ensign sailboat

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Ensign Class Association

Welcome to the Ensign Class Association

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• Sailboat Guide

Pearson Ensign

Pearson Ensign is a 22 ′ 6 ″ / 6.9 m monohull sailboat designed by Carl Alberg and built by Pearson Yachts between 1962 and 1982.

Rig and Sails

Auxilary power, accomodations, calculations.

The theoretical maximum speed that a displacement hull can move efficiently through the water is determined by it's waterline length and displacement. It may be unable to reach this speed if the boat is underpowered or heavily loaded, though it may exceed this speed given enough power. Read more.

Classic hull speed formula:

Hull Speed = 1.34 x √LWL

Max Speed/Length ratio = 8.26 ÷ Displacement/Length ratio .311 Hull Speed = Max Speed/Length ratio x √LWL

Sail Area / Displacement Ratio

A measure of the power of the sails relative to the weight of the boat. The higher the number, the higher the performance, but the harder the boat will be to handle. This ratio is a "non-dimensional" value that facilitates comparisons between boats of different types and sizes. Read more.

SA/D = SA ÷ (D ÷ 64) 2/3

• SA : Sail area in square feet, derived by adding the mainsail area to 100% of the foretriangle area (the lateral area above the deck between the mast and the forestay).
• D : Displacement in pounds.

Ballast / Displacement Ratio

A measure of the stability of a boat's hull that suggests how well a monohull will stand up to its sails. The ballast displacement ratio indicates how much of the weight of a boat is placed for maximum stability against capsizing and is an indicator of stiffness and resistance to capsize.

Ballast / Displacement * 100

Displacement / Length Ratio

A measure of the weight of the boat relative to it's length at the waterline. The higher a boat’s D/L ratio, the more easily it will carry a load and the more comfortable its motion will be. The lower a boat's ratio is, the less power it takes to drive the boat to its nominal hull speed or beyond. Read more.

D/L = (D ÷ 2240) ÷ (0.01 x LWL)³

• D: Displacement of the boat in pounds.
• LWL: Waterline length in feet

Comfort Ratio

This ratio assess how quickly and abruptly a boat’s hull reacts to waves in a significant seaway, these being the elements of a boat’s motion most likely to cause seasickness. Read more.

Comfort ratio = D ÷ (.65 x (.7 LWL + .3 LOA) x Beam 1.33 )

• D: Displacement of the boat in pounds
• LOA: Length overall in feet
• Beam: Width of boat at the widest point in feet

Capsize Screening Formula

This formula attempts to indicate whether a given boat might be too wide and light to readily right itself after being overturned in extreme conditions. Read more.

CSV = Beam ÷ ³√(D / 64)

In 1959 Carl Alberg was commissioned by Pearson Yachts to design a 22-foot cruiser suitable for racing in the Midget Ocean Racing Club (MORC). This was the ELECTRA, which had a masthead rig, a small, self-bailing cockpit, and a cabin with galley space, head and bunks. About 350 ELECTRAS were built over the next six years.

Pearson dealers surmised that prospective Electra buyers might prefer the boat with a larger cockpit and smaller cabin. They passed the information along to Pearson, who subsequently asked Alberg to design a day sailor, suitable for one-design racing, based on the ELECTRA hull.

Other changes made included moving the mast six inches s forward, increasing the area of the mainsail, and reducing the height of the fore triangle.

The ELECTRA DAY SAILOR, as it was first called, was an instant success: 219 were sold in the first year (1962). At this time, the first class racing was organized (Fleet #l, out of Larchmont, New York).

The next year saw 213 more boats built and nine more fleets formed - in Houston, Texas; Hingham, Massachusetts; Providence, Rhode Island; Huntington and Port Washington, New York, Miami, Florida; Gibson Island, Maryland; and Falmouth, Maine. The last known builder (2003) was Ensign Spars Inc. of Dunedin, FL (USA).

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Pearson Electra

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The Pearson Ensign : 1962 – Present

Originally called The Electra Day Sailer , the Ensign is a Carl Alberg design

Time-honored Reliability

The Ensign hull design by Carl Alberg is based on the Pearson Electra . He modified the design for the Ensign in response to customer demand for a day-sailer with a larger cockpit and smaller cabin. Pearson Yachts was the only builder of the boat from 1962-1983 with 1775 boats constructed before ceasing production. Production was resumed in 2001 by Ensign Spars, Inc. of Dunedin Florida, where reportedly another 33 boats, (hull #2000 and above), have been produced as of 2019.

Consider this: The Ensign is the only sailboat from Pearson Yachts that is still in production today — and Pearson has been closed for close to 3 decades. Now isn't that a true test of time!

