typically it's the homeport location of the boat but also can be the home of the owner anywhere in the country. Don't know what official requirements for homeport are so might ask the CG about that. You will either need to transfer the documentation to you and do a change of home port or register it with some State that issues boat titles. All States don't issue titles like Hawaii for one. They require registration but that's only to collect money. Unfortunately that means no one has proof of ownership other than you with the bill of sale. Something that's always made me nervous about my Hawaii registration if I ever lost the bill of sale.

My advice is to transfer the documentation to your name. That will take care of any future title issues. BTW, you can check the documentation with the Coast Guard online. Might want to do that to be sure the seller is the only owner of the boat.


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## fallard (Nov 30, 2009)

sailforlife said:


> So I found this Pearson and it is ready to sail and is being surveyed. My only concern is the boat is a federal registered vessel coast guard registered I believe. The boat is in Florida but titled in Ohio. The gentleman says it does not matter I don't need a boat title and I don't have to pay any taxes on the boat purchase price. He states that all I have to do is change the name with the coast guard and have a bill of sale. The boat will be stored in Florida. I went online and looked at the coast guard website and it states that you can't have a vessel documented in a different state in Florida for more than 90 days. The gentleman stated that you can be in Florida indefinitely. Also another question what if the taxes on the boat back in Ohio have not been paid? Any advice or help would be appreciated thanks.


I bought my boat in Florida and had to certify its removal from the state within 30 days of completion of commissioning. I did so, with a fuel dock receipt in Beaufort, NC within the deadline, but had a letter waiting for me when I got back to CT 2 weeks later, looking for payment of FL sales tax. Furthermore, CT didn't believe the purchase price (well under Blue Book) and I had to have the finance company produce a copy of the check that went to the former owner, or I would have had to pay $3K more in CT sales tax.

BTW, I had the boat registered in CT before I left FL and had it federally documented at the time of sale. Your documentation will state the home port and you will be required to update any changes on an annual basis to maintain your documented status (along with the $26 annual documentation fee, of course!)

Bottom line: You WILL be liable for FL sales tax if you plan to keep the boat in FL for any length of time. The clock will start once the boat has completed any commissioning work. I doubt your grace period is more than several weeks--certainly not 90 days.


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## fallard (Nov 30, 2009)

sailforlife said:


> So I found this Pearson and it is ready to sail and is being surveyed. My only concern is the boat is a federal registered vessel coast guard registered I believe. The boat is in Florida but titled in Ohio. The gentleman says it does not matter I don't need a boat title and I don't have to pay any taxes on the boat purchase price. He states that all I have to do is change the name with the coast guard and have a bill of sale. The boat will be stored in Florida. I went online and looked at the coast guard website and it states that you can't have a vessel documented in a different state in Florida for more than 90 days. The gentleman stated that you can be in Florida indefinitely. Also another question what if the taxes on the boat back in Ohio have not been paid? Any advice or help would be appreciated thanks.


I bought my boat in Florida and had to certify its removal from the state within 30 days of completion of commissioning. I did so, with a fuel dock receipt in Beaufort, NC within the deadline, but had a letter waiting for me when I got back to CT 2 weeks later, looking for payment of FL sales tax. Furthermore, CT didn't believe the purchase price (well under Blue Book) and I had to have the finance company produce a copy of the check that went to the former owner, or I would have had to pay $3K more in CT sales tax.

BTW, I had the boat registered in CT before I left FL and had it federally documented at the time of sale. Your documentation will state the home port and you will be required to update any changes on an annual basis to maintain your documented status (along with the $26 annual documentation fee, of course!)

Bottom line: You WILL be liable for FL sales tax if you plan to keep the boat in FL for any length of time. The clock will start once the boat has completed any commissioning work. I doubt your grace period is more than several weeks--certainly not 90 days.


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## Bleemus (Oct 13, 2015)

Check out Sailing Uma on YouTube. They refit a P35 and are starting a circumnavigation. Sturdy little boats.


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## zedboy (Jul 14, 2010)

Bleemus said:


> Check out Sailing Uma on YouTube. They refit a P35 and are starting a circumnavigation. Sturdy little boats.


P36, very different boat.


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## Bleemus (Oct 13, 2015)

zedboy said:


> P36, very different boat.


Oops.


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## scubadoo (Apr 5, 2014)

Bleemus said:


> Check out Sailing Uma on YouTube. They refit a P35 and are starting a circumnavigation. Sturdy little boats.


They did a great job on that little boat, but it is quite a different hull / keel than the cb version. They spent a great deal of time rebuilding the keel and stringers....I don't know where the fellow learned to do the work, but he took his time and really came up with a strong re-design.

