ericson 28 vs pearson 28

We currently own a precision21 and are looking to move up. We are interested in the ericson 28 and pearson 28. There are two ericsons, a 86 and 89 in our price range (15K - 22K) . The pearson is a bit older and cheaper. It's a 79 (10K) but a recent survey says it's been refitted and in excellent condition.

We would be sailing in Long Island Sound, out to Block Island and Long Island.Staying on the boat for the weekends. We would appreciate any experience, comments, pros or cons that you would be willing to share.

Thanks!

We used to own a Pearson 28(1976) and we loved it. Very stiff and forgiving in big seas. You can trim her sails to sail a straight line with a neutral ruddder. Very well balanced. We raced her Wed. nights around the buoys and she was very competitive. In fact a friend owns her now and is one of our competitiors. We also did a bit of cruising on her. We thought she had as much interior room as the Pearson 30.

Yahoo groups has an excellent P28 group that you should check out.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/p28forum/?v=1&t=search&ch=web&pub=groups&sec=group&slk=1
Also, see my web page below for some photos and upgrades that I did.

thanks for the information. I'll definitely join the pearson 28 group on yahoo. Good to hear that you were so happy with the pearson. Do you have any opinion on how the p28 compares to the ericson28?

Cordelia is a beautiful boat!

Sorry but I have never sailed an Ericson 28. Although, I have heard good things about it.

both good boats

Both are high build quality, good performing boats..I would give the nod to the P 28 for heavy air perfomance-and to the E boat for light-moderate air...
The Pearson is just a little stiffer, so will be a little sweeter to sail in over 15 knots, and the 28 has a lot of sail for a 28 foor cruiser, so does a bit better in the light stuff. I am speaking only in terms of performance, though. Both are nice and you should go with what you like subjectively between the 2-you will be happy either way..
S

Person 28 vs Ericson 28+

Seth said:

Both are high build quality, good performing boats..I would give the nod to the P 28 for heavy air perfomance-and to the E boat for light-moderate air...
The Pearson is just a little stiffer, so will be a little sweeter to sail in over 15 knots, and the 28 has a lot of sail for a 28 foor cruiser, so does a bit better in the light stuff. I am speaking only in terms of performance, though. Both are nice and you should go with what you like subjectively between the 2-you will be happy either way..
S

Click to expand...

I race against an E 28+ (Hilda Harris) with my E30+ (Eden) every Sunday all winter.. The E 28+ has more deck space than the P 28 and is of fractional rig
(will tack faster) the E 28+ has a PHRF northwest rating of 205 my Ericson
30+ has a PHRF rating of 190 NW these boats are both very competitive both are excellent heavy and light air movers the E 30+ is a little faster on the reaches but the E 28 is faster to windward and points higher I have a 135 genoa and he has a 150, I will let you know, next month or two what my new 150 does to my performance . The E 28 and 30 plus boats are newer designs than the Person 28. The person 28 is probably built as well , however it does not have the resources of this web site for maintenance and excellent ideas and commadre of all the E boats.

Cordially yours and good sailing ,, Chas and Judi on Eden E 30+

Which 28?

I was using the latest version of the Pearson 28 for comparative purposes-which was introduced in 1985 I think-so it is a bit fresher design than the 28+ or 30+-not that it matters-but just so we know the point of reference..

Also, all things being equal (meaning bottom condition, sail condition and sail selection), the 30+ is faster than the 28/28+ all the time-especially upwind, but generally all the time-They should be closer in light air, with the 30+ moving ahead as the breeze comes up (and on reaches as you say). Any results to the contrary will be due to sailing skill, bottom condition and sail selection/condition-and of course weight carried aboard..anything is possible!

We did a fair amount of comparison when we were building sails for both models, so we know this to generally to be the case..

Cheers,
S

E-28

I owned an '89 ericson 28 with a winged keel. It sailed really well, but if I had it to do over again, I would go with a fin keel for L.I. Sound (where I sail, as well). It definitly points higher and does everything a little better. It was also a very comfortable boat, with superior joinery and appointments.
If the boat that you are looking at is an '89-built in Baja California (it will be noted on the builder plate inside the companionway), like mine, look for gel coat cracking around the nonskid areas on the cabin top. Also, if you open the round access ports behind the settee backs, check to see that the layup isn't tacky. This is all a result of improper curing and it seemed to be present in some of these last production units, layed up in Mexico.
I presently sail an E-26 with a fin. It is a slightly scaled down version of the E-28. I love the boat, but I would like to get back into a 28 someday! To some people, this sounds crazy, but the extra 2 feet makes a huge difference-plus the 28 has the wheel that I miss!

Did you settle on a boat yet?

Wife and I have a 86 E28 slip neighbor has an older Pearson 28.

Pearson interior is sparten compared to the E28 both boats seem fairly evenly matched though the club cruises we've done our boat is hauling way more crap than theirs and they generally have a slight speed advantage but not toomuch for us to make up by putting on our racer hat and whipping the old E28 a little.

I think boat boats are built great - fantastic size the E28 seems to have the nicer interior over the pearson. So your call. Pearson makes nice boats guessing the prices are not on the same level I'd expect the E28 to be a little cheaper.

Ericson 28

I can't say enough good things about the Ericson 28 - We've owned Broomstick for 4+ years and are selling her primarily to realize our next sailing dream which is to charter in places like Turkey. But alas we are not made of money...so we must make a choice.

The 28 feels like a bigger boat with lots of great living space both below and in the cockpit. She sails like a dream (and I've owned a number of boats)...holding very steady closehauled in high winds. We've raced her for fun a number of times and done well against much bigger boats.

Here's the link to see her: http://www.yachtworld.com/boats/1987/Ericson-28-2199556/Manchester/MA/United-States

Feel free to write with any questions: rickhaigis@hotmail.com