The Ensign is by far the largest one-design fleet of full-keel sailboats in the country. It was inducted into the American Sailboat Hall of Fame in 2002.

"Consider what has made the Ensign so popular… a large eight foot cockpit with full length teak seats so perfect for the safety and convenience of a large family; a twin-berth cuddy cabin with optional head for those overnights or weekends; national recognition as a one-design racing class; longevity of manufacturer; strict class rules for uniformity; Pearson Quality "! Pearson Yachts Inc.

More than 1700 ENSIGNS are sailing nationwide in a strong, active one-design association numbering 47 fleets in 20 states (1979). Rigid class rules insure continuity of design and manufacture thereby enhancing resale value. Her remarkable ability to race well while providing all the comfort and stability required of a good day-sailer or weekender has endeared here to hundreds of experts and novices everywhere.

Since the class was introduced in 1962, the ENSIGN has proven herself to be the ideal all-around family boat. Her ability, seaworthiness, and forgiving attitude have encouraged numerous people of all ages to "take to the water" for those precious leisure hours while providing those with a competitive spirit with a bonafide compromise between the thrill of racing and the lure of cruising.

Ask many of the experts now racing larger boats and they tell you it all started with the ENSIGN. Ask present ENSIGN owners, they tell you how difficult it is to find another boat that dollar for dollar represents the real value they presently enjoy.

If the ENSIGN will be your first boat, you can start with confidence — confidence in your boat and your investment. If it's your next boat you can rest assured that she will bring out the best of your experience.

Consider what has made the Ensign so popular… a large eight foot cockpit with full length teak seats so perfect for the safety and convenience of a large family; a twin-berth cuddy cabin with optional head for those overnights or weekends; national recognition as a one-design racing class; longevity of manufacturer; strict class rules for uniformity; Pearson Quality!

Pearson Yachts Inc. 1979

Ensign … one design sensation

Pearson Yachts 1961

Pearson Ensign – by the Numbers

Hover on hyperlink for definitions

• Construction Detail

Rev 9 - 26-Feb-1992

Standard Equipment

CONSTRUCTION: Hull and deck are integrally molded fiberglass laminate construction (hand lay-up) with bonded bulkheads. Deck is balsa-core fiberglass for strength, rigidity, and insulation. Teak coamings with winch mount areas. Teak seats and cockpit sole.

HARDWARE AND DECK FITTINGS: Chromeplated brass or bronze, stainless steel and special marine alloys. Stainless steel stemhead fittings, backstay and shroud chainplates. Bow cleats with chocks (P &S), stern cleats (P &S). Two fixed ports.

SPARS: MAST: Anodized aluminum 6061-T6 alloy with aluminum spreaders. Rigging fittings of stainless steel and aluminum alloy. Cleats for main, jib and downhaul. Gooseneck track, sail track and gate.

BOOM: Anodized aluminum 6061-T6 alloy with standard gooseneck, slide, topping lift fitting and mainsheet blocks.

STANDING RIGGING: Seven/eighths foretriangle rig (fractional). Stainless steel 1 x 19 construction with swaged tru-loc end fittings. Turnbuckles on all shrouds and stays. Toggles on headstay and shrouds.

RUNNING RIGGING: Main and jib halyards of 7 x 19 stainless steel wire with Dacron tails (spliced). Dacron jib and main sheets. Jib sheet lead blocks and cleats. Main sheet blocks and cleats.

INTERIOR: Provision for two full-length bunks in cuddy cabin.

SAFETY EQUIPMENT: All standing rigging and spars are grounded for lightning protection. Non-skid deck and cabin top.

Pearson Yachts Inc. 1962

Ensign Class Association

The Ensign Class Association was founded in 1962. It is one of the strongest national organizations in the country, with numerous local fleets from coast to coast.

The objectives of the assocation:

• To promote and develop Ensign Class racing under uniform rules.
• To rigidly maintain the one-design features of the Ensign.
• To promote use of the Ensign as a family boat for recreational sailing.
• To educate the public, and particularly the youth, in sailing and sailboat racing.

Features described by the association:

• It's a great looking boat, with classic lines, and a wonderfully large, deep cockpit where passengers feel comfortable, safe, and secure.
• It has a sail plan that achieves hull speed in breezes as low as eight to ten knots, and a full keel that delivers performance when the boat is sailed flat, and forgiveness when allowed to heel.
• It is a strong, durable boat, affordable to buy and easy to sell.
• There are not many designs that get everything so right
• For these reasons, the Ensign, on January 25th, 2002, was the first boat inducted into the American Sailboat Hall of Fame.

