Pearson 365 Ketch Buyer's Guide
The Pearson 365 is a Bill Shaw-designed ketch that Pearson Yachts built from 1976 to 1982, with around 405 examples produced. On the brokerage market it presents as a moderate-displacement coastal and bluewater cruiser carrying a fin keel beneath a protective skeg and rudder, with a voluminous interior that has kept it in demand among couples and small families looking for a liveaboard-capable boat. A used Pearson 365 will almost always be a ketch, though a few sloops and cutters exist.
Layouts on the Used Market
Owner three-cabin arrangements are the more common configuration available to buyers, but both owner and ex-charter layouts turn up, with ex-charter examples themselves a common sight. Below decks you should expect a forward V-berth, a saloon with twin settees, a dedicated navigation station, and an aft U-shaped galley close to the cockpit. The head includes a separate shower stall, and the saloon carries over six feet of headroom. Ex-charter history is worth noting because it often means harder use of the same cored deck and screw-fastened fittings that trouble the design.
Equipment and Common Upgrades
Power and energy systems on these boats commonly include solar, chartplotters, lithium batteries, autopilots, and inverters, with biminis also commonly fitted. Often-seen additions are spinnakers, dodgers, dinghy davits, radar, and AIS. Less common owner upgrades include freezers, watermakers, wind generators, asymmetric spinnakers, hot water, and short-handed setups. For a buyer, the lithium and solar clusters matter most: they signal a boat set up for anchoring out on the 150-gallon water and 50-gallon fuel capacity without shore power. A modern autopilot and chartplotter reduce the strain of the ketch's divided sail plan on a short-handed crew.
What to Inspect
Because the deck sandwiches balsa between fiberglass skins, a buyer should press the deck core for moisture around winches, chainplates, and hatches for sponginess and check for stained liner below. The hatches can get spongy and the original portlights develop leaks; several owners fault the screw-installed portals and hatches, so test each for watertightness and look for drip trails on bulkheads. The steel plate where the main mast steps to the keel corrodes in standing seawater and eats the aluminum mast base, so inspect the bilge under the mast for undrained water and pitting at the mast foot mast-step corrosion. The 50-gallon steel fuel tank rusts and weakens with age, and replacement means engine removal, so smell for diesel and probe the tank sides for softness fuel tank corrosion. Cockpit lockers leak on some boats, and the two cockpit drains are small, so watch for water staining inside the lockers and ask whether the drains were enlarged. Engine access is cumbersome, so confirm whether panels were removed or a repower to Yanmar was done.
Availability and Buyer's Takeaway
These boats appear in the United States, the Dominican Republic, and Australia. Before you commit, walk the deck for core softness, pull the mast-step bilge for corrosion, sniff the fuel tank for rust, and check the cockpit drains for size.
- Inspect deck core around every fitting for moisture
- Check the mast-step plate and bilge for standing water
- Test original portlights and hatches for leaks
- Confirm fuel tank condition or repower history
- Verify cockpit drain size and locker sealing
Price & volume trends
Monthly asking-price and listing-volume trends for the Pearson 365 Ketch. The line shows the median ask each month; the bars show how many listings appeared.
Monthly breakdown · 12 rows
| Month | Listings | Median ask | Δ vs. last mo. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 25 | 2 | $10,900 | — |
| Feb 25 | 1 | $5,000 | -54.1% |
| Jun 25 | 1 | $12,900 | +158.0% |
| Jul 25 | 3 | $45,000 | +248.8% |
| Sep 25 | 2 | $41,250 | -8.3% |
| Jan 26 | 1 | $32,500 | -21.2% |
| Feb 26 | 7 | $32,500 | 0.0% |
| Mar 26 | 4 | $32,000 | -1.5% |
| Apr 26 | 7 | $32,500 | +1.6% |
| May 26 | 2 | $45,000 | +38.5% |
| Jun 26 | 6 | $33,700 | -25.1% |
| Jul 26 | 1 | $19,500 | -42.1% |
Where they're listed
Pearson 365 Ketch listings appear across 3 countries. United States has the most listings with 16 (59.3%), followed by Dominican Republic and Australia.
Country view
27 listings · 3 countries| Country | Median ask | Listings · 12 mo | Active · 90 d | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | $33,700 | 16 | 7 | 59.3% |
| Dominican Republic | $32,500 | 9 | 1 | 33.3% |
| Australia | $60,593 | 2 | 0 | 7.4% |
Comparable models
Similar length, displacement, and era. Open a row to compare that model's market page.
Similar boats to compare
6 similar designs| Model | LOA | Median ask | Listings · 12 mo | Active · 90 d |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Island Packet 35 | 35.33' | $ 74,900 | 62 | 24 |
| Dufour 365 Grand Large | 35.47' | $ 88,361 | 37 | 9 |
| Pilothouse 365 KetchYou are here | — | $ 32,500 | 30 | 8 |
| Pearson 365 | 36.42' | $ 29,000 | 12 | 1 |
| Custom 35 | 35.25' | $ 27,967 | 10 | 5 |
| Dean Catamarans 365 | 36.75' | $ 87,396 | 9 | 3 |