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1968 — 1982
Pearson 35 insignia
Designer
William Shaw
Builder
Pearson Yachts
Associations
?
# Built
515
Hull
Monohull
Keel
Stub + Centerboard
Rudder
?
Construction
FG

Dimensions

Length Overall
35 0 / 10.7 m
Waterline Length
25 0 / 7.6 m
Beam
10 0 / 3.1 m
Draft
3 8 / 1.1 m 7 6 / 2.3 m
Displacement
13,000 lb / 5,897 kg
Ballast
5,400 lb / 2,449 kg (Lead)
Drawing of Pearson 35
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Rig and Sails

Type
Sloop
Reported Sail Area
549′² / 51 m²
Total Sail Area
549′² / 51 m²
Mainsail
Sail Area
269′² / 25 m²
P
35 5 / 10.8 m
E
15 1 / 4.6 m
Air Draft
44 5 / 13.6 m
Foresail
Sail Area
280′² / 26 m²
I
40 8 / 12.4 m
J
13 8 / 4.2 m
Forestay Length
42 11 / 13.1 m

Auxilary Power

Make
Universal
Model
Atomic 4
HP
?
Fuel Type
Gas
Fuel Capacity
42 gal / 159 l

Accomodations

Water Capacity
130 gal / 492 l
Holding Tank Capacity
?
Headroom
?
Cabins
?

Calculations

Hull Speed
6.6 kn
Classic: 6.7 kn

Hull Speed

The theoretical maximum speed that a displacement hull can move efficiently through the water is determined by it's waterline length and displacement. It may be unable to reach this speed if the boat is underpowered or heavily loaded, though it may exceed this speed given enough power. Read more.

Formula

Classic hull speed formula:

Hull Speed = 1.34 x √LWL

A more accurate formula devised by Dave Gerr in The Propeller Handbook replaces the Speed/Length ratio constant of 1.34 with a calculation based on the Displacement/Length ratio.

Max Speed/Length ratio = 8.26 ÷ Displacement/Length ratio.311
Hull Speed = Max Speed/Length ratio x √LWL

6.56 knots
Classic formula: 6.7 knots
Sail Area/Displacement
15.9
<16: under powered

Sail Area / Displacement Ratio

A measure of the power of the sails relative to the weight of the boat. The higher the number, the higher the performance, but the harder the boat will be to handle. This ratio is a "non-dimensional" value that facilitates comparisons between boats of different types and sizes. Read more.

Formula

SA/D = SA ÷ (D ÷ 64)2/3

  • SA: Sail area in square feet, derived by adding the mainsail area to 100% of the foretriangle area (the lateral area above the deck between the mast and the forestay).
  • D: Displacement in pounds.
15.89
<16: under powered
16-20: good performance
>20: high performance
Ballast/Displacement
41.5
>40: stiffer, more powerful

Ballast / Displacement Ratio

A measure of the stability of a boat's hull that suggests how well a monohull will stand up to its sails. The ballast displacement ratio indicates how much of the weight of a boat is placed for maximum stability against capsizing and is an indicator of stiffness and resistance to capsize.

Formula

Ballast / Displacement * 100

41.53
<40: less stiff, less powerful
>40: stiffer, more powerful
Displacement/Length
371.5
300-400: heavy

Displacement / Length Ratio

A measure of the weight of the boat relative to it's length at the waterline. The higher a boat’s D/L ratio, the more easily it will carry a load and the more comfortable its motion will be. The lower a boat's ratio is, the less power it takes to drive the boat to its nominal hull speed or beyond. Read more.

Formula

D/L = (D ÷ 2240) ÷ (0.01 x LWL)³

  • D: Displacement of the boat in pounds.
  • LWL: Waterline length in feet
371.45
<100: ultralight
100-200: light
200-300: moderate
300-400: heavy
>400: very heavy
Comfort Ratio
33.2
30-40: moderate bluewater cruising boat

Comfort Ratio

This ratio assess how quickly and abruptly a boat’s hull reacts to waves in a significant seaway, these being the elements of a boat’s motion most likely to cause seasickness. Read more.

