Performance Ratios

Racing handicap, sail-carrying power, stability and comfort — and what each one actually tells you about a day on the water.

Ballast / Displacement

45.0%

Stiff enough to carry a big genoa comfortably into moderate breeze.

Capsize Screening

1.87

Below the 2.0 offshore threshold — acceptable for ocean passages.

Motion & Offshore Suitability

Two ratios that matter most when you're planning passages — how the boat feels in a seaway, and whether the hull geometry is suitable for open ocean.

Capsize Screening Formula

1.87

Below the 2.0 offshore threshold — acceptable for ocean passages.

Under 2.0 — Acceptable for offshore

Over 2.0 — Coastal / protected waters

Where the Pearson 28 1981 sits on the PHRF handicap spectrum — lower numbers mean faster boats.

Cruiser/Racer 90–150

Cruiser 150–210

Heavy Cruiser 210–300

Pearson 30 174s/nm

Catalina 27 207s/nm

Pearson 26 213s/nm

Side-by-side with the boats most often cross-shopped against the Pearson 28 1981.

	Pearson 28 1981	Catalina 27	Oday 27	Pearson 26	Pearson 30
Dimensions
LOA	28.0	26.9	27.0	26.1	29.8
LWL	—	23.0	22.8	21.7	25.0
Beam	9.3	9.2	9.0	8.7	9.5
Displacement	7,850	6	6,700	5	8
Ballast	3,530	2	2,230	2	3
Sail Area	—	323	340	321	445
Performance
PHRF	—	207	—	213	174
SA/Disp	—	14.3	15.3	16.7	17.4
Bal/Disp	45.0	39.4	33.3	40.7	42.8
Comfort	—	25.0	22.9	20.4	24.3
Capsize	1.87	1.86	1.91	1.98	1.88
Hull Speed	—	6.3	6.4	6.2	6.7