P36-1 mast

[George Dubose]

Uma, a 1972 Pearson P36-1 is selling her mast. It is located in Olbia,
Sardinia.

Just in case somebody knows somebody...

George/Skylark

--
George DuBose
www.george-dubose.com

Wiedstrasse 16
D-50859 Cologne
Germany

[Robert Franklin]

George et als,

What is Dan and Kika's plan that warrants selling UMA's mast? 

I continue to watch their videos, mostly out of curiosity as to what is next? I missed the sale of the mast.

Seems a rather odd decision and an expensive one. However, it is strangely consistent with much else that has been on their to do list for the past couple years.

Just a guess, but my guess is that it would cost $10,000 to replace the mast and gear; more likely they might get $1,500, if they can find someone interested. 

This is enough of a hook in their strange plans to cause me to continue watching, even though their direction is disappointing to someone like me who is an "originalist".

Bob Franklin

--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "pearson-boats" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to pearson-boat...@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/pearson-boats/23574f32-bb13-70b6-6026-80c698c04dd4%40george-dubose.com.

--

Robert M. Franklin, Esq.
145 Lagrange Street
Chestnut Hill, MA 02467-3047
617 277 5900 Cell
email:  robertm...@gmail.com

[David Lidrbauch]

I missed that note as well

My first guess is a custom carbon fibre rig.

Their deck layout maximizing solar on every available square inch doesnt offer many clues, such as anchor point for a cutter inner staysail.

They didn't mention any shifting of chain plate location...   They DID move the main traveler forward of the hard dodger...

Curious

-David Lidrbauch

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/pearson-boats/CAODnOUZtni%3D0UxwX7AecPWve0jWm3FWUztAQ-g1%3DtuCNok%3Do%2Bw%40mail.gmail.com.

[Peter McGowan]

I’m intrigued by how they’re going to deal with the deck solar getting super hot (or slippy) underfoot.  Also l performance of solar degrades when it gets hot (I’m assuming they’ll elevate the panels on the dodger for some air flow but they won’t have that option on the decks).  They’re also quite proud of how they’re keeping the decks free of holes, so the wiring of the deck panels will be interesting.

So, yes, also curious!  

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/pearson-boats/CA%2BvS7vH-UPo5Y%2BwkiRfJnuLkjqofbzjG5YjU5kUFZy7%2Bo6aZHw%40mail.gmail.com.

[Dave Cole]

Geez, I need to catch up.

Why are they selling their mast? 

Are they going all electric?

Solar panels are very heat tolerant.  They do work better at lower temps, but the difference of 20 degrees once you get to 100 F or so isnt very significant.

Walking on the panels?   Walking on hot panels?

That can be done, but Id avoid that.  Thats known to cause damage.  Maybe they are using special panels?  

I sort of lost interest when they starting gutting the boat.

Dave

10M #26

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/pearson-boats/CAJF6WADyvn%2B74kfoMsO3ORJj1M8n0wRVQO%2BCCD8gs%3DswuYk%2BRQ%40mail.gmail.com.

[David Lidrbauch]

Suddenly occured to me

They're routing everything back to the cockpit and appear to be avoiding going forward...

Only way to avoid that is roller furling everything. I hope im wrong ... but, I bet they're going with in-mast furling. 

I've been intrigued with their decisions and execution, but that king of travesty would turn me away.   

Maybe it's a slick new roller boom?   Dan did mention this spring that they're making a new boom.

We shall see

-David Lidrbauch

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/pearson-boats/CAD5jJo0VHVn0WFRfhO5MxcDQT-1nfJjEmAtFoy0p0z6oyhw%2B2A%40mail.gmail.com.

[Peter McGowan]

New boom for sure, mentioned as part of the moving the traveler forward.  

They might be just going for a stronger righting moment and more responsive backstay adjuster.   They cover huge distances so that would be helpful.  

They know how to keep me watching! :)

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/pearson-boats/CA%2BvS7vGpVdfS_jimzc4_OYAz9EyHN1xSAjr-ziNWJZ_j4S3bOg%40mail.gmail.com.

[Jeff Griglack]

I'm guessing they'll go with in mast fueling, and that means a new mast. I'm several weeks behind on their video. 

My biggest pet peeve with their recent stuff is calling a wheel a helm and a tiller a tiller. The helm is where you steer the boat whether it has a wheel or a tiller, damnit.  Oh, and you kids get off my lawn too.

I am always interested to see what they do as Uma continues to resemble our boats less and less. 

Jeff

------------------------------------------------------------------
| Jeff Griglack             "Jabberwocky" P-365 #269

------------------------------------------------------------------
| "Don't take life so serious, son, it ain't nohow permanent"
|                   - Walt Kelly
| 'Years ago my mother used to say to me, she'd say, "In this
| world, Elwood, you must be" – she always called me Elwood –
| "In this world, Elwood, you must be oh so smart or oh so pleasant."
| Well, for years I was smart. I recommend pleasant. You may quote me.'
|               —James Stewart as Elwood P. Dowd
------------------------------------------------------------------

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/pearson-boats/CAJF6WABVQYeGGV6sfr6tL-WeP3jexdtHc3EFHr%3Db33DbQPcmiw%40mail.gmail.com.

