Pearson 30
Built 1971–1981 by Pearson Yachts
About the Pearson 30
Researched from public sources for this model. Any individual boat may have been modified or repowered — confirm before relying on any figure.
- Built
- 1971–1981
- Builder
- Pearson Yachts
- Designer
- William Shaw
- Length
- 29.79 ft
- Waterline
- 25 ft
- Beam
- 9.5 ft
- Draft
- 5 ft
- Displacement
- 8,320 lb
- Ballast
- 3,560 lb
- Hull
- fiberglass
- Hull / keel
- fin keel
- Rig
- sloop
- Propulsion
- inboard
- Fuel
- 20 gal
- Water
- 22 gal
- Stern thruster
- none
- Steering
- tiller
Sources disagree on number built — left blank rather than guessed.
Solid glass hull, balsa-cored deck; hull-deck joint glassed and screwed under a vinyl rubrail. Early boats had Palmer gas engines, then Atomic 4, and late models a two-cylinder Universal diesel. Hull count disputed (see disputed). Replaced by the Pearson 303. Tender boat; spade rudder can slam hard over when backing.
Known problems for this model
-
Rudder bushing wear steering
The spade rudder stock turns in two Delrin bushings that wear and cause play; Practical Sailor found notable wear on about 30% of boats examined and treats them as routine replacement items.practical-sailor.com
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Early aluminum rudder stocks steering
Roughly the first 200 boats had aluminum rudder stocks that corroded and broke; Pearson recalled and replaced them, but confirm an early boat has the stainless stock.practical-sailor.com
-
Genoa block pull-through deck
Owner-added coaming-mounted turning blocks without big backing plates have torn through the thin solid coamings.practical-sailor.com
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Through-hulls bedded in silicone plumbing
Underwater fittings appear bedded with silicone and lack backing blocks; worth rebedding and reinforcing.practical-sailor.com
-
Encapsulated keel grounding damage hull
Lead ballast is encapsulated in the keel molding, so groundings can breach the glass and let water in; inspect the keel bottom.practical-sailor.com
Engines & parts
Universal Atomic 4 parts: good
Factory standard engine — you entered “Universal Atomic 4”
Tens of thousands were built (sources say from 40,000 to 50,000). Despite being out of production for decades, the engine is well supported: Moyer Marine sells parts, rebuilt engines, fuel pump rebuilds and exhaust parts, and hosts an owners' forum; Old Lyme Marina and others also supply parts, and electronic ignition upgrades are available.
Parts sources: Moyer Marine
Common problems (3)
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Raw-water cooling scale and corrosion cooling
Most Atomic 4s are raw-water cooled, so the block scales up and corrodes, especially in salt water; cranking without starting can also flood the engine with seawater through the exhaust.goodoldboat.com · moyermarineforum.com · keelindex.com
-
Gasoline vapor fire/explosion risk fuel
Gasoline vapor is heavier than air and settles in the bilge, so ventilation, blower use and shutting the fuel valve (a stuck carburetor float can overflow) matter.goodoldboat.com
-
Ignition and fuel system faults electrical
Points, condenser, cap and wires, plus gummed carburetors and contaminated fuel, are the most common reasons an Atomic 4 won't run well.keelindex.com · goodoldboat.com
Sources disagree on first year, last year, number built — left blank rather than guessed.
Model sources (4)
sailboatdata.com · practical-sailor.com · pearsonyachts.org · dan.pfeiffer.net
Other Pearson models
- Pearson 26 1970–1983
- Pearson 323 1976–1983
- Pearson 34 1983–1986
- Pearson 35 1968–1982
- Pearson 365 1976–1982
Researched from public sources. Spotted an error? The sources are listed above — tell us what they got wrong.