My Pearson 30 has a center board....most of the time I'm sailing it stays up unless of course I'm making significant leeway. It is a little more difficult to clean and paint...note critters love to make their home in the well and can make it difficult to drop if not maintained.


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## krisscross (Feb 22, 2013)

P36 is designed as the IOR 1 ton boat. Different animal and better suited for crossing oceans.


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## roverhi (Dec 19, 2013)

krisscross said:


> P36 is designed as the IOR 1 ton boat. Different animal and better suited for crossing oceans.


Actually don't think the P36 is a better open ocean boat. It's got a bolt on keel that is notorious for developing a 'smile'. They seem to need additional reinforcement in the bilge. If you are to believe Jeff H, prone to oil canning as well. The P35 is a more solid boat though not as fast in light air and less maneuverable around the marina because of the long keel and attached rudder. Both things that make the P35 a better open ocean and cruising boat.


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## krisscross (Feb 22, 2013)

roverhi said:


> Actually don't think the P36 is a better open ocean boat. It's got a bolt on keel that is notorious for developing a 'smile'. They seem to need additional reinforcement in the bilge. If you are to believe Jeff H, prone to oil canning as well. The P35 is a more solid boat though not as fast in light air and less maneuverable around the marina because of the long keel and attached rudder. Both things that make the P35 a better open ocean and cruising boat.


Good points if true. I was referring to the basic design of that boat. Bolt on keel does not have to be a bad choice for an offshore boat, but when the boat is 40+ years old, it can be a big factor in picking a boat for a serious trip.


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## JimsCAL (May 23, 2007)

The P36 is the largest of the 70s Pearsons the includes the 26, 30, 10m and 36. All similar designs that marked the change from the earlier CCA era. Compared to the P35, the P36 has a bigger rig, longer waterline, more beam, and rates 40 seconds faster under PHRF. For coastal cruising, not a bad choice.


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## RegisteredUser (Aug 16, 2010)

So, cutting to the chase...

This could be a good boat for solo or a couple for his plans, assuming its in good condition when sailed-away.

IMO, the centerboard is a real benefit for farting around in shallow waters like the Bahamas.

If you like the boat, have the budget to make her right (and understand what makes her right), do the deal.

If you feel like you don't know quite what you're doing just yet...wait.


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## seabeau (Oct 5, 2014)

sailforlife said:


> Yea, I have lots to learn my apologies for my ignorance. Thank you for the tender response on the matter. Regardless is a keel vs centerboard sailboat more safe? Are centerboards more prone to knockdown or capsizing? Thanks


 Wind is not the great destroyer of sailboats. Water is. Specifically breaking waves. Its circumstances occur when the wave tops are separated from the base section of the waves, and the top then speeds down the front(leeward) face of the wave. When that faster moving, breaking section of the wave strikes a fixed keel boat amidships, then the boat will pivot upon its fixed keel which is located in the deeper, slower section of the wave and be knocked over (down). A true centerboarder, with no fixed appendages, sailed like a centerboarder(with its board either partly or fully raised) will also be struck amidships, but its hull with much less grip on the deeper, slower section of the wave, will simply be driven sideways at the strike. I sail a 18,000 lbs. disp., all internally ballasted, true centerboarder. In extreme conditions I, drop all of my sails except a hardened down and reefed mizzen, raise my centerboard, tie my tiller amidships, go below and make lunch, read, etc. ,etc.. PS My boat type, a Presto 36, was designed and first built in 1884.


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## sailforlife (Sep 14, 2016)

Looking for a good surveyor in the south west Florida area or one willing to travel. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.


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## midwesterner (Dec 14, 2015)

There are a few surveyors listed on the ABYC website in the Tampa and Fort Myers area. Be sure to confirm what types of certification they have, such as ABYC Master Technician.

Member Search Results - American Boat and Yacht Council


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## Scotty C-M (Aug 14, 2013)

The boat type is fine. The condition of the boat is the question. Glad to see that you're looking for a surveyor.

Yes, pay the taxes. There are no free rides. Documentation is easy.

The biggest issue is the skills of the skipper/crew. It sounds like this is relatively new to you. Great!! I like the idea of taking lots of classes, sailing a lot on other people's boats, and sailing your (soon to be) new boat. Have fun and be safe. OK edit: Be safe and have fun!!


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## Merlin Frers 41 (Jul 10, 2017)

AIS is important as well as an autohelm.....


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## Scotty C-M (Aug 14, 2013)

by the way ... There are LOTS of good videos on how-to-sail on YouTube.


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## sailforlife (Sep 14, 2016)

Guess who is certified!!!!


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## midwesterner (Dec 14, 2015)

Congratulations!