[Jeff Griglack]

Furling, that is. F#$@ing autocorrect.

------------------------------------------------------------------
| Jeff Griglack             "Jabberwocky" P-365 #269

------------------------------------------------------------------
| "Don't take life so serious, son, it ain't nohow permanent"
|                   - Walt Kelly
| 'Years ago my mother used to say to me, she'd say, "In this
| world, Elwood, you must be" – she always called me Elwood –
| "In this world, Elwood, you must be oh so smart or oh so pleasant."
| Well, for years I was smart. I recommend pleasant. You may quote me.'
|               —James Stewart as Elwood P. Dowd
------------------------------------------------------------------

[David Lidrbauch]

Agreed

In the spirit of earning my grumpy old guy badge:

I'll do a brief rant on in-mast furling.  

Too much weight aloft

Impossible to make the main powerful (negative roach and no battens - and anyone who embarrasses themselves by mentioning vertical battens deserves the resulting ridicule)

Strong probability for jams and failure at the worst possible time 

Can NOT reef (sail shape goes blowsy if you try that's why it's called in mast FURLING!) 

Shrieking slot (ive heard it on a Hinckly B40, and that memory still chills my bones)

Thanks for reading my rant...

-David Lidrbauch

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/pearson-boats/CAJj5SXL2gGA_zpRESqQBVLXZK10akTS5Zkf_Dsgziuq1zHOoAQ%40mail.gmail.com.

[Dan Pfeiffer]

Douglass Fairbanks demonstrated the skills needed to deal with in-mast furling 99 years ago...

https://youtu.be/eQet9nw7WiE?feature=shared

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/pearson-boats/CA%2BvS7vFV0NQtqa4NCuf0y1hJ4_oq7k1h85vLP6qeqeZQxB6P0A%40mail.gmail.com.

[David Lidrbauch]

OMFG

That video is hilarious! Impressive action (No green screen CGI back then!)

 Thank you Dan

-David Lidrbauch

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/pearson-boats/2a68ab9915e1610b168a7eab64ea233f%40pfeiffer.net.

[Dave Cole]

So they arent turning it into an electric trawler!   I was wondering when I stopped watching a while ago.  

On Mon, Jul 7, 2025, 2:21 PM Jeff Griglack <grig...@gmail.com> wrote:

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/pearson-boats/CAJj5SXL2gGA_zpRESqQBVLXZK10akTS5Zkf_Dsgziuq1zHOoAQ%40mail.gmail.com.

[John Getz]

Hah! The Helm – Tiller – wheel thing drove me a little crazy, too. I gave a little twitch every time. It’s the same twitch I have when people accent the second syllable in Genoa. I am old.

And any furling main, mast or boom, would seem way too complicated and inefficient for a P 36. 

I can understand wanting a new boom. The old Spartan fittings don’t work for running multiple reefing lines inside and back to the cockpit. But a new mast? Corrosion problems?

J Getz

Sent from my iPhone

On Jul 7, 2025, at 11:34 AM, David Lidrbauch <david.l...@gmail.com> wrote:



To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/pearson-boats/CA%2BvS7vFV0NQtqa4NCuf0y1hJ4_oq7k1h85vLP6qeqeZQxB6P0A%40mail.gmail.com.

[Guy Johnson]

I twitch running lines back to the cockpit. 😎

On Jul 7, 2025, at 6:16 PM, John Getz <jwg...@gmail.com> wrote:

 Hah! The Helm – Tiller – wheel thing drove me a little crazy, too. I gave a little twitch every time. It’s the same twitch I have when people accent the second syllable in Genoa. I am old.

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/pearson-boats/594BC67D-72BA-40F9-B739-37A6431E142A%40gmail.com.

[Robert Franklin]

Here is my contribution to the UMA mast discussion. 

First of all I admit to being totally confused. What is it they plan to do?

I have done my best to keep my P36 (no longer mine as of this coming week) as original as possible. The two "upgrades" are roller furling jib, wheel replacing tiller (original owner was a racer) and Yanmar 3GM30F in place of my beloved Atomic 4. These all make sense. Oh, a beautiful aluminum mast step welded by some one (French) somewhere in Connecticut.

That's about it.

In mast furling; everything led back to the cockpit ... not my thing, but if it works for someone else, I need to respect that choice.

Bob Franklin

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/pearson-boats/594BC67D-72BA-40F9-B739-37A6431E142A%40gmail.com.

[Peter McGowan]

Then seem to be building her into an expedition boat, and these tend to go with simpler, tougher, systems, I’d be surprised if they go with in mast furling.  My second thought is our P36s have quite small mains to begin with and (I believe) this would make there main smaller so although possible it’ll be harder to sail efficiently and although they are never in a hurry to get anywhere, the boat needs to be moving for their regen to work (I doubt they get much under 4 knots).  Hey if they do it, it’ll be super interesting.  I could totally see a sponsor giving them a mast just for the clicks, but I’m also reminded of KTM passing on Ewan and Charley’s motorbike ride around the world for fear of brand damage if their bikes actually broke on the ride (BMW took the risk) whoever they choose for the mast must be a bit nervous if they get themselves in a pickle with in a dangerous situation.

