Pearson 24

The Pearson 24 is an American trailerable sailboat that was designed by William Shaw as a cruiser and first built in 1967.

The design is a development of the Lark 24.

Production
The design was built by Pearson Yachts in the United States from 1967 until 1969, but it is now out of production.

Design
The Pearson 24 is a recreational keelboat, built predominantly of fiberglass, with wood trim. It has a masthead sloop rig; a spooned, raked stem; a raised counter, angled transom, a keel-mounted rudder controlled by a tiller and a fixed modified long keel, with a cutaway forefoot. It displaces 4300 lb and carries 1800 lb of ballast.

The boat has a draft of 4.00 ft with the standard keel.

The boat is normally fitted with a small 4 to 6 hp outboard motor for docking and maneuvering.

The design has sleeping accommodation for four people, with a double "V"-berth in the bow cabin and two straight settees in the main cabin. The galley is located on both sides just aft of the bow cabin. The galley is equipped with sink to port and an optional two-burner stove to starboard. The optional head is located centered under the bow cabin "V"-berth. Cabin headroom is 57 in.

The design has a PHRF racing average handicap of 252 and a hull speed of 5.8 kn.

Operational history
The boat is supported by an active class club, the Pearson Yachts Portal.

In a 2010 review Steve Henkel wrote, "It is interesting to compare this boat with her near sister-ship, the Pearson Lark 24 ... The Lark was phased out in 1968, the year that the Pearson 24 was introduced. The two boats were more similar than an initial glance might indicate. It looks to us as if the Pearson 24 design uses the same basic hull, but with six inches of the stern counter chopped off, and a new deck mold more in line with what the conservative customer base was looking for in the late 1960s. The traditional cabin house gives a 4-inch boost in headroom, but the Space Index is almost 20 percent lower than the Lark's. The rather unconventional accommodations plan on the Lark was totally revamped on the P24 (to open up more space in the middle of the cabin by moving the head forward into the V-berth area (requiring elimination of the Lark’s hinged seatback facing aft), and eliminating the Lark’s elaborate galley storage area. The elegant deck-loading icebox on the Lark is gone, with 'provision for a portable ice chest' instead. The Pearson 24 was discontinued the year after she was introduced. We'd rather have kept the Lark. Best features: She's a good (but plain) cruising boat. Worst features: Her comp[arable]s are probably both faster in light air."