Pearson 30
Pearson Yachts
- Production years
- 1971–1981
- Total built
- 1,185
- Designer
- William (Bill) Shaw
The quick verdict
The Pearson 30 is a well-built, good-sailing coastal cruiser and club racer. Many sell for roughly $5,000-$10,000. It is tender and not meant for offshore passages. Before you buy, have a surveyor check for wet balsa deck core, leaking through-hulls, rudder bushing play, hull dimples and the condition of the Atomic 4 engine.
Sails well and is responsive; Maneuvers well under power; Solid, overbuilt fiberglass hull; Light, roomy interior for 30 ft; Good resale and large owner community; Encapsulated keel means no keel-bolt worry
Tender/tippy; puts the rail down easily; Not a bluewater boat; coastal use only; Not very directionally stable; Hull flexible ('floppy') on later boats; Modest interior finish and no shower; Balsa-cored decks can leak and go soft; check for wet core; Hull 'oil canning' or dimples if blocked badly ashore; Rudder bushings wear out; Through-hull and seacock leaks; check hoses and fittings; Original Atomic 4 gas engine may need work; Deck, stanchion and window leaks
Find out whether this design suits your sailing plans with The Boat Picker.
Standardized sailing characteristics
Speed
Lower PHRF means a faster racing handicap. Rig, keel, and region affect ratings.
Reference source ↗Comfort at Sea
Raw Brewer Motion Comfort Ratio, a comparison of design motion at sea. It does not rate cabin space or guarantee comfort.
Measurements
Rig diagram & sailing measurements
| SA/D · SAIL AREA TO DISPLACEMENT | 17.34 Below 16 is considered conservative sail power, 16–20 moderate sail power, and above 20 high sail power. |
|---|---|
| D/L · DISPLACEMENT TO LENGTH | 238 |
| S-NUMBER | 2.33 Calculated from SA/D and D/L (Brewer) |
| CSF | 1.88 Below 2.0: generally meets the traditional offshore screening guideline (not a seaworthiness rating). |
| Ballast/displacement | 42.8% ↗ Below roughly 30% can suggest a more tender boat, around 35% is common for cruisers, and 40% or more can suggest greater resistance to heeling. Keel depth, ballast placement, and hull shape also matter. |
| Theoretical hull speed | 6.7 kn ↗ |
| Waterline length | 25' |
| Ballast | 3,560 lb |
| Advertised sail area | 445 ft²↗ |
| Air draft | 42' |
| Foretriangle area | 247.07 ft² ↗ |
| Mainsail triangle | 198.15 ft² ↗ |
| Estimated forestay (published standard rig) | 41.01 ft ↗ |
Rig dimensions by configuration
| Published model reference | I | J | P | E | 100% triangular sail area |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Published rig | 39′ | 12′8″ | 33′6″ | 11′10″ | 445.2 ft² |
100% triangular sail area = (I × J + P × E) / 2. Source ↗
Construction & Equipment
Production history
Number built: 1,185
Original
- Early boats had a Palmer 22 hp inboard; later ones got the 30 hp Universal Atomic 4 gasoline engine.
- Late-model boats came with a two-cylinder Universal diesel that weighs about the same as the Atomic Four.
- Through about hull number 200, Pearson used an aluminum rudder post that was prone to failure.
- Published figures: length overall 29.79 ft, waterline 25 ft, beam 9.5 ft, draft 5 ft, displacement 8,320 lb, ballast 3,560 lb, sail area 445 sq ft.
- Sources disagree: Sailboatdata gives 3,560 lb ballast; a Spinsheet review says 3,500 lb.
- Sources disagree: Sailboatdata and Wikipedia give production as 1971-1981; the Pearson Yachts Portal gives 1971–1980.
Full specifications
Every figure links to the page it came from. Anything not shown is not yet confirmed by a published source.
Identity
Hull measurements
Construction
Rig and sails
Engine, propulsion, systems
Accommodation
Practical ownership
Calculated from the figures above
Surveys and Market Value
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