Peterson 34
- Thread starter thomm124
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PeterHuston
Super Anarchist
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Pretty basic construction, though older now...so ymmv. The boat really has no bad habits, other than a bit of the typical IOR roll downwind, but less than others of this vintage. Sailed on one for a year or so, and against several for many years. A very good all around boat.
bacarat
New member
Good boat - I'm on my second. They were built in Corpus Christi Tx by Composite Technology from unidirectional e-glass which was pretty high tech at the time. Cosmetically so-so, but really strong in my experience. Go to weather really well, easy to sail fast though they are a bear on a tight reach - sail to their rating for the most part. Mine won a lot of races in SF Bay, both crewed and shorthanded. Also know of one that went to the south seas and 2 others that did Mexico and back.
Laserslave
Anarchist
I sail on one every once and awhile. Good boat but I feel is on the twitchy side. Keep an eye on core problems. I don't know where they're cored or not but on a fairly big breeze day the cabin top was pulling up due to the cabin top winches being loaded up. In the galley there are two pillars (purely cosmetic) that make contact with the overhead. There was a 3 inch gap between the overhead and the top of the pillars.
SloopJonB
Super Anarchist
There were a number of "Peterson 34's" built by different yards. Don't know if they are all the same design - the original Ganbare One Tonner was 34' but was usually called a 35. The 34 I was a bit familiar with was Korean built - deluxe teak interior, very good tooling work on the glass - a very nice boat. It was a 3/4 Ton variant of the basic early IOR Peterson shape with all that implies. Pin tail stern, tail wags the dog downwind if you fly the chute in too much wind, remarkable upwind, good in light air etc. etc.
Nice boats.
Nice boats.
12 metre
Super Anarchist
Peterson 34 is a pretty generic description since as you mention, several builders have built what could be called a Peterson 34. I suspect the one in question is one of the Texas built ones. While Ganbare was 34 ft, the Ganbares built by Cooper were 35 feet. These were a development of Ganbare, not a copy. Later, Martin built these with a different cabin and deck layout.
Somebody Else
a person of little consequence
This one: sailboatdata.com/viewrecord.asp?class_id=2005
Good all-around boat. Somewhat of a light-air weapon.
Good all-around boat. Somewhat of a light-air weapon.
fucket
Anarchist
fucket
Anarchist
- Thread starter
- #11
Thanks. This is some good information. I found a 1979 Peterson 34.
I used to race small catamarans. Hobie 16, NACRA 6.0, NACRA F-17 in TN and FL but switched to monohulls recently and bought an old Bristol 27, but I need more speed and performance.
I used to race small catamarans. Hobie 16, NACRA 6.0, NACRA F-17 in TN and FL but switched to monohulls recently and bought an old Bristol 27, but I need more speed and performance.
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Diarmuid
Super Anarchist
Ping SA member Greyhawk (pka Catamount). Nice person, knows the boat inside & out, raced theirs to Bermuda & back. Personal website HERE. The P34 was on our short list. While the Texas boats especially have a reputation for good construction, many of these boats were raced hard, hard, hard. Chainplate attachment has been an issue, & dropped rigs were not uncommon. Damn fine looking boat. 
SloopJonB
Super Anarchist
Has Peterson ever drawn an ugly boat?Ping SA member Greyhawk (pka Catamount). Nice person, knows the boat inside & out, raced theirs to Bermuda & back. Personal website HERE. The P34 was on our short list. While the Texas boats especially have a reputation for good construction, many of these boats were raced hard, hard, hard. Chainplate attachment has been an issue, & dropped rigs were not uncommon. Damn fine looking boat.
Diarmuid
Super Anarchist
Likely not -- but I'm a shameless IOR whore. Those boats are like the last redhead in the bar: she'll hurt me, I'm sure to regret this later ... but we're leaving together anyhow. Some hormones will not listen to reason.
- Thread starter
- #15
Wow, that's awesome. I know that redhead. I met her soon after my separation and move to Pensacola, FL in 1996 where I really got into serious catamaran racing. She was lots of fun but very dangerous. Almost lost my job and almost got thrown in jail several times not to mention the fact that if you went to the head/ bathroom at a bar she coud be doing anything........................Likely not -- but I'm a shameless IOR whore. Those boats are like the last redhead in the bar: she'll hurt me, I'm sure to regret this later ... but we're leaving together anyhow. Some hormones will not listen to reason.
but it was a hell of a good time!
The last catamaran I raced had about 335sq ft of sail up when I flew the spinnaker. The boat weighed about 300lbs and was a singlehanded boat. So I'm hoping this Peterson 34 will keep things on the edge somewhat. My Bristol really doesn't seem to care too much about 20-25 knots. It just lays over a bit and stays there. It has about the same sail area as my last catamaran but displaces 6600lbs with 2600 ballast.
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daan62
Super Anarchist
if you mean the ood 34... i was told that they need keel reinforcement... (boats that i know of have had it!)
DEAD MONEY
Super Anarchist
We had one in our Fleet. They were the Fastest Peterson 34. They put 7 foot Keel and modified the Keel. Sailed above their penalty assessed for Mods. Anything over 10 they were unstoppable ! Boat is for sale now.
Catamount
Super Anarchist
Hard to imagine chainplate attachment problems from my limited experience (my boat, of course mine was one of the later ones so maybe fixed). I heard the problem with rigs had to do with a lack of compression bars between the spreaders.While the Texas boats especially have a reputation for good construction, many of these boats were raced hard, hard, hard. Chainplate attachment has been an issue, & dropped rigs were not uncommon. Damn fine looking boat.
