Pacific Seacraft Mariah 31 Sailboat Review, Specs, and Listings

Design and Construction

Crealock’s 31 keeps the fine, high bow and deep forefoot running aft under a subtly concave sheerline of its immediate forebearers, but departs from his norm with a broad, flat transom rather than the rounded, double-ended stern of the Crealock 34; that transom yields easier stern boarding and a sizeable quarterberth. The hull is proportionally broader in beam and longer on the waterline than the boats ahead of it, and buyers could choose a shoal-draft keel or a standard keel drawing 4 feet, 11 inches. The shoal-draft version produces a smaller bilge that limits fuel capacity by five gallons against the deeper variant. Structurally, chainplates are quarter-inch by 1.5-inch by 12-inch stainless tangs bolted outboard through a full backing plate with half-inch stainless bolts, positioned so the shrouds clear fore-and-aft sidedeck movement; a stainless compression post anchors into the keel sump beneath the teak-and-holly sole.

Rig and Handling

Aloft the boat carries a single-spreader extruded aluminum mast in cutter rig with 600 square feet of sail, or a 485-square-foot sloop option. Test sailors noted the lengthy fin keel still gave a relatively tight turning radius and acceptable headway loss through tacks for a cruiser, and in 18.7 knots with a 1-foot chop the boat tacked from 45 to 115 degrees and retained roughly,8 knots. Under canvas, close-hauled in 10–14 knots with a 1-foot chop it made 3.6 knots; at a steady 15 knots that rose to 4.2, and downwind under partially reefed main and full genoa it reached 6.7 knots. Test sailors were disappointed by its limited upwind speed in lighter wind ranges. The primary winches sit close enough to the helm for solo tending, yet their outboard placement meant the lower lifeline obstructed winch-handle rotation, a problem the tester said needed addressing. Running backstays looked like overkill to the tester but the owner valued them in big blows and at anchor to stop mast pumping.

Accommodations

Below, the builder chose an open interior rather than segmented cabins, a layout commissioned from Joseph Artese, and the openness is amplified by off-white gelcoat with teak faces and trim. Standing headroom is 6 feet, 1 inch throughout; the V-berth and quarterberth each give 6 feet, 6 inches of length with at least 5 feet of breadth, and the settees extend under the V-berth to a full 7 feet when the forward cushion is lifted, taking lee cloths as passagemaking seaberths. A centerline saloon table slides from beneath the V-berth, while a 5-cubic-foot icebox wears a teak lid that doubles as the chart table. The galley holds a gimbaled two-burner stove, a double-well stainless sink, and a week of storage; the head has a wet locker behind louvered teak doors and a bronze-base commode with bronze through-hull valves. Ventilation comes from seven 10-inch opening ports and a 20-inch forward hatch. Privacy is thin: accommodating a second couple overnight poses real challenges.

Cockpit and Deck Gear

Nearly a third of the deck is cockpit: 6-foot, 2-inch seats that narrow to 8 inches at the pedestal, a 30-inch stainless Edson wheel, and athwartship coaming cubbies 10 by 18 by 4 inches. Both seats lock open to lazarette storage and a rear lazarette sits under the helmsman’s seat. A 36-inch Garhauer traveler with 4:1 purchase and all-Harken new-boat hardware complete the rigging, while raised diamond nonskid, just-over-12-inch sidedecks, a 4-inch bulwark, and side scuppers through deck and hull define the working surfaces. The optional bimini gives 6 feet, 4 inches of cockpit headroom but obscures the mainsail from the helm; 2-inch aft-corner footwell scuppers are fitted, though owners reported an inch or two of standing water collecting forward under full-throttle power.

Known Issues and Ownership Notes

Access quirks mark the engineering spaces. The transmission dipstick is hard to reach, and the stuffing box requires pulling a quarterberth cushion and panel. The engine bay itself opens nearly 270 degrees by removing the companionway ladder and tilting the insulated teak box. Under the 30-horsepower Yanmar, testers logged 90 decibels in the cabin at 2,400–2,600 rpm and 5.3 knots in flat water against a slight headwind; owners reported half-gallon-per-hour cruising burn and a habit of furling the genoa for the inner headsail above 20 knots. The winch-handle obstruction and the forward footwell water are the two practical defects worth correcting.

The Verdict

The Pacific Seacraft 31 is a capable offshore cruising vessel with no other pretensions, a Crealock pedigree shrunk for couples yet retaining a longer waterline and broader beam than its ancestors. It is thoughtfully laid out for two, honestly engineered, and sails competently when pressed, though slow to windward in light air and afflicted by small but real access and cockpit drainage annoyances.

Pros