Ensign Resources

• Pearson Ensign One-Page Flyer
• Ensign Drawing
• Line Drawing
• Ensign Specifications
• Factory Installed Equipment
• Factory Options

Ensign On The Web

• Class Association - Ensign Class
• Ship's Store - Ensign Class
• Ensign Classic - EnsignSpars.com
• The Pearson Ensign - MainBoats.com Fleet 67
• Ensign Fleet 72 - SailSaratoga.org
• Pearson Ensign - Wikipedia.com
• Restoration of #1484 - Eraser
• Invictus #748 - Ensign Class Story
• The Other Woman - Ensign Class Story
• Ensign Specs - SailBoatData.com
• Pearson Info - dan.pfeiffer.net
• American Sailboat Hall of Fame - Archive.org

Pearson Ensign Brochures

Click to enlarge

Ensign Class Association

Class contact information.

Click below

Class Email

Class Website

One-Design Class Type: Keelboat

Was this boat built to be sailed by youth or adults? Adult

Approximately how many class members do you have? 500

Photo Credit:Spectrum Photo/Gran Grenon

Photo Credit: Chris Kogut

Photo Credit: Spectrum Photo/Fran Grenon

About Ensign Class Association

The Ensign is the largest class of full keel sailboats in North America, with over 2000 boats manufactured since 1962. Designed by Carl Alberg, its sustained popularity is due to very solid and durable construction, and a design that lends itself equally and admirably to comfortable family cruising, enjoyable day sailing, and close, strategic, tactical racing. The Ensign Class is one of the strongest national organizations, with numerous local fleets from coast to coast.

As a family day sailor, the Ensign has a large, deep cockpit, with enough room to comfortably seat six to eight adults. Its full keel provides a secure, stable ride, and its three foot draft makes it perfect for the shallower waters of bays and lakes and for anchoring fairly close to a protected shore. The cabin space is more than adequate for keeping lots of gear dry and can shelter two in a storm.

As a day sailor, the Ensign is a really enjoyable performer. The helm has a nice feel on all points of sail, and the boat has a versatile head sail inventory, including a working jib, a blade, #2 and #1 genoas, and a spinnaker. Single-handing is easy and exhilarating with the main and blade combination, especially if one includes the optional cabin top winches. For even easier head sail handling, it can be equipped with a roller furler.

The Ensign is 22 and 1/2 feet long, weighs about 3,000 pounds, and is best raced with a crew of four. Favored by former dinghy sailors and cruisers alike, it has no life lines and therefore many dinghy techniques (hiking, roll tacking, etc) can be used effectively. Racing is very close, strategic and tactical, with older boats performing just as well as the newer ones. This year’s national champion was built in 1964, and last year’s champion was built in 1966… testimony to the solid construction and durable design of the boat. The Ensign Class Association promotes and develops one design racing under uniform class rules, and rigidly maintains the one design features of the Ensign. New Ensigns continue to be manufactured by Ensign Spars, Inc., in Marquette, Michigan, using the original molds purchased from Pearson Yachts.

Boats Produced: 2000

Class boat builder(s):

http://ensignspars.com/

Approximately how many boats are in the USA/North America? 2000

Where is your One-Design class typically sailed in the USA? List regions of the country:

Coastal waters from New England to Mid Atlantic states Gulf Coast Great Lakes Inland Lakes throughout the US

Does this class have a spinnaker or gennaker? Yes

How many people sail as a crew including the helm?  3 to 4 for racing. 2 for cruising.

Ideal combined weight of range of crew:  not established

Portsmouth Yardstick Rating:   95.70

Boat Designed in  1962

Length (feet/inches): 22’6″

Beam: 7′

Weight of rigged boat without sails: 2800-3000 lbs

Draft: 3′

Mast Height: 32′

Tuning Guides

Back to One-Design Central

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SPECIFICATIONS

• DESCRIPTION

(SOLD) 2008 Pearson Ensign Classic

Just Offered

Here you go!

Rare, newer, Ensign Spars Classic. Those who may already be members of the Ensign cult need no introduction.  Note: This is not an older Pearson Ensign (see below)

For those who aren't as familiar: "The original Ensign was designed by Carl Alberg and built by Pearson Yachts of Bristol, Rhode Island. From 1962 to 1983, Pearson built 1776 Ensigns. In the following 18 years the only Ensigns that were available were existing boats. That all changed in the year 2000, when Ensign Spars, Inc. became the official licensed builder of the new Ensign Classic. Through a unique arrangement with the Ensign Class Association, Ensign Spars is the only official licensed builder of the new Ensign Classic. Built to original specifications, the Ensign Classic is the same boat Pearson Yachts built; a design that has lasted through the years, making old, restored Ensigns competitive with new Ensigns built by Ensign Spars."

