FairKeel → Buyer's guides → Pearson 30
1971–1981 · designed by Bill Shaw · built by Pearson Yachts
Bill Shaw-designed production fin-keel coastal cruiser. Masthead sloop rig, moderately heavy displacement for its LOA, conservative deck plan. Designed as a mid-priced family weekender / coastal cruiser at a time when Pearson was competing directly with Catalina, Cal, and O'Day for the 30-foot US market. Built in Bristol, Rhode Island; Pearson Yachts is long defunct.
This is a general read on the Pearson 30 class — informed background, not a verdict on any individual boat. Condition, refit history, and how a particular hull was sailed and stored matter far more than class reputation. Use it to know what to look for; for a read on a specific listing, run a free FairKeel report on that boat.
Original Atomic 4 (gasoline) on most hulls. Many have been repowered with Yanmar 2GM20, Universal M-25, or Beta Marine equivalents. An unrepowered Atomic 4 at 45+ years should be assumed effectively at end of life — gasoline auxiliaries are increasingly unwelcome in marinas and insurance underwriting.
Balsa-cored deck on most hulls. Stanchion bases, genoa-track fasteners, chainplate openings, and the mast-step area (deck-stepped mast) are the recurring water-ingress paths. Moisture-meter survey is non-negotiable. Localised repair is affordable; widespread coring failure is a project-boat outcome.
Original wire + chainplates on most older hulls. Chainplates are stainless steel through bulkheads — leak paths into the bulkhead cores are the typical failure mode. Mast is deck-stepped so compression at the deck mast-step area is a separate item to check.
Original cockpit-drain hoses and through-hulls have typically not been replaced on 50-year-old hulls. The cockpit drain path is a critical safety system for any boat going offshore or in heavy weather; budget replacement during any major refit.
This guide is the class. A report is that hull. Paste the listing you're looking at and FairKeel grades every claim in it against what's known about the Pearson 30 — where the evidence is thin, the red flags worth a second look, the costs likely to land in your first season, and whether the boat suits the plans you describe in a few short questions.
It won't read the photos or put a number on the boat — that's the $249 Deep-Dive, and for the real answer, a surveyor. It will tell you when a Deep-Dive isn't worth buying. Free, no account, usually a minute or two.
Run a free report on your listing →See something that doesn't look right? We'd love to know — email us about the Pearson 30 →