At just over 22 feet overall, the Pearson 22 combines an 18.5-foot waterline with modest displacement and accommodations for four. The design reflects Shaw’s conviction that waterline length, rather than overall length, brings dividends in both speed and interior room.
Design and Construction
The Pearson 22 is built predominantly of fiberglass, with a balsa-cored deck intended to provide stiffness and insulation without bloating displacement. The hull has a raked stem and slightly reverse transom, along with a fixed swept fin keel and an internally mounted spade rudder controlled by a tiller.
Displacement is 2,600 pounds, including 1,000 pounds of iron ballast. Her ballast-to-displacement ratio is about 38 percent, and her capsize screening number is 2.25. Those figures place her firmly in the small trailerable-cruiser class rather than the daysailer toy box.
Shaw deliberately gave the design a long waterline, aiming to improve speed and interior space at the same time. A self-bailing cockpit acknowledges that a boat of this size gets wet, while trailerability extends her reach beyond any single home port.
Rig, Handling, and Racing
The Pearson 22 carries a fractional sloop rig, with a mast rising roughly 30 feet above the waterline. Sail area is about 218 square feet, giving a sail-area-to-displacement ratio near 18.4.
Under sail, she accelerates quickly and responds immediately—traits that make her feel larger than her length. In her first year of competition, she kept pace with boats half again her size. Hull No. 45 won four races longer than 20 miles by corrected margins of more than five minutes, then took a season championship as the smallest boat in her fleet.
Owners who raced the Pearson 22 against boats in the same size range considered her probably the stiffest of the group. Her average PHRF handicap of 246 also marks her as a genuinely raceable small cruiser rather than a dockside prop.
Accommodations
Below, the Pearson 22 sleeps four, with a double V-berth in the bow cabin and two straight settee berths in the main cabin. The builder’s literature lists four full-length bunks and notes galley provisions. In the detailed layout, the galley occupies both sides of the cabin just aft of the bow cabin, with a stove and sink available as options.
The head is in the bow cabin beneath the V-berth, and Pearson offered an optional toilet. Buyers could therefore specify the boat as either a weekender or a stripped racer.
The same long-waterline hull that sharpened her performance also expanded the habitable footprint. That balance between speed and usable space is central to Shaw’s design.
Engine Arrangement and Known Issues
The one documented ownership complaint concerns ergonomics rather than structure. The throttle and shift controls are mounted well aft in the cockpit, while the propeller sits outside the counter stern.
This arrangement leaves the helmsperson some distance from the controls and exposes the propeller aft. Both points are worth knowing when maneuvering under power in tight quarters.
Refits and Ownership
Production lasted only four years before Pearson discontinued the 22 and superseded her with slightly larger cruisers such as the Pearson 26. Surviving examples therefore form a finite early-Shaw cohort.
Because the design is trailerable, many boats escaped harsh northern winters. The outboard-control geometry, however, is inherent in the layout rather than a readily corrected oversight; changing it would require custom work. The balsa-cored deck, standard for Pearson boats of the period, also calls for the usual vigilance for moisture around through-deck fittings.
The Verdict
The Pearson 22 is a small Shaw cruiser-racer that punches above her length. She accelerates quickly, is stiff among her peers, and uses her long waterline to provide an interior that sleeps four without pretending to be something it isn’t.
Her four-year production run makes her a neat historical footnote, but her racing record shows that she could beat larger boats on corrected time. The remote outboard controls and exposed propeller are the price of the counter-stern layout.
Pros
- Quick acceleration and immediate response under the fractional sloop rig
- Stiff hull for her size class, with a proven racing record against larger boats
- Long waterline provides four berths and a proper galley in 22 feet
- Trailerable design and self-bailing cockpit support versatile use
Cons
- Outboard-engine controls are mounted far aft in the cockpit
- Propeller extends beyond the counter stern and is exposed while maneuvering
- Brief four-year production run limits fleet size and parts commonality