Formula

Comfort ratio = D ÷ (.65 x (.7 LWL + .3 LOA) x Beam1.33)

  • D: Displacement of the boat in pounds
  • LWL: Waterline length in feet
  • LOA: Length overall in feet
  • Beam: Width of boat at the widest point in feet
33.15
<20: lightweight racing boat
20-30: coastal cruiser
30-40: moderate bluewater cruising boat
40-50: heavy bluewater boat
>50: extremely heavy bluewater boat
Capsize Screening
1.7
<2.0: better suited for ocean passages

Capsize Screening Formula

This formula attempts to indicate whether a given boat might be too wide and light to readily right itself after being overturned in extreme conditions. Read more.

Formula

CSV = Beam ÷ ³√(D / 64)

  • Beam: Width of boat at the widest point in feet
  • D: Displacement of the boat in pounds
1.7
<2: better suited for ocean passages
>2: better suited for coastal cruising

Notes

From BlueWaterBoats.org:

Pearson Yachts was founded in 1959 in Rhode Island, USA by cousins Clinton and Everett Pearson with their introduction of the first mass production fiberglass sailboat, the Triton 28. During the company’s first era, Pearson Yachts worked with the famous designers in the world to introduce indelible classics that are admired still today. Then they switched to in-house designs and produced a prolific number of winners over the years. The Pearson 35, introduced in 1968, is one of the most popular of their in-house designs with a 14 year production run and over 500 hulls molded. Featured as one of Gregg Nesto’s twenty affordable sailboats to take you anywhere, she is well regarded especially by shoal water sailors along the US Atlantic Coast for her 3′ 9″ board up draft.

Bill Shaw had taken over the design wing of Pearson Yachts and penned this 35-footer as a direct replacement for an often confused 35-foot Carl Alberg classic which was in production from 1964 until 1968. Shaw’s Pearson 35 has 7′ 6″ centerboard and 3′ 9″ full keel arrangement with connected rudder. She draws inspiration from the CCA rules of the day with her long overhangs, graceful sheer, and modest freeboard, and narrow beam by today’s standards. She is quite heavy with her 371 D/L ratio but has a respectable 15.9 SA/D ratio for light wind. At first Pearson advertise her as having racing potential, but as the IOR rules came into vogue they squarely branded her as a cruiser.

The construction is a solid fiberglass hull with a balsa cored deck to reduce weight up high. The 5,400 pounds of lead ballast is distributed in the full keel cavity while the centerboard is fiberglass laminate. Pearson used molded liners overhead and pans below to provide the interior structure and rigidity. Wood gran or off white plastic laminates fit out the interior bulkheads, ceilings, and cabinetry. Aloft is a 44′ 6″ clearance sloop or yawl rig, stepped on deck, and supported below by a weight-bearing bulkhead. Mark I interiors feature a combination dinette / double berth portside aft. Post 1975, they eliminated the the dinette in favor of a true transom berth.

Under sail her best performance is reaching though if you reef the main and jib appropriately she can to windward well. Her 10-foot beam makes tender at first. At 30 degrees she locks in, takes advantage of her CCA overhangs, and has soft motion in a seaway. She has weathered heavy storms and 20-foot seas before coming back to harbor in great shape. In chop, expect some amount of hobbyhorsing because her short waterline length.

Of particular concern on this vintage 35’s is the balsa cored deck. Balsa cored construction was in its infancy during the late 1960’s and 1970’s led by Canada’s C&C and USA’s Pearson Yachts. Pearson’s processes for glassing around deck hardware and the main mast were not in full bloom. The mast is especially a concern as a wet core could jeopardize the integrity of the supporting bulkhead. Later models in the late 1970’s and early 1980’s are known to have cosmetic blister issues due to that era’s boat pox.

Pearson Yachts ceased production of Shaw’s 35-footer in 1982 and all operations in 1991. Slightly over 500 Pearson 35’s were built.

Links, References and Further Reading

» Pearson 35: A popular, well-aged, shoal-draft cruiser, Twenty Affordable Sailboats To Take You Anywhere, Gregg Nesto
» Pearson 35, Boat Reviews by Jack Hornor
» The Pearson 35′ Sloop, Boating Magazine, Syd Rogers, April 1968
» Pearson History, Good Old Boat, Steve Mitchell

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