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A General Description of the Pearson Flyer

The Flyer is a 30 foot (29'11") fractional rigged sloop, with an 11 foot beam (11' 3/4"), and a draws slightly less than 6 feet of water (5"9").  The design features a flush deck design, and a corresponding high freeboard, to provide adequate interior height.  Standing headroom is 5 feet, 6 inches. Below, the forepeak is left open for sail storage, and typically features a portable head mounted on the centerline.  Privacy is provided by a zippered partition.  Moving aft of the main bulkhead, on the starboard side, is a cabinet with a sink and storage below, followed by a large settee, and finally a quarterberth.  On the port side, is a countertop and cabinet that can serve as a nav station or as a location for a small cooktop.  The settee and quarterberth arrangement is mirrored on the port side, providing extremely comfortable lounging or sleeping accomodations for a crew of four.            

              Click on the thumbnail to see a the accomodations plan, sailplan, and specs from the original Pearson Brochure.

                                                    Interior Looking Forward                                                                                                            Interior Looking Aft

Above deck, the wide beam and flush decks give the sense of being aboard a much larger boat.  The fractional rig is keel stepped, and features single swept spreaders, and no runners (many owners have added this feature).  The spars were built by Kenyon Spars.  The rig is dominated by a large, high aspect main, with a corresponding small foretriangle.  Most of the running rigging is led aft to the cockpit.  Exceptions are the main outhaul, vang, and reefing lines  The cockpit is large, and will accomodate a large group dockside, but the boat's tiller steering does limit cockpit space a bit underway. 

Construction Details:  The Flyer employs balsa cored construction in both the hull and the deck.  This construction method yields a strong and stiff structure that is also light in weight.   The weakness of this construction technique is the possibility (likelihood) of water finding it's way into the core, resulting in rot and delamination.  This causes a loss of stiffness and strength, and rectification of the problem is both difficult as well as costly.  To see more on core repairs, click here.   The image below shows an area of the hull at the aft edge of the keel that has had the outer skin and core cut away.  The hole at the top of the picture shows the balsa core clearly.