After almost a year of planning and work, we’ve finally begun to put The Pearson Yacht Owners Association together and have launched our first issue of the newsletter. Your patience with us during this process is much appreciated. We are very pleased with the response to the association and look forward to making the NPYOA as responsive to you as possible. We are beginning to receive suggestions and abstracts for articles for The Pearson Current and encourage each member to contact us with their ideas. The many issues that we have to deal with as owners and operators of Pearson boats, makes your communication with us a very important part of the Association’s efforts. TPC (The Pearson Current) would also like to know about any specific piece of equipment you might have installed on your Pearson. How has it performed? What problems did you encounter installing it? What recommendations would you have for other owners? — please let us know. Our first issue leads with an interview we conducted with Pearson’s General Manager and designer, Bill Shaw. We tried to discuss topics of current interest to members, as well as some viewpoints on the history and evolution of Pearson Yachts. Bill’s encouragement in launching the NPYOA is greatly appreciated and we can expect to count on his inspiration and knowledge.

Bill Richards has written a piece informing our members how to get support and services, answers to technical questions, and access to parts and equipment.

The "Olde Sea Talk" section will, I hope, keep us in touch with the history of the sport and the evolution of the industry we have come to embrace.

We expect to expand upon "Signals" (our letters to the editor section) as more communication comes in. As we move along, I hope that all NPYOA members will contribute their responses to the questions and suggestions we publish. We are also programming our membership list to provide a communications link between members with like designs.

As we continue to formulate what information and services the NPYOA can provide members, I can’t stress enough how important it is that you keep in touch with us. We want to develop the Association for all Pearson owners and look forward to creating a working relationship with each of you for the benefit of all NPYOA members.

Wishing you smooth & safe sailing, Bill Lawrence

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We took advantage of the "Meet the Designer" seminars at the Atlantic City Sail Expo to interview Bill Shaw for our first issue. Part two of this interview will appear in our next issue.

TPC: Our readers would like to know how you are spending your time since retiring, knowing that you would have difficulty leaving the boating world altogether.

SHAW: Since my retirement in March 1991, I have done some engineering and design work with a small boat builder in Rhode Island. This is on a consulting basis for short periods of time throughout the year. I also serve on an advisory council for marine pro- grams at the University of Rhode Island, School of Oceanography. I am a member of U.S. Sailing Safety at Sea Committee and until recently I served on the IMS Technical Committee.

My free time is divided between these activities, and water-color paintings. I had my first show last year and truly enjoy having the time to devote to painting. I have also developed an active interest in ham radio. What spare time I have is filled with the usual projects around the house.

TPC: Of all the boats you designed for Pearson Yachts, which one has the strongest emotional attachment to you and why?

SHAW: This is a most difficult question to answer as each design at its time was so very important to our success. When asked what was my favorite design, the answer I am most comfortable with is "the next one."

Each design formed a building block for the next one. As the wants of the marketplace changed, so did the direction of the design. For example, when I took over the management of Pearson in 1966, we desperately needed a small cruising boat for the inexperienced sailor to re-establish our position in the market. The P-26 was just such a boat and became an overnight success. Shortly thereafter we developed the P-30 which not only was competitively priced, but also started winning races throughout the country. The most notable achievement was winning the first ¾ ton championship off Newport, Rhode Island.

The birth of the IOR directed our design thrust toward Cruiser/Racers and produced the 10 meter, P-36, P-39. These designs are still winning today under PHRF and IMS. Later on there was a dramatic shift away from IOR racing into pure cruising boats. These boats were fun to design as the compromises often found in dual purpose boats, i.e. cruiser/racers was virtually eliminated and you could concentrate on those factors that made a good cruising boat. The so were the product of this design redirection. And finally, the last versions of the "P" boats, i.e. P.31, 33, 36, 38, 39, etc. represent yet another direction. The market wanted bigger boats but within a given length. The rising interest in aft state rooms dictated full after sections, more freeboard and headroom over a greater length fore and aft. The emphasis continued to be on cruising but with some race ability.

TPC: After more than twenty years with Pearson Yachts, we are sure that you have many thoughts, impressions or accomplishments that were particularly memorable to you. As we launch this new effort to keep Pearson owners in closer contact with each other, TPC would like you to sort of blue sky that twenty years for us.

SHAW: Each moment in its time provided the excitement and emotional attachment that made this such a great business. In the mid 1960’s when I took on the position of general manager, the company had lost considerable market share. As so often happens with successful companies, the dominance of Pearson in its early days blind sided us to the emergence of strong competition. Literally over night our product was being up-staged by newer, more marketable boats from fledgling companies that could start production with designs representing the latest thinking. Our road back to the number one position took several years of effort as we replaced the older models with new designs.

