Boat Review: Sea Pearl (Revisited) Convenient and capable, the Marine Concepts Sea Pearl is a trailersailing jewel.


The eminent L. Francis Herreshoff called his Walrus design a “man’s boat.” A motorsailer, Walrus carried 755-square- feet of sail, two 65-horsepower gasoline engines, and a pot-bellied stove in her saloon. She was ideally suited to the cold-weather expedition. Her only weakness, especially in the


eyes of a venturesome coastal-cruising captain, was her six-foot draſt. Herres- hoff thought Walrus deserving of an able tender to serve as a secondary cruising boat for exploring shallows; this boat he called Carpenter. A double-ended 18-footer, Carpenter


was designed to carry substantial loads even through rough water. She was also intended to be easily beached—drawing a mere five inches with her centerboard retracted into her flat bottom. So im- pressed with the Walrus’ tender was Herreshoff that he wrote, “it might become something of a question as to which boat was tending which.” In 1979, fiſty years aſter Herreshoff ’s


sketches, George Jeffries and Ron John- son formed a boatbuilding partnership called Marine Concepts. Their first “concept” was a family boat based on Herreshoff ’s Carpenter. Expanded to 21 feet, their “Sea Pearl” maintained the length-to-beam ratio of the original. Not quite double-ended, the Sea Pearl had a narrow tombstone transom. Early versions employed a center-


board, but by the eighties leeboards were being offered. Te leeboard model excelled in shallow water, since the boards remain somewhat functional while drawing no more than the hull. And the absence of a centerboard trunk meant more room inside the forward cockpit or under the optional canvas cabin. Centerboard Pearls were soon all but obsolete. Early models were unballasted, but


since 1988 most have a hull liner and water ballast tanks that when full add 360 pounds. Te unique reefing goose- neck system was added by 1990. Four hundred-nineteen monohull Sea Pearls had been built when we wrote out initial review in 2004 (see issue #25). Marine Concepts remained “in the family,” op- erating under the watchful eye of owner


60


Jim Leet—Ron Johnson’s brother-in- law. At that time we asked Jim about his typical customer. “Most of our business comes from 60


to 80-year-olds. Te Sea Pearl is so easy to rig and launch that older folks really like them.” Leet sees tremendous poten- tial for his lightweight, rowable, sailable Sea Pearl in another market as well. “I’d also like to get the younger camp-cruise, kayak and canoe crowd. Our boat would be the absolute Cadillac of their market.” We sailed with owner Drew Squyres


aboard his 1991 model, Persuasion, and we asked the real experts—Sea Pearl owners—for their comments. Note: Before publishing this article


we reached out to Marine Concepts and didn’t get a reply. We were told by one Sea Pearl owner (but were not able to confirm) that Marine Concepts has ceased production of new boats, but that Jim Leet is possibly still selling accessories.


PERFORMANCE: “I have sailed along side a Drascombe and Bay Hen and had to luff both my sails to keep my speed down to theirs. Downwind, the ability to go wing-onwing in air too light to sustain flying a spinnaker cannot be matched.” Steve Churchill, 1993 Silmaril.


“People claim to tack through 90 degrees. I guess you can, if you’re pointing to the


max. I prefer to sail about 55 degrees off the wind for a little more speed.” Phil Ba- con, 1986 Scout.


“In a light breeze I get 3-4 knots easily. When the wind is over 10 knots, I consis- tently get 4.5 to 5.5 knots upwind and 6 to 6.5 knots downwind. I’ve surfed occa- sionally over 7 knots.” John Weiss, 1998 DragonSong.


“Te Sea Pearl is a family and recreational cruising boat, not a racing boat compara- ble to Flying Scots, Lightnings, Tistles, etc. Still, it is quite fast—commonly the fastest boat overall of a group of various trailerable cruisers such as the West Wight Potters, O’Days, Drascombes, Wayfarers, Dovekies, Hen boats, Sanibel, Com Pacs, etc. The 21 does not point well. The cat ketch rig, shallow draſt, and leeboards in lieu of a keel or center/daggerboard all work against sailing close to the wind. I have found that about sixty degrees off of the wind is the best I can do in good con- ditions. In rough seas, achieving even that upwind success requires close attention to such things as weight distribution and tell-tales.” Bill Fite, Moon Shadow.


ABOVE —The SP21 is an ideal shal- low-water explorer.—Photo Ron Hoddinott


OPPOSITE—Drew Squyres at the helm of his Pearl.. —Photo Debra Colvin


SMALL CRAFT ADVISOR


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