I am sussing out the possibility of selling my365 for a Pearson 424 cutter or sloop. Number one and two reasons are I am looking for a bit better sailing performance and a little more room. Took up diving this year with the admiral and the addition of four tanks and gear really crowds the boat. That, and she wants to work from the boat remotely. We plan to head south for the winters in three years and possibly further. The 424 has a seperate aft cabin where she could work while I enjoy retirement:). Does anyone have any experience with a 424 that would allow some sailing comparisons? I love my 365 but it is a poor light air boat-I have heard that a 424 is better in light air.
Same designer, same underwater profile and similar in most other respects.
It's all supposotional at this time, particularly where I just had a dodger and bimini built, the engine rebuilt, reefer rebuilt and insulated, bottom getting soda blasted tomorrow etc, etc etc. If I do a 424 it will be my last one-getting a little tired of refits,,,,
Not sure if I want to be talked out of it or talked into it:)
We looked at a 424 before the 365. Good layout for privacy. We esp. liked the separate stbd. mid-ship companionway. Preferred ketch rig because of the greater sail combo. possibilities.
Find one in good shape even at a higher price where the seller loved her & has kept most everything up to date. The extra money at purchase will be seriously less than re-fit costs... and especially your irreplaceable time.
Were we in the market, this would no question be the boat I'd head for first: https://www.yachtworld.com/boats/1981/pearson-424-3701033/
Never been cooked in the tropics, not a live-aboard and where she is home-ported has had relatively short seasons.
Wow, more than kind of a timely topic.
So for about a year now we have been wanting to go back to sailing in the tropics. Looked at a few boats, Covid killed more than a few plans, but...
Covid plan #27
We closed the sale of our PNW trawler yesterday. Full price offer from some very cool people. Total bonus for that as we just love the idea of being complicit in the further adventures of any boat we have had the pleasure of cruising in. And the new owners are totally into that.
Bought a 34 ft RV last week. All our "stuff" got loaded on it on Saturday.
Leaving on a slow trip to Florida at the end of this week to find a sailboat to cruise the east coast of the USA and, when the islands open up again, to the West Indies for a span of years.
Dana liked the 365, I loved it. We always felt safe, even in the worst blows. But.....
Room. Yeah that is it. JP nailed it as far as our thoughts go. That aft Stateroom would be soooo much better for us. Just for a place to retreat to, do work in, stow stuff in the V-berth, have room for guests, just a FEW extra feet ya know?
To that end, we have been looking at this:
https://www.yachtworld.com/boats/1981/pearson-424-pearson-3677611/
We had a surveyor friend look it over. It has some issues. A lot of issues actually and has been sitting on the hard for years and for sale for a long time. But....
Hard work doesn't bother me. And these days, I would rather have a good hull and a stick and perhaps a good engine and not pay for other peoples unfortunate upgrades. I would rather have someone say that there are no sails, than "oh the sails are good!" when they are over 20 years old. I could go on and on about these kinds of sale perks, but I just want something I can zero out and be confident in. AND be able to afford.
Soooo.. we will go and look at it. The surveyor friend said it aint likely to sell soon, I will offer far less than half what they are asking AFTER I get my own eyes on it, and we will see...
Also looking at a Pearson 419 in Jacksonville that is in even worse shape as it needs a repower, but for $7k, it would a good hull and stick.
https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/734335630467274
So we will see what we will see. But I lean heavily towards Pearson hulls as I know them. I know the quirks weaknesses and strengths. I sailed on a cruising friends 424 in the Pacific and thought of it as a 365+. Comfort and confidence count for a lot to us.
Eastward ho on the highway and likely through the gulf states. If any of you Pearson folk hear of a boat that might be a good fit through your marina or friends or whatever, please let us know and we will take a look on our way to Florida. If nothing catches our eye we will likely end up in Stuart Florida and day trip around the state boat shopping. We're just hoping something serendipitous happens, where an owner needs a new owner to bring new life to their old boat.
Cheers!
Wayne & Dana
Oh and Jordan? We'll be definitely be lookin' to haunt your door step Dude. ;)
Wayne & Dana,
Good report. Have fun & enjoy the hunt!
Will monitor this freq. for your updates.
Wayne, Admiral and I are on the north shore of Boston near Newburyport if your travels bring you this way shoot me a note we can put you up and maybe share some stories.
Quote from: SVJourney on September 30, 2020, 12:40:14 AM
Oh and Jordan? We'll be definitely be lookin' to haunt your door step Dude. ;)
Ah yeah! We're sailing up to Cape Canaveral first week of December. We shall definitely have to do a dinner. My treat.
Oooh. I just looked at those 424s. Very nice! Of course, that is way too big for our first boat search criteria. We were looking at some 46', and the room was amazing. Ongoing costs scared us away. But who knows? I recently heard that there southern ocean is getting more and more consistently insane, to the point where a small boat may not be able to do it soon. Just hearsay though.
ALL the oceans are getting crazy. Or, hurricane and cyclone seasons are getting longer and longer.
