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Review of Pion


Pion
Pion anno 1978. This Pion was manufactured by Okazaki Boatworks in Japan

Basic specs.

sail specifications
The Pion aka Pion 30 is a sailboat designed by the Dutch maritime architect E. G. van de Stadt in the mid seventies. The Pion is built by the Japanese yard Okazaki Boatyard Co., Ltd..

Looking for a new boat? Find a Pion or similar boat for sale

Hull
Both the hull and the deck is made of fibreglass. Generally, a hull made of fibreglass requires only a minimum of maintenance during the sailing season. And outside the sailing season, just bottom cleaning and perhaps anti-fouling painting once a year - a few hours of work, that's all.

Interior
The boat is equipped with 5 berths, a galley and toilet facility.
The headroom is above average
Bathroom
Bathroom of Pion anno 1978.

Rig
Rig
Rig of Pion anno 1978.
The boat equipped with a fractional rig. A fractional rig has smaller headsails which make tacking easier, which is an advantage for cruisers and racers, of course. The downside is that having the wind from behind often requires a genaker or a spinnaker for optimal speed.

Keel
Keel
Keel of Pion anno 1978. This Pion was manufactured by Okazaki Boatworks in Japan

The Pion is equipped with a fin keel. A boat with a fin keel is more manoeuvrable but has less directional stability than a similar boat with a long keel.

The keel is made of iron. Many people prefer lead keel in favour of iron. The main argument is that lead is much heavier than iron and a lead keel can therefore be made smaller which again result in less wet surface, i.e. less drag. In fact iron is quite heavy, just 30% less heavy than lead, so the advantage of a lead keel is often overstated. As the surface of a fin type keel is just a fraction of the total wet surface, the difference between an iron keel and a lead keel can in reality be ignored for cruising yachts.

The boat can only enter major marinas as the draft is about 1.92 - 2.02 meter (6.30 - 6.60 ft) dependent on the load. See immersion rate below.


Engine

Pion is typically equipped with an inboard Yanmar 3YM diesel engine at 14.0 hp (10 kW), which gives a max speed about 4.8 knots.

The transmission is a shaft drive. A shaft drive will in the long run require less maintenence than other types of drive e.g. a sail drive.

The fuel tank which is made of stainless steel has a capacity of 75.0 liters (19 US gallons, 16 imperial gallons).


Sailing characteristics

This section covers widely used rules of thumb to describe the sailing characteristics. Please note that even though the calculations are correct, the interpretation of the results might not be valid for extreme boats.

Stability and Safety

What is Capsize Screening Formula (CSF)?

The capsize screening value for Pion is 1.93, indicating that this boat could - if evaluated by this formula alone - be accepted to participate in