Details? Where, what type of boats for each class? How much "on the water" time?
How long was each class. How many students on the boats for each class? Did you feel confident with your instruction?

Ready to buy that Pearson 35 and round the Horn?


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## sailforlife (Sep 14, 2016)

Instructor was awesome patient quality for sure. They also allowed me and my wife to sleep in a 34 foot sailboat the whole time. Sleeping in the boat was awesome. The experience fired us up we want it even more now. Honestly after the experience I feel sorry for people on solid ground.


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## roverhi (Dec 19, 2013)

If the boat matches the condition represented in the photo's it looks like a very clean boat. See that it has a wheel pilot. If the boat is like mine it will be useless under sail but will work fine motoring. If you are going to stick with an A/P as your only self steering, might want to look into CPT or an under deck unit to get the oomph to steer the boat under sail. The galley is very different from my 1969 boat. Has this boat been customized or is that how the later models were laid out?? 

If you are going to go with a self steering vane, pendulum servo types may not work because of friction/inertia in the steering. Had a Monitor on my boat and it wouldn't steer the boat under about 4 knots of boat speed. Installation was done by the PO with a lot of turns and blocks in the steering lines from the vane which are usually not a performance enhancer. Did not get around to try and trouble shoot the reasons for the lack of light wind steering ability as an auxiliary rudder wind vane (WindPilot Pacific Plus) plus came along and went with that. 

I ditched the wheel steering after trying to live with it for a few years. Should have done it the day I took ownership.

Keep us informed how the survey and your purchase progresses.


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## sailforlife (Sep 14, 2016)

What do you mean useless under sail ? I love sailing I hate the loud diesel and the smell sailing is were is at.


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## midwesterner (Dec 14, 2015)

sailforlife said:


> What do you mean useless under sail ? I love sailing I hate the loud diesel and the smell sailing is were is at.


I think that what Roverhi is saying is that his wheel mounted auto pilot does not steer the boat well when it is under sail.


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## roverhi (Dec 19, 2013)

Not enough torque to overcome the force needed to turn the wheel while sailing. Anything over a knot or two of boat speed and the wheel drive unit would drop off line and give an error message that it was working too hard. Worked fine powering, did 200 miles offshore powering back after a rigging failure but couldn't get it to steer more than a few feet under sail. Still a useful thing to have on board for when you have to power but wouldn't get you anywhere if you wanted to sail somewhere. Get a self steering vane, one that works will do 95% of your steering if you are into sailing.



sailforlife said:


> What do you mean useless under sail ? I love sailing I hate the loud diesel and the smell sailing is were is at.


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## snokid (Oct 25, 2016)

Not sure what's happening with your wheel pilot, but I can say I was just on a 36' beneteau yesterday that the wheel pilot had no problem steering while under sail or motor...

my boat is 40' I changed out the autopilot and when buying a new one the wheel drives were just under rated for my boat... 

Bob


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## roverhi (Dec 19, 2013)

The P35 has an unbalanced barn door rudder that can require a lot of force to counter act weather helm. The faster you sail, the more force. Unlike semi balanced spade rudders, full keel boats with unbalanced attached rudders let you know right quick they are developing weather helm. On the P35, you can reef early to reduce weather helm but it hurts boat speed. You have a choice to fight the weather helm and get as much speed out of the boat as you can or reef early and hurt the performance. Have had my P35 hold a steady 7.2 knots on an accuate log with the wheel hard over to the stops to keep the boat on course. If you believe the formula for hull speed, a P35 should be limited to 6.75k so you can see I was having fun. The wheelpilot is a Raymarine X5 that failed to steer the boat under sail since new. Have since converted the boat to a tiller and sold the wheel drive unit. Never heard anything back from the person I sold the drive to so assume it worked fine on whatever boat he installed it on. Even though the prop wash on the rudder took a bit of force to counteract, the drive unit worked fine under power.

Bought a tiller ram drive for the X5 controls but haven't installed it to see if it will work under sail.


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## Jeff_H (Feb 26, 2000)

roverhi said:


> The P35 has an unbalanced barn door rudder that can require a lot of force to counter act weather helm. The faster you sail, the more force. Unlike semi balanced spade rudders, full keel boats with unbalanced attached rudders let you know right quick they are developing weather helm. On the P35, you can reef early to reduce weather helm but it hurts boat speed. You have a choice to fight the weather helm and get as much speed out of the boat as you can or reef early and hurt the performance. Have had my P35 hold a steady 7.2 knots on an accuate log with the wheel hard over to the stops to keep the boat on course.