The human effort was awesome. Everyone in the company gave more than 100%. Many times, the workers, knowing we had a crucial deadline to meet, would punch out their time cards and go back to work without recording the overtime pay. Our dealer organization became the most sort after in the industry. Early on we established a dealer advisory board to assist us in our decisions regarding design, pricing and policy. Their contributions to our success were tremendous and will always remain appreciated. Successful manufacturing companies have three key elements: 1) a strong manufacturing base, 2) a strong marketing base and 3) a strong design and engineering group. Pearson had all of this plus an equally strong relationship with our workers, dealers, vendors and customers. This was a truly unique factor in our industry that we felt set us apart and greatly contributed to the success we enjoyed for many years.

Pearson Yachts opened for business in 1956 and quickly developed one of the strongest reputations ever enjoyed within the boat building industry. Pearson always strived to build affordable, high valued, boats designed to provide years of service to their owners. When Pearson Yachts closed its doors in June 1991, it was a very difficult time for its management, employees, dealers, and Pearson owners.

A major part of the loss was measured in the inability of the more than 17,000 Pearson owners to have direct access to parts and technical services needed by serious boaters. To address this problem, two Pearson principals joined forces with D&R Enterprises, with the goal of supplying authentic replacement parts for Pearson Yachts. This group specifically has the rights to parts, technical information, drawings, and some molds for the pre-1984 Pearson models, both sail and power.

"Over the past years," according to a D&R manager, Rudy Nickerson, "we have established a business relationship with old sources of supply, refurbishing old molds, and trying to anticipate the demand for specific parts." This has been a slow and often painful process. D&R Enterprises is, however, making good progress towards accomplishing their goals of providing the most broad based supply of parts possible. They are continually increasing our inventory of old castings, weldments, and molded parts. They are also expanding their capacity to provide help with the later models of Pearson Yachts and soon hope to have some molds and parts for these designs available.

D&R Enterprises, owned by Rudy and Debbie Nickerson is the only authorized source for authentic replacement parts for Pearson Yachts. The D&R crew are committed to helping you maintain your boat, they do however "strongly urge all Pearson owners to anticipate their needs early, as it often takes weeks to fulfill orders." Most requests are custom ordered or stocked in limited quantities. Spring is absolutely the worst time to order for the most obvious of reasons.

As testament to their commitment and ability to respond, D&R personnel recently supplied a Triton owner with an authentic re-placement wooden rudder and bronze gugeons. The boat was built in 1958 and D&R’s efforts contributed to the creation of a most happy Pearson owner.

D&R Enterprises can, in addition, help with your simpler technical questions. As an integral part of their service, they have formed a separate division to provide more in depth technical services as needed. This service does however, have a fee associated with it and is quoted on an individual basis. The service is handled by knowledgeable former Pearson Personnel, well versed in the construction of Pearson boats. If you can define your requirements, they can give you a quote. This service is also available for consultation regarding the purchase of any Pearson Yacht. You can contact D&R through the NPYOA or Directly at: D & R Enterprises.

I recently purchased a 1984 TRITON 21 and have been trying to locate an owner’s manual for the boat with no success. I contacted Grumman Industries but they could not help. After trying other sources and finally writing to SAIL magazine they suggested I contact you.

It is good to see that yacht owners associations are still around. Glad "Soundings" mentioned yours. We were members of the Tarton 30 Association for many years. Our beloved Tarton 30 was sold 3 years ago and now it is time for another boat.

My wife and I have looked at many boats and have just become aware of the Pearson 32. We are familiar with the 323 and the 303 which we decided were too slow. We are having trouble finding info on the 32. We don’t know how many were built, when they were built, but it appears to be a good performance design. Is the Pearson 32 a remake of the 31? The boats seem very similar except for LOA and a 7/8 rig.

The following is adapted from The Illustrated Encyclopedia of World Sailing by David Pelly (Exeter Books, NY, 1989) — magnificent reading about many interesting aspects of pleasure sailing.

. . . . The word yacht, probably derived from the Dutch or German "jaght" of "jacht" meaning to hunt or chase, was thought to have originated in the 17th century. It applied to small speedy vessels sailed by well-to-do Dutchmen in their coastal waters. . . .We must certainly give the Dutch a lot of the credit for developing the idea of sailing purely for pleasure. Water was always the main highway of the collection of city-states that now forms The Netherlands and practically all trade was dependent on water transport. So it is not surprising that a class of vessel gradually developed for visiting, entertaining or for showing off the owner’s prosperity and taste. Paintings of the period suggest that races were held from time to time as well. . . .We know that these "jaghts" were like little war-ships, complete with small cannon. They had high poop decks with elaborately carved and painted transoms and flew huge ensigns showing where they came from. The smaller yachts, being designed for shallow waters, were based on sailing barge hulls and commonly had leeboards in place of a keel.