The Pearson Triton is a fiberglass

Fiberglass

Glass fiber is a material consisting of numerous extremely fine fibers of glass.Glassmakers throughout history have experimented with glass fibers, but mass manufacture of glass fiber was only made possible with the invention of finer machine tooling...

 sailboat

Sailboat

A sailboat or sailing boat is a boat propelled partly or entirely by sails. The term covers a variety of boats, larger than small vessels such as sailboards and smaller than sailing ships, but distinctions in the size are not strictly defined and what constitutes a sailing ship, sailboat, or a...

 that was manufactured by Pearson Yachts

Pearson Yachts

Pearson Yachts was a small manufacturer of fiberglass sailboats built in Bristol, Rhode Island founded by cousins Clinton and Everett Pearson in 1956. The company is one of earliest fiberglass sailboat manufacturers. The Carl Alberg designed Triton 28 launched at the New York Boat Show in January...

.

The Triton was introduced at the 1959 New York National Boat Show and was an immediate sales hit. An estimated seven hundred examples of this conservative, deep-water 28.5 foot auxiliary cruising sailboat were built between 1959 and 1967.

The Triton was designed by Carl Alberg

Carl Alberg

Carl Alberg was a Swedish born yacht designer known for his influence in early fiberglass boats.- Career :thumb|an Alberg 30, built in 1966...

, with a strong influence from Scandinavian sailboats such as the Folkboat and also the CCA race rules of the day. The Triton was first built by Pearson Yachts in Bristol, RI. Approximately 200 West Coast version Tritons were built under license by Aeromarine Plastics in Sausalito, CA. The east and west coast versions differ somewhat in a number of minor construction details while retaining the same basic hull shape. One obvious difference was an all-fiberglass coaming

Coaming

Coaming is any vertical surface on a ship designed to deflect or prevent entry of water. It usually refers to raised section of deck plating around an opening, such as a hatch...

 around the cockpit on the WC models versus a traditional wood coaming on the East Coast models. Early East Coast versions also featured cast bronze frames for all of the port windows. The West Coast boats had frameless ports. All were originally powered by a Universal Atomic 4

Universal Atomic 4

The Universal Atomic 4 is a four-cylinder, 64.46 cubic inch, gas engine produced by the Universal Motor Company between 1947 and 1984 for use as auxiliary power on sailboats. Over 40,000 of the engines were produced during that time, with an estimated 20,000 still in use today...

 gasoline auxiliary engine.

Single-handed sailor, James Baldwin, successfully circumnavigated

Circumnavigation

Circumnavigation – literally, "navigation of a circumference" – refers to travelling all the way around an island, a continent, or the entire planet Earth.- Global circumnavigation :...

 his Triton "Atom" twice in the 1980s, and many Tritons have made numerous Pacific and Atlantic crossings.

Specifications

LOA: 28'-6"

LWL: 20'-6"

Beam: 8'-3"

Draft: 4'-6"

Ballast: 3019 lb (Lead)

Sail Area (100%): 362 sq ft (33.6 m²)

Displacement: 6900 - 8000 lb. (Approx)*

• The actual displacement figure is not known precisely as Pearson did not weigh their boats and when one was finally weighed by Pearson after several years of production it was found to be approximately 1500 pounds heavier than expected. Most Tritons in cruising (fully loaded) displacement mode exceed 8000 lb and approach 9000 lb.

Comparable sailboats

• Albin Vega
  Albin Vega
  The Albin Vega was a brand of yacht designed in 1965 and put into production in 1966 after extensive sea trials. Production ended in 1979 with almost 3400 hulls built...
  
  
• Pearson Ariel
  Pearson Ariel
  The Ariel was designed by naval architect Carl Alberg in 1961 for Pearson Yachts of Bristol, Rhode Island. The Ariel offered Pearson’s early 1960’s customers a midsized boat to fill the product line between the very successful Pearson Triton and the smaller Pearson Ensign/Electra...
  
  
• Pearson Renegade
  Pearson renegade
  The Pearson Renegade is a 27' sloop rigged sailboat produced by Pearson Yachts of Bristol, RI from 1966-1969, with the first boats being sold in 1967. Designed by William Shaw, about 175 of the boats were built. They were Pearson's first split underbody boat and were designed to Cruising Club of...
  
  
• Pearson Vanguard
  Pearson Vanguard
  The Pearson Vanguard is a classic sailboat designed in 1962 by Philip Rhodes. These boats were built by Pearson from 1963-1967. Pearson Vanguards are a classic cruiser known for world travel....
  
  

External links

• http://bluewaterboats.org/pearson-triton-28
• National Triton Association
• San Francisco Triton Association
• New England Triton Association
• Chesapeake Bay Triton Fleet