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Pearson Triton

1958 — 1967
Pearson Triton insignia
Designer
Carl Alberg
Builder
Pearson Yachts
Associations
?
# Built
?
Hull
Monohull
Keel
Long
Rudder
?
Construction
FG (solid laminate)
Also Known As
Pearson Triton 28

Dimensions

Length Overall
28 3 / 8.6 m
Waterline Length
20 6 / 6.3 m
Beam
8 2 / 2.5 m
Draft
3 10 / 1.2 m
Displacement
6,930 lb / 3,143 kg
Ballast
3,020 lb / 1,369 kg (Lead)
Drawing of Pearson Triton
  • 1 / 4
  • 2 / 4
  • 3 / 4
  • 4 / 4

Rig and Sails

Type
Sloop
Reported Sail Area
371′² / 34.5 m²
Total Sail Area
371′² / 34.4 m²
Mainsail
Sail Area
231′² / 21.5 m²
P
33 0 / 10.1 m
E
14 0 / 4.3 m
Air Draft
?
Foresail
Sail Area
140′² / 13 m²
I
28 6 / 8.7 m
J
9 9 / 3 m
Forestay Length
30 1 / 9.2 m

Auxilary Power

Make
Universal
Model
Atomic 4
HP
30
Fuel Type
Gas
Fuel Capacity
15 gal / 56 l

Accomodations

Water Capacity
22 gal / 85 l
Holding Tank Capacity
?
Headroom
?
Cabins
?

Calculations

Hull Speed
6.0 kn
Classic: 6.07 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

6.0 knots
Classic formula: 6.07 knots
Sail Area/Displacement
16.3
16-20: good performance

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.
16.33
<16: under powered
16-20: good performance
>20: high performance
Ballast/Displacement
43.6
>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

43.56
<40: less stiff, less powerful
>40: stiffer, more powerful
Displacement/Length
358.8
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
358.79
<100: ultralight
100-200: light
200-300: moderate
300-400: heavy
>400: very heavy
Comfort Ratio
28.1
20-30: coastal cruiser

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
28.08
<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
1.73
<2: better suited for ocean passages
>2: better suited for coastal cruising

Notes

From BlueWaterBoats.org:

The Pearson Triton’s launch at the 1959 National Boat Show in New York heralded the birth of the inexpensive ‘Plastic Classic’. Her designer Carl Alberg was at the forefront of the pioneering move from wood to fiberglass production and the 28ft Triton was one of the earliest fiberglass cruising yachts. She was an instant hit, with 17 orders taken by the end of the show, and her popularity never waned, with more than 700 boats built before production ceased in 1968.

The Triton is a handsome boat with classic cruiser looks inspired by the well-loved Scandinavian Folkboat. She carries a narrow beam, long overhangs and low freeboard of the Cruising Club of America (CCA) racing rule boats of the time. Although her interior volume and storage capacity are scanty for a bluewater boat the Triton has successfully double circumnavigated and completed many trans-oceanic passages. Today she remains probably the most affordable of the small, seaworthy, go-anywhere family cruisers.

History

Carl Alberg, a Swedish-born Naval Architect, was unknown as a yacht designer in 1959 and the Pearson Triton was to provide the flying start to his career. Alberg’s brief for the Triton, cooked up in casual conversation with Tom Potter (a lifelong yacht broker with an eye for the future of family cruising) was to design a 28 foot racer/cruiser with full headroom that could sleep a family of four and that could be built for under 10,000 dollars. In using fiberglass Alberg was able to come up with a boat that was unique at the time in offering more interior space than its wooden counterparts and at a much lower cost. Her original bare boat price was only 9,700 US dollars.

Alberg and Potter took the design to Pearson Corporation, a small fiberglass sailboat manufacturer, founded three years earlier by cousins Clint and Everett Pearson, who agreed to put it into production. The cousins had to borrow the money required to transport their Pearson Triton to the National Boat Show in New York but by the end of the show they had 17 orders and went on to build over 700 boats at their yard in Portsmouth, Rhode Island until production ceased in 1968.

