Review of Pearson 530

Basic specs.

The Pearson 530 is a large sailboat designed by the American maritime architect William H. Shaw in the early eighties. The Pearson 530 is built by the American yard Pearson Yachts.

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Hull

The hull is made of fibreglass. Generally, a hull made of fibreglass requires only a minimum of maintenance during the sailing season.

Rig

The boat equipped with a ketch rig.

Keel

The Pearson 530 has been built with more than one type of keel.

One option is a long keel. A long keel provide a better directional stability than a similar boat with a fin keel; on the other hand, better directional stability means also that the boat is more difficult to handle in a harbour with less space.

Another option is a centerboard keel. A centerboard keel is a pivoting lifting keel, allowing to sail both coastal and inland waters.

The boat can enter most marinas as the draft is just about 1.75 - 1.85 meter (5.74 - 6.04 ft) dependent on the load. See immersion rate below.

Engine

The boat is typically equipped with an inboard Perkins 4.236 diesel engine at 85.0 hp (63 kW), which gives a max speed about 7.0 knots.

The fuel tank has a capacity of 643.0 liters (169 US gallons, 141 imperial gallons).

Sailing characteristics

This section covers widely used rules of thumb to describe the sailing characteristics. Please note that even though the calculations are correct, the interpretation of the results might not be valid for extreme boats.

Stability and Safety

What is Capsize Screening Formula (CSF)?

The capsize screening value for Pearson 530 is 1.70, indicating that this boat could - if evaluated by this formula alone - be accepted to participate in ocean races.

Theoretical Maximum Hull Speed

What is Theoretical Maximum Hull Speed?

The theoretical maximal speed of a displacement boat of this length is 9.0 knots. The term "Theoretical Maximum Hull Speed" is widely used even though a boat can sail faster. The term shall be interpreted as above the theoretical speed a great additional power is necessary for a small gain in speed.

Immersion rate

The immersion rate is defined as the weight required to sink the boat a certain level. The immersion rate for Pearson 530 is about 418 kg/cm, alternatively 2342 lbs/inch.
Meaning: if you load 418 kg cargo on the boat then it will sink 1 cm. Alternatively, if you load 2342 lbs cargo on the boat it will sink 1 inch.

Sailing statistics

This section is statistical comparison with similar boats of the same category. The basis of the following statistical computations is our unique database with more than 26,000 different boat types and 350,000 data points.

L/B (Length Beam Ratio)

What is L/B (Length Beam Ratio)?

The l/b ratio for Pearson 530 is 3.59.

Compared with other similar sailboats it is more spacy than 50% of all other designs. It seems that the designer has chosen an average hull design.

Ballast Ratio

What is a Ballast Ratio?

The ballast ratio for Pearson 530 is 35%.

This ballast ratio shows a righting moment that is higher than 42% of all similar sailboat designs. A righting moment (ability to resist heeling) just below average.

D/L (Displacement Length Ratio)

What is Displacement Length Ratio?

The DL-ratio for Pearson 530 is 210 which categorizes this boat among 'light crusers & offshore racers'.

54% of all similar sailboat designs are categorized as heavier. A light displacement requires less sailarea and has higher accellerations.

SA/D (Sail Area Displacement ratio)

What is SA/D (Sail Area Displacement ratio)?

The SA/D for Pearson 530 with ISO 8666 reference sail is 13.5, with a 135% genua the SA/D is 16.0.

The SA/D ratio indicates that it is faster than 1% of all similar sailboat designs in light wind.

Over- / underrigged

Maintenance

Bottom Paint

When buying anti-fouling bottom paint, it's nice to know how much to buy. The surface of the wet bottom is about 79m² (850 ft²).
Based on this, your favourite maritime shop can tell you the quantity you need.

Note: If you use a paint roller you will need more paint than if you use a paintbrush.

Rig

Dimensions of sail for ketch rig.

Are your sails worn out? You might find your next sail here: Sails for Sale

If you need to renew parts of your running rig and is not quite sure of the dimensions, you may find the estimates computed below useful.

**Guiding dimensions of running rig**
Usage	Length		Diameter
Mainsail halyard	40.5 m	(133.0 feet)	14 mm	(0.55 inch)
Jib/genoa halyard	40.5 m	(133.0 feet)	14 mm	(0.55 inch)
Spinnaker halyard	40.5 m	(133.0 feet)	14 mm	(0.55 inch)
Jib sheet	16.3 m	(53.6 feet)	16 mm	(5/8 inch)
Genoa sheet	16.3 m	(53.6 feet)	16 mm	(5/8 inch)
Mainsheet	40.8 m	(133.9 feet)	16 mm	(5/8 inch)
Spinnaker sheet	35.9 m	(117.9 feet)	16 mm	(5/8 inch)
Cunningham	5.7 m	(18.7 feet)	14 mm	(0.55 inch)
Kickingstrap	11.4 m	(37.5 feet)	14 mm	(0.55 inch)
Clew-outhaul	11.4 m	(37.5 feet)	14 mm	(0.55 inch)

Boat owner's ideas

This section shown boat owner's changes, improvements, etc. Here you might find inspiration for your boat.

Do you have changes/improvements you would like to share? Upload a photo and describe what to look for.

Finally

We are always looking for new photos. If you can contribute with photos for Pearson 530 it would be a great help.

If you have any comments to the review, improvement suggestions, or the like, feel free to contact us. Criticism helps us to improve.

References

[Ref 1]: ISO 8666 Small craft — Principal data.
[Ref 3]: ISO 12215-5 Small craft — Hull construction and scantlings.