I kinda don't think a bigger boat is really the answer. The saying goes that "there is no replacement for displacement" but.... If you look at the numbers in sailboatdata for the 424 and the 365 there isn't all that much difference in stability or comfort numbers. In fact, the 365 scores better.
https://sailboatdata.com/sailboat/pearson-424-ketch
https://sailboatdata.com/sailboat/pearson-365-ketch
Jordan, the most afraid I ever got was in a squall off the east coast of Florida with winds over 50 and lightning touching down around us. So maybe if you can sail there in the summer you can sail almost anywhere. In the right season of course. :)
I have heard the 424 is a bit better upwind and in light air. In heavier air the 365 is very comfortable but not great in the light stuff.
If you look at the sail area to displacement numbers, anything under 16 is considered under powered.
365 = S.A./Disp.:14.50
424 = 15.26 which is indeed better.
Didn't matter much to me. You get there when you get there, but I would get a good cruising chute before crossing the Pacific again.
Quote from: SVJourney on October 01, 2020, 12:00:45 PM
If you look at the sail area to displacement numbers, anything under 16 is considered under powered.
365 = S.A./Disp.:14.50
424 = 15.26 which is indeed better.
Didn't matter much to me. You get there when you get there, but I would get a good cruising chute before crossing the Pacific again.
Sorry man. I'm afraid the aforementioned dinner is going to have to take place while I'm sailing and you can critique. I just adjusted my lazy jacks. So much more room in the cockpit. Like seriously, I was freaking dumb
We made an offer of $25k on this: https://www.yachtworld.com/boats/1978/pearson-424-3228090/
They countered with $26k and we accepted. It needs a BUNCH of work but we couldn't find anything better in our price range for this much boat. Plus the new Yanmar is sooo sweet.
Sooo.. I've already done my own survey but have hired a surveyor for the 1st of Dec for insurance survey and sea trial. Hopefully everything will work out. Should close by 10Dec.
Dana is working on getting rehired at West Marine locally. That is going to be important. My best count for now is $21K needed for parts and services in the next few months. Our goal has always been less than $60k for an out the door cruising boat with new sails and rigging so we should make it.
Current plan is to live in our RV while doing work in Fort Pierce till February getting all the haul out and safety items done. Bahamas from Feb till May. Eastern seaboard for summer. Salty Dog rally to St Thomas next December. Grenada by June 2021. All written in soft Jello of course.
Fingers crossed!
I looked a several 424's before we bought the 365. The 424 just seemed too big. You of course are living aboard so that is never a problem. It is a nice boat for sure. That one looks like it has lots of gear. You should do fine with her. Keep us in the loop.
Let me know if you need help outfitting here. You are not a 365'er anymore but we will make an exception.
Dale
Obersheimers
Maruska
Hull #40
Interesting that Pearson in 1978 for the 424's used real teak below rather than the formica in the same year 365. I guess the price point Pearson needed for the 365 dictated economy of finish. Congratulations Journey!
Wayne, congratulations! We are on the hunt too. First we need to peel the bottom of our 365, so no rush. If you need an orientation to the Maine coast-we are standing by. Will be interested to hear how you both like the 424
Jim
I've been busy, but saw on the blog that you picked one up. I'll come in with my congrats. I'm actually on the tri rail passing you guys right now on our way down to Hollywood.
Soooo.... Plan #28. :-[
The 424 fell out after survey. The boat was just too damaged to be worth it to us. We got a purchase price of $26K and it would have taken $21k worth of gear and services to get it cruise ready. That price is with Dana working at West Marine and getting employee discount and us spending a lot of time in the yard doing our own work. It would have still needed topsides and deck paint and new toe rails even after all that. The owner had painted it with single part poly 12 years ago and it is now just white powder. The toe rails were worn past the screw heads and had been bashed and broken against a dock at some point.
There is a silver lining though....
One of our cruising friends heard we were looking and decided that they were going to quit sailing, sell their boat, and buy a trawler for the sunset years. Sooooo... we got an accepted offer on a 1987 45' Gulfstar Hirsch.
https://sailboatdata.com/sailboat/hirsch-45-gulfstar
More than we wanted to spend, but the boat is totally sweet and loaded with more gear and spares than we could ever want. Now we just need to get a survey and haulout and get-a-cruisin.
We won't make the Bahamas by 1 Feb like we wanted to, but should be soon after that. The boat is in Jacksonville so we will shakedown on a run down the Florida coast before crossing. Fingers crossed!
I did go through the 424 with a fine toothed comb during survey. For a 365 lover, you would see a lot of the same designs. For instance, the head and shower and cockpits share the exact same molds. It was rigged and plated the same but bigger. If I could have found one that wasn't a basket case, I would have bought one.
We did look at a couple real nice 365s. The one in Ft Meyer is super sweet and only needs standing rigging and sails to head out. I just couldn't get the missus to agree to go out in a 36 foot boat again, even after the financial savings and the safety of handling for a smaller boat and rig.
I can definitively say that there isn't much out there for sale right now. Covid and Utube have sent the masses looking for sailboats fer sure.
I believe Dana's exact words were "I wasn't up to committing to spending the next five years in 150 square feet again."
And of course I read that one right after I congratulated you. Good layout on that gulfstar. Spade rudders freak me out though.