These boats built by the Pearson Corporation are known as ‘East Coast’ Tritons but a number of boats, thought to be around 125, were also built on the West Coast by Aeromarine Plastics in Sausalito, California. There are some important construction differences between the ‘East Coast’ and ‘West Coast’ boats but consistent differences are hard to pin down due to many changes throughout the construction run of both boats. The most visible difference between the boats is that the ‘East Coast’ boats were built with wood trim and coamings, while those from the ‘West Coast’ are all fiberglass.

Alberg’s design also made it to Europe and at least three Tritons were built by Jouet in France with alterations to the bridge plan and interior layout. The Jouet Tritons have a distinctive long forward portlight on the cabin similar to that of the Jouet Tiburon.

Configuration and Layout

Both sloop and yawl configurations were available and the majority of Tritons had a distinctive fractional rig which helps her to stand out in a crowd. Below the waterline, her full keel is cutaway slightly fore and aft with a wooden rudder attached. The hull has a wide flare forward to keep the boat drier and allow easier working on deck. The deck itself varies, with one owner recording at least four different deck styles with a number of additional minor variations. She has a stepped cabin top which is slightly incongruous with her sleek sheer lines but provides extra headroom below.

The cockpit is large and low and can be wet in rough seas but won’t hold enough water to cause problems when pooped. The bridge deck helps to keep her dry below. Inside accommodation is fairly cramped and typical of boats of this style but the lack of interior fiberglass liners make internal modifications and repairs easier.

Construction

Although it was a production boat, individual Tritons appear to vary widely in terms of construction. In general they have the thicker, tougher and less sophisticated hulls of the earlier fiberglass production boats. Many of the East coast boats have balsa cored decks where the majority of the West coast boats have decks of solid fiberglass but this isn’t definitive. Ballast in the early days was iron encapsulated in the keel but switched to encapsulated lead in later years.

Under Sail

The Triton sails as gracefully as she looks. She’s forgiving and nimble, though she does tend to exhibit weather helm. To counter this tendency some owners have fashioned small bowsprits to open up the fore-triangle area, while others recut their mainsail with less canvas at the sacrifice of overall sail area. Although a fast boat for her waterline length she’s slow by today’s standards and she doesn’t point very high.

Her short waterline means her light air performance is respectable, and as the wind picks up she heels quickly which increases her LWL and therefore hull speed. The boat is relatively tender up to 15 degrees before she stiffens. West Coast boats, being heavier built, are generally stiffer while East coast boats tend to heel earlier but are more responsive.

Buyer’s Notes

For boats that are now more than 40 years old Tritons have endured remarkably well despite many of them being sailed extensively. Like any older boat, they may require extensive refit if they’ve been neglected. Suspect areas are balsa-cored rot-prone decks (mainly East coast), rotten wooden rudders, corroded masts, undersized chainplates, cranky gasoline inboard engines and electrical systems that require replacement. Compression around the deck stepped mast can be an issue and the supports may require strengthening but many owners will already have done so. James Baldwin, who circumnavigated twice in his East Coast Triton ‘Atom’, reports that the original East Coast fractional rig is lightly stayed and requires reinforcement for offshore voyaging. Boats with recently upgraded systems, sails, rigging etc. as always are preferable and worth paying more for.

Triton’s are most plentiful on the East coast of the US. For prospective buyers, support and information is available from the very active National Triton Association, contactable through their website. The Plastic Classic forum has a page specifically for the Pearson Triton that can provide help and advice and there is also a Yahoo owners group. A search of the used boat market reveals current asking prices of 4,500 US dollars to 17,000 US dollars for a Pearson Triton depending on age and condition.

Links, References and Further Reading

» Twenty Small Sailboats to Take You Anywhere by John Vigor, (Ch18, p77-82) an in depth look at the Pearson Trition 28. ISBN:978-0939837328
» Used Boat Notebook by John Kretschmer, a review of the Pearson Triton (p28-31)
» Wikipedia’s entry on the Pearson Triton
» National Triton Association, links and information.
» Pearson Triton Yahoo Group
» French Jouet Triton webpage
» Circumnavigation on a by James Baldwin on sailboat ‘Atom’

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