Bill Shaw Answers The Mail - The Pearson Current - Volume 5, #1

BILL SHAW ANSWERS THE MAIL
The Pearson Current - Volume 5, #1 - 1999

I need detailed measurements of a Pearson 26’s shrouds and stays. What type of connectors at the top and bottom were used?
Bill Wiggins, billwwmr@aol.com

Dear Bill,
You would need to locate another P 26 owner who might have the rigging plans from the original owner’s packet. Pearson used Tru-Loc stainless steel fittings. The only way to insure proper length and end fittings is to remove the mast and standing rigging.

.I’m looking for a builder’s certificate for a 1979 P40. I would like to document my P40 for coastwise use but have to have the certificate to do so. Also, has any P40 owner gotten a PHRF rating?
Denny Thompson, saltydog@aa.net

Dear Denny,
Builder’s certificates were only issued upon request by the original owner. Bill L. is checking with the Coast Guard to see if there is a way boats without the certificate can be documented, especially if the production company is no longer in business. PHRF rat ings are not a standardized system. They are done locally by racing committees. We suggest contacting US Sailing for PHRF ratings

.I’m about to buy a 1988 Pearson 31. I have looked at several boats on Land with the boat stands. The aft portion of the keel on four or five of the boats I looked at was pushing up and deflecting the full from ¼" to ¾" as viewed from just aft of the prop. These boats had correctly tightened stands and several aft stands were very tight. All boats had evidence of grounding but most owners said any damage had been repaired. On only one boat did the top of the keel casting line up perfectly with the four feet of hull just aft of the keel and did not appear to be deflecting the hull inward. I am guessing this is the way it is supposed to look.

Is this hull deflection normal or dies it likely indicate a damage by hard grounding or otherwise?

Several of the boats from different yards and just the Pearson 31s had a 6 th or 8 th center/aft boat stand placed under the strengthened support just forward of the rudder. Have owners found this necessary to correctly support an undamaged boat?

Thanks for your response.
Bob Harroff, Yarmouth, ME

Dear Bob,
This is the first we have heard of this as a condition. We frequently got calls on how to repair hull compression due to bad placement of boat stands. Experienced yards know how to place the poppets to best protect the boat. For one thing they should not be excessively tight for the boat should rest on them evenly like in a cradle with part of the weight taken up by the keel and part by the poppets. What you might be witnessing could have been the result of bad storage procedures from previous years that took a toll on the hulls.

We have a P26 1973 model and were wondering if any of these were ever made with an inboard engine.
Douglas Nikkila

Dear DougOnly one boat which had a Z-drive and a vertical shaft. It was a special order and not a standard production product.