Step for Pearson 323

[Wayne See]

I recently purchased my Pearson 323 hull 98. The step plate was almost totally corroded away. I had a stainless steel step fabricated and had to cut 4 inches off the mast as the bottom was corroded. The step was built up 4" to compensate.  I was wondering if anyone else had a similar problem? I am thinking of putting in a small bilge pump at the base of the mast to move standing water away from the step plate. The sink and shower drain into this compartment. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

[Ed Criscuolo]

Hi Wayne,

Welcome to the PSA and welcome to the forum.

We too have a p-323 which also had mast step issues when we bought it. The OEM Pearson step was fabricated from mild steel which had rusted severly in the damp bilge. Even worse, galvanic corrosion between the steel and the aluminum mast had eaten into the mast enough to be of concern. This is a known problem with some Pearsons.

A few years ago, I took down the mast and completely rebuilt it, sandblasting it down to a bare pole and doing new paint, fittings, wiring, lights, and rigging. In the process of this, we had to cut off 4" from the foot of the mast and have a new step fabricated. I went with welded 1/2" aluminum plate on the theory that it would produce no galvanic corrosion with the alum. mast. Probably overkill, as the original steel step and mast lasted over 30 years!

As for the bilge, the shower and sink should NOT drain into it!  I suspect a previous owner modified it. Ours has a small sump tank located under the large floor hatch in the main cabin. The shower, small sink, and the icebox drain into it. A manually activated electric pump empties it.

If you come to the July rendezvous we can compare notes. Looking forward to meeting you.

[Wayne See]

Ed thank you for the information you provided on the step plate. I will look into routing the sink and shower water to the bilge.  I am going through the systems on the boat to see what I need to modify. The information other owners of older boats provide  is very useful. Thank you for your reply. By the way, I am having an electrician look at the electrical system as i believe it is the original wiring.

I don't think we can make the rendezvous due to previous commitments. Thanks again

[Ed Criscuolo]

Sorry you can't make it.  But I'm sure we'll eventually meet up sometime.

Since your 323 is a 1978, I'm assuming you have an Atomic 4 engine.  Ours 1977 does, and I'm quite happy with this dependable, simple, easily serviced little engine. You should look up the Moyer marine forum (http://moyermarine.com/forum).  It contains a lot of very high-quality info on the A4, as well as a lot of active and knowledgable members who are happy to help.

You should definitely look up the Pearson-323 Owners website and forum: http://www.pearson323.com/ .  Lots of 323 Owners there.  And they maintain a registry of as many of the 323s as they can find.  I noticed that hull #98 is not listed in the registry, so you should at least pop by there and send the webmaster an email with your information.

Are you having any specific electrical issues?  I'm pretty familiar with the boat's electrical system.  The original wiring is pretty sad, and ours has been further complicated by EIGHT previous owners before us!  Little by little, I've been going through and correcting the problems.

[Wayne See]

Ed, the original atomic 4 was replaced with a yanmar 30 hp diesel. It is a tight squeeze to replace impellers and fuel filters.

My main concern with the electrical is the 110 AC. There is no breaker panel or a circuit breaker for the water heater or the outlets in the boat. I could use another 12 volt dc breaker panel to accommodate anything I might add.

This is the fun of owning an older boat.

[Ed Criscuolo]

Yes, the OEM A/C wiring is primitive.  That was one of the first things I replaced.  Here's a link to the projects page of my website describing the upgrade I did.