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/pearson-boats/CAODnOUYKjzAMisqZL8m4iBpmu-8j59S5xFzpDphEh-DU89B-eQ%40mail.gmail.com.

[Robert Franklin]

Peter et als.

My neck is aching from the UMA head shaker I watched today; not the mast but the other end, the keel! 

My P36 has been sailing for 53 years and you couldn't fit a credit card between her hull and her keel. That is if you could find the "joint" to start with.

I don't know why UMA's keel wabled, but I am almost certain it had nothing to do with bolts at the keel/hull intersection. 

Pearson overbuilt. Like most at the time, it simply didn't know better.

  

Bob Franklin

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/pearson-boats/CAJF6WADW1iVQk6%3DNP5LiC3t1QqQUs7qHWTkd01Q0UYniyvx-yA%40mail.gmail.com.

[Dave Cole]

Expedition boat, as in Artic?

Dave

10M #26

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/pearson-boats/CAJF6WADW1iVQk6%3DNP5LiC3t1QqQUs7qHWTkd01Q0UYniyvx-yA%40mail.gmail.com.

[Dan Pfeiffer]

On 2025-07-13 5:54 pm, Robert Franklin wrote:
>...
>...

> Pearson overbuilt. Like most at the time, it simply didn't know better.

This is exactly wrong.  To the extent Pearson "overbuilt" it was a design choice.  (and that can be debated with regard to the keel grid supports in the 70's and 80's boats).  They knew what they were doing and they knew the strength of the materials and construction methods they used.  They knew it meticulously.  What they may not have known was the fatigue life of the fiberglass structures.  But they absolutely knew what they were doing with regard to the strength of the boats.  Read Dan Spur's excellent book "Heart of Glass" to learn how Everett Pearson was a pioneer in testing of the strength of fiberglass structures.  And you can be sure Bill Shaw knew everything Everett Pearson learned working with a John's Hopkins engineer doing the testing in the late 1950's.  The idea that they overbuilt because they didn't know is just flat wrong.  And they did overbuild in a lot of ways (rigs for one).  But that was a choice made by design philosophy not ignorance.  And as far as those keel support structures in the 10M and 36 I would argue they are a bit under built.   The floors are not as tall as they could be and they are attached with secondary bonding.  It's strong but It could have been a lot stronger.  But whatever it is, they knew what they were doing. 

Dan Pfeiffer

[David Lidrbauch]

Thankb you Dan

Very well put!

-David Lidrbauch

--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "pearson-boats" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to pearson-boat...@googlegroups.com.

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/pearson-boats/2f17d22d163660a00f89b9d3da979d51%40pfeiffer.net.

[Peter McGowan]

Nah Dave, I definitely should have said expedition-style.  With all the structural work, bulkheads, pilot house, etc, I don’t think they’re heading back to the caribbean.  They went as far north as Svalbard which is (I believe) the last inhabited place if you’re heading north over near Norway) with a pretty much an original P36 hull and some pellets, so they’re not timid.  Now that it’s beefed up extensively and they already went north, I’m anticipating they’re heading south.  They got into trouble with lack of sun when they went north, but they’re adding a lot more solar (I think coming up on 3kw) and they’ve doubled the motor regen and they’ve hinted as some sort of wind gen on the mast (which is now new, hmmm).    I reckon they still need to pick a route that suits all that technology, but the boat’s not aluminum so I don’t think they’re planning to dodge icebergs.  I’m looking forward to their next adventure.

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/pearson-boats/CAD5jJo0arnbRKMGTwgSmi0D_RffehrJxtR9gJVsLiWWjLBv0mQ%40mail.gmail.com.

[David Walker]

Dan, 

I agree and I think they effectively used it in marketing the new boats.  When I was a small kid I remember that a family friend was upgrading from a wooden sport fisherman to a ‘new’ bigger fibreglass model. My memory says it was a Pearson, don’t know if they were building 36’ power boats at the time. Anyway the new owner was proud to display a mini tombstone shaped hunk of fiberglass mounted on a plaque which in fact was one of the hull cutouts for a shaft from his boat.  It had a rather large rifle bullet sticking out of it which clearly had not penetrated the hull. The owner was proud to concur that demonstrated how safe the hull was and groundings were not an issue.

That was about the time my dad, a marine engineer/Naval Architect gave me my first physics lesson - specifically conservation of momentum and energy transfer.  The piece of fiber glass was probably sitting on a rock outside the Texas factory when shot.  Not quite the same as a boat hitting a rock firmly connected to planet earth  

Fortunately the new owner was a far better navigator than engineer

Dave Walker

Isabella -  Pearson 26  #1728

--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "pearson-boats" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to pearson-boat...@googlegroups.com.

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/pearson-boats/2f17d22d163660a00f89b9d3da979d51%40pfeiffer.net.