Pearson Triton Buyer's Guide
Shopping the used Pearson Triton means stepping into the early history of production fiberglass cruising boats. Carl Alberg's 28-foot design was built from 1959 through 1967, with more than 700 hulls produced by Pearson Yachts and some 125 built by Aeromarine in California in the early 1960s, and it remains a landmark boat that many good sailors learned on. On the brokerage market these are almost entirely found in the United States, where a well-kept example offers one of the smallest and most affordable platforms that has genuinely crossed oceans.
Layouts on the Used Market
Below, the Triton sleeps four: a private cabin forward and settee berths in the main saloon, with a small but enclosed head to port. The galley sits at the companionway foot, sink to starboard and icebox to port, and the main cabin carries over six feet of headroom while the forward area is lower. Cockpit tiller steering, fore-and-aft benches, and a centerline companionway define the deck, and the long cockpit can lie down in. East Coast hulls keep wooden coamings and trim; later boats added a fiberglass liner in the main cabin but left the forward cabin bare.
Equipment and Common Upgrades
Tritons commonly come with a dodger, spinnaker or asymmetric spinnaker, solar, lithium batteries, autopilot, and chartplotter as standard brokerage fitments. Often seen are inverter, code zero, hot water, bimini, cockpit shower, radar, AIS, and evidence of circumnavigation rigging. For a buyer the meaningful clusters are power and energy — solar with lithium and an inverter supports anchor life — and navigation and self-steering, where chartplotter, autopilot, and AIS turn a classic into a manageable coastal or bluewater cruiser. Sail-handling canvas such as dodger and bimini, plus the spinnaker or code zero, matters more than creature tags when judging an individual listing.
What to Inspect
The early side-opening seat lockers are dangerous unless sealed tightly, and hulls before about #120 carry single lower shrouds that proved inadequate, with retrofit double lowers supplied later. Several reports exist of rigging tangs failing, and the aluminum spreader sockets can break without warning. A core concern is the deck caving under the mast from insufficient beam load capacity, and the deck can part from the hull in soft areas. Check the bronze rudder shoe for electrolysis and the mahogany rudder for haul-out cracks, and confirm the teak sole beams are not rotted by a wet bilge. Main cabin windows are near too large, so storm shutters are wise.
Availability and Buyer's Takeaway
The Triton is a United States-market boat, seldom seen elsewhere, and the right example rewards an inspector who knows the weak points. Buyer checklist: confirm double lower shrouds and tight seat lockers; survey deck-to-hull joint and mast-step beams; test rudder shoe and wood rudder condition; verify sole beams dry; plan for canvas and energy upgrades if absent.
Price & volume trends
Monthly asking-price and listing-volume trends for the Pearson Triton. The line shows the median ask each month; the bars show how many listings appeared.
Monthly breakdown · 6 rows
| Month | Listings | Median ask | Δ vs. last mo. |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 25 | 1 | $7,000 | — |
| Jan 26 | 1 | $14,500 | +107.1% |
| Mar 26 | 1 | $22,000 | +51.7% |
| May 26 | 1 | $12,500 | -43.2% |
| Jun 26 | 2 | $14,900 | +19.2% |
| Jul 26 | 1 | $35,000 | +134.9% |
Where they're listed
Pearson Triton listings appear across 1 country. United States has the most listings with 6.
Country view
6 listings · 1 country| Country | Median ask | Listings · 12 mo | Active · 90 d | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | $14,900 | 6 | 3 | 100.0% |
Comparable models
Similar length, displacement, and era. Open a row to compare that model's market page.
Similar boats to compare
3 similar designs| Model | LOA | Median ask | Listings · 12 mo | Active · 90 d |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pearson 35 | 35' | $ 19,000 | 17 | 7 |
| Pearson 33 | 32.92' | $ 19,000 | 12 | 5 |
| Pearson TritonYou are here | — | $ 14,900 | 6 | 3 |