More details to come, but feel free to call for more information

Trailer available

Honda outboard included

• Manufacturer: Pearson
• Model: Ensign Classic
• Category: Sail
• Condition: Used
• Location: Freeport US
• Hull Material: Fiberglass
• Length: 23 ft
• Draft - max: 3 ft
• Fresh Water Tank:
• Holding Tank:

DESCRIPTIONS

Disclaimer The Company offers the details of this vessel in good faith but cannot guarantee or warrant the accuracy of this information nor warrant the condition of the vessel. A buyer should instruct his agents, or his surveyors, to investigate such details as the buyer desires validated. This vessel is offered subject to prior sale, price change, or withdrawal without notice.

PRESENTED BY

Dimillo's yacht sales, get brochure.

Fill out the form below to download the PDF brochure for 2008 Pearson Ensign Classic

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Ensign Classic

Carl Alberg's stable one-design and daysailer gets a second life

What is it about the Ensign? It seems almost every sailor has an Ensign story lurking in the closet. Built by Pearson and launched in the early 1960s, the Ensign was dubbed, "the little big boat," and indeed, sailing an Ensign has provided many skippers with their first "big boat" experience.

The Ensign, which was designed by Carl Alberg in 1962 and is a recent addition to the American Sailboat Hall of Fame, remained in production until 1983 with 1,776 boats built. The boat features long overhangs, a flat sheerline, low freeboard, slab-sided topsides and a cutaway full keel with an attached rudder. The boat's most distinctive feature is a long, deep cockpit with mahogany coaming boards and a short cuddycabin. Displacement is 3,000 pounds, including 1,200 pounds of lead ballast.

Although the Ensign class association remained active after the boat went out of production, if you wanted to own an Ensign your only option was to purchase a used boat; at least until 2000 when the Ensign went back into limited production thanks to the Ensign Spars Company of Dunedin, Florida. Founded in 1995 by Ensign sailor and enthusiast Zeke Durica, the company was originally just a part-time business that made replacement masts and booms. Soon, however, Durica was supplying a variety of parts, refurbishing old Ensigns and toying with notion of building new boats. After locating the original molds in a Texas field, he made the plunge. Today, Ensign Spars is the licensed builder of the new Ensign Classic.

Already building the fourth Classic, Durica is dedicated to creating a boat with more options than the original production model. But the Ensign Classic still conforms to strict one-design rules and can race against boats built in 1962. The Classics, which began with hull No. 2,000, are available on a semicustom basis. Durica's 2,300-square-foot shop is set up to build two or three boats at a time.

The details The Ensign Classic is laminated to the same rugged scantlings as the old boats, with a solid glass hull and cored deck. Positive flotation in the form of closed-cell foam is sealed in the lazarette, under the bunks and cabin sole, and behind the keel trunk. The ballast is internal, and the large rudder is fiberglass. The aluminum spar supports a fractional rig. The interior features a V-berth, with a porta-potty in between and room for a small table.

The finish work on the new boats is excellent. Needless to say, you won't be buying a new Ensign Classic for the accommodations, but the cabin does provide a place to rest your body after a day of sailing, and when coupled with a boom tent, the Ensign Classic can be a comfortable camper/cruiser.

The large cockpit is the heart of the boat, and the Ensign Classic is available with either a fiberglass or teak sole, while the coaming boards can be mahogany or teak. Sail controls are led aft to jammers on the cabintop. The headsail sheet winches are mounted on molded coamings with the genoa tracks outboard. The wooden laminated tiller is mounted on a small bridgedeck aft. The mainsheet is led aft, and a traveler is optional.

"We're not just another sport boat," joked Durica, and the Ensign doesn't have to be. Indeed, one of the reasons for the Ensign's enduring popularity is undoubtedly the fact that it is a safe, stable boat that lends confidence to new sailors but also continues to challenge racing veterans.

Under way The Ensign Classic, like the original, has an easy motion in a seaway with a reluctance to pound even when sailing hard on the wind. Off the wind, the performance is surprising, and the 375-square-foot chute turbocharges the boat. The Ensign is surprisingly nimble when close tacking around the buoys.

Although the Ensign can be raced under PHRF, it is more fun to race against other Ensigns, and the Ensign National Class Association sponsors a national championship regatta every year. In addition, there are 45 active fleets around the country with which to hone your racing skills during the rest of the year.

One feature that has changed since the original Ensign was launched in 1962 is the price. Early boats sold for $2,500, but Ensign Spars is offering the new Classic Ensigns at a base price of $27,500 with fiberglass cockpit seats and floors. When you add sails, safety gear and an outboard engine, you'll be up over $30,000. Still, few boats can offer more fun, pound for pound or dollar for dollar, than the new Classic Ensign.

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