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Question 2:  My significant other and I are going to retire this year. We plan to cruise the Bahamas, the Keys, the western coast of Florida and further. May be in a few years sail to Europe. I would like a boat that is a good livaboard, but has sailing performance. I'm looking at an older hull number. What should I be looking out for?

The Answers from our owners:
Subject: Re: early hulls
I find the reference to hull #1 interesting, since Bill Shaw once told me Pearson didn't assign that number to a hull because no one wanted to buy it. The prototype was given hull #2 (always named Mahi Mahi and Bill Shaw sailed it) and the first production hull was #3. He said they also skipped #13. Evidently the production crew didn't know what the designer had in mind!
I don't know of any particular weaknesses in the early 424s other than those common to geriatric fiberglass boats. I suspect that it was some time after hull # 27 that they started to run the bulkhead between the forward cabin and the anchor locker all the way up into the deck-edge coamings. In our boat there was a gap at the top that let water flow over the top into the V-berth shelves when the boat was heeled and we took enough water on the foredeck to fill the anchor well.
Regards to all -- and happy holidays.
Hal Sutphen

First, the 'bilge box' you describe - the sump aft of the ballast keel - can be a weak area in many boats as the hull was laid up in two parts (just like a plastic airplane model) and then mated by laminating across the two halves. E.g. Bristols have a high reputation but are also known for this area to be weak & I've known 2 Bristol 40s that had to have the keel area of their bilge box repaired after grounding on sand (no immediate damange) and surge & wave action pounding the boat enough to pop this section, which has no internal reinforcement. Typically, this occurs when either the inner or outer 'joining' laminate was omitted by the builder. (We would probably grow weak in the knees to watch most boats being built, especially our own!) The repair is straightforward and, yes, I've known owners of several different designs lay up additional glass in this area despite having no detectable problem. We have at least one 424 member who poured a large amount of concrete into their bilge box, in part to reinforce it and also to make the bottom of the bilge more reachable.
Given the size (28') and type (simple systems) of your current boat, I would encourage you charter a boat or two - comparable in complexity and size to what you are shopping for - and perhaps one with an aft cockpit, the other a center cockpit. You might even consider doing this in S Florida, where you think you want to move to. Altho' I'm sure this is obvious to you & your wife, you're talking about enough significant change - in boats & lifestyles - that sampling both would be a great investment. I say this having moved from Annapolis MD to St. Pete FL, and having moved from a simple, smaller, center cockpit boat to a 424 aft cockpit ketch - we're happy with all these choices but in part because we 'tried them on', first. Having to deal with a rising wind aboard these bigger boats, perhaps at about the same time the engine packs up because of a clogged fuel filter, is not an insurmountable task but it's different in scale from what you might be used to now.
BTW if you've had any dealings with Jack Rabbit Marine in CT - a wonderful family business selling a mix of electrical systems for boats - you might contact Jack Csenge (the owner) as he's owned a 422 for many years.
Jack Tyler
Aboard WHOOSH, currently lying San Juan, PR

My own 424 was very badly damaged during a storm before I bought her. She ended up on the rocks and lost her keel and rudder. She was only three years old at the time. The boat was purchased as salvage by a local boat yard and restored. The yard did a great job reglassing her. I had the boat surveyed by a reputable surveyor before I made an offer. I've since had her offshore in rough conditions with no problem. I suppose that the bottom line here is that it is possible to properly repair damage , but be very careful. Have a proper survey done.
I've done a little cruising down in the keys in my old 30 footer. The boat I was on drew 5' 2" and bumped the bottom several times during our trip. The 424 draws a couple of more inches. I think the draft would be OK; something to consider in any purchase. I remember a bridge in Key Largo that was too low for the 424 however. Perhaps other owners can comment on how to get under this. The 424 has two rigs, one is about 4 feet taller than what I own. The taller rig will likely sail better but might present a problem down there.
Performance under sail is not considered great. Sailing performance is a trade-off among several parameters including comfort, rig-height and draft. If you plan to cruise down south, you may find that rig-height and draft are the limiting factor.
Rich

1. The broad flat sections of the hull just aft of the chain locker bulkhead have "oil-canned" in rough conditions on several boats (mine included) to the point of breaking the shelf alongside the vee-berth loose from its fastenings. The shelf stiffens these sections, but only if securely fastened at each end. I had to repair some glass work, then reinforce the cleats to which the shelf is fastened by through-bolting them to the shelf and to the bulkheads. It's a straightforward "fix".

2. The aluminum fuel tanks on early boats were set into wooden cradles lined with rubber strips which were attached to the wood with copper staples. If any water ever got below the cockpit sole, galvanic corrosion between the aluminum and the copper ate pinholes into the tanks, causing leaks of diesel fuel into the bilge. The only way to correct this is to remove and repair the fuel tank, and get rid of the copper staples...an arduous project that involves removing the engine. One owner did it the "easy" way by sawing the tank and cradle into pieces small enough to be removed through the cockpit lockers, but this obviously precluded repair of the existing tank.

3. Make sure that you are comfortable with the relative complexity of the auxiliary propulsion system. Many cruising boats have a Hurth (or similar) gearbox coupled directly to the prop shaft; to lock the prop when sailing one merely leaves the gearbox engaged. The 424, by contrast, has a 1:1 reversing hydraulic transmission, a hydraulic disc brake on the transmission output shaft, an intermediate drive shaft with a universal joint, a gear reduction v-drive, then the prop shaft. The engine is burdened with three heat exchangers as well as an assortment of proprietary (and very expensive) odd-ball coolant hoses. If hydraulic fluid is lost even for a brief period, as can happen if a hose bursts, the clutches in the transmission will burn up and then there is no "go" at all until after an expensive transmission overhaul. If your prospective boat does not have a hydraulic pressure loss alarm, consider installing one.

Lee Thurner
Meriden, #139