I have not tried this on a P-35, but on other keel/cb boats I have been able to partially raise the centerboard when weather helm got to be too much. This moves the center of lateral resistance aft and slightly reduces heel, (at the price of a bit more leeway), which reduces weather helm a lot. At least on other Keel/cb boats, when combined with blading out the sails, weather helm has been reduced to a manageable level. The nice thing about a tiller is that you can also rig a 'Manila Mike' (or more properly a "Shockchord Sam") to reduce the wear and tear on the helmsman, or take the steering force down to a level that a windvane with a servo paddle can manage to steer the boat.

Jeff


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## fallard (Nov 30, 2009)

Jeff_H said:


> I have not tried this on a P-35, but on other keel/cb boats I have been able to partially raise the centerboard when weather helm go to be too much. This moves the center of lateral resistance aft and slightly reduces heel, (at the price of a bit more leeway), which reduces weather helm a lot. At least on other Keel/cb boats, when combined with blading out the sails, weather helm has been reduced to a manageable level. The nice thing about a tiller is that you can also rig a 'Manila Mike' (or more properly a "Shockcord Sam") to reduce the wear and tear on the helmsman, or steering force down to a level that a windvane can manage to steer the boat.
> 
> Jeff


Catboats, with their barn door rudders and single sail are notorious for weather helm. Jeff's suggestion on raising the CB to reduce weather helm worked on catboats for the same reason he cited. It also mattered a lot when we got a new catboat sail that was flatter going to weather. Perhaps roverhi should check the condition of his sails--if that hasn't already been done.


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## roverhi (Dec 19, 2013)

fallard said:


> Catboats, with their barn door rudders and single sail are notorious for weather helm. Jeff's suggestion on raising the CB to reduce weather helm worked on catboats for the same reason he cited. It also mattered a lot when we got a new catboat sail that was flatter going to weather. Perhaps roverhi should check the condition of his sails--if that hasn't already been done.


Tried the center board thing but didn't make enough difference to notice though haven't spent a lot of time checking it out.

Sails were new and the main was cut quite flat without the common shelf in a full light air sail.


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## midwesterner (Dec 14, 2015)

I don't think you need to post your questions on three different threads. Any one post you make will appear in the "New Posts" page and everybody checks that first when they come on here. Posting a question in multiple places just confuses people. It leaves people wondering, "Wait, didn't I respond to that question already? Where is my response?" 
Plus, if we want to follow the answers, we have to go back and search multiple places to remember where an answer was posted.

You are not going to get more answers by posting the same question in multiple places.


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## sailforlife (Sep 14, 2016)

In the book Twenty Affordable Sailboats To Take You AnywhereNov 15, 2006
by Gregg Nestor and John Vigor he says about the Pearson 35:

The boat can handle tough conditions without any undo concern; however, the size of the boats cockpit is a serious consideration for blue-water cruising.

My question is what does he mean by this line,(however, the size of the boats cockpit is a serious consideration for blue-water cruising.) 

Does that line mean that the large cockpit is good or bad for blue water sailing?


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## davidpm (Oct 22, 2007)

zedboy said:


> You do realize you are talking about a boat which weighs 6.5 tons empty, with nearly 3 tons of that being ballast?


If the guy and his girl friend are each about 1 ton each it might work.

He may need to beef up the centerboard for lateral resistance strength.


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## roverhi (Dec 19, 2013)

The P35 was a CCA racer cruiser design that was heavy on the recreational/race use of the boat. The idea was to have room for a lot of people in the cockpit for daysails and race crew. I've taken 10 people out on a daysail and they all spent most of their time in the cockpit. The cockpit takes up nearly a third of the overall length, is quite deep and has relatively high sides and will hold lots of water. The weight of that water before it drains or is slopped out is the issue. There is a bridge deck so flooding below from a pooped cockpit isn't that big an issue as long as the cockpit and lazarette hatches stay closed. When anticipating bad weather the cockpit hatch latches should be secured and not a bad idea to do that at all times. Because of the high sides and no open area for water to slop out, draining the cockpit is going to be heavily dependent on the two deck drains and could take several minutes to drain. Most bluewater boats have relatively small cockpits or foot wells that won't hold much water if they are pooped.

On my boat, have added two drains at the bottom of the aft end cockpit side that will connect to through hulls in the lazarette. That will double the amount of drain area and facilitate a quicker drain. Have put in one way check valves so they won't be as efficient as the two drains at the front of the cockpit but should aid draining the cockpit a lot quicker in the event of a boarding wave filling it.


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## sailforlife (Sep 14, 2016)

Cool if you have them can you provide pictures of what you did. Thank you


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## roverhi (Dec 19, 2013)

Haven't figured out how to post pictures to this site. PM me with your email address and will take a picture and send it off to you via email.


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## sailforlife (Sep 14, 2016)

Tartan 37 Thank you all for the help!


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