Question:
my wife and I finally put a deposit down on what would be our
third sailboat (after a Hunter 23 and a Beneteau 285), a 1984 Pearson 385
Center Cockpit sloop. Of course, the sale is subject to survey and
sea trial, which will be done in the next several weeks.
I'm not terribly familiar with Pearson sailboats, but from what I've
heard they're a notch above average (perhaps on the order of Beneteaus)
in the quality department. Certainly, the one we looked at seemed to be
in pretty good condition. Can anyone out there provide any more observations
on Pearsons, especially with regard to things we should pay attention to?
My biggest concern is that the diesel (a Perkins 4-108) has almost 3,000
hours on it. How long can it reasonably be expected to last?
Answer:
When I bought my Valiat 40 the Westerbeke 40 (Perkins 4-108) had 5000 hours
on it. Has an engine survey done and the compression was still good.
Needed new mounts, hoses (oil, water, and fuel) and new injectors. We
probably both have leaking rear oil seals.
So if it has been taken care of, I would expect that you have another
2000 hours at leat, and I hope maybe another 6000 :). By the way, you
know why the brittish don't make air conditions, they haven't found a
way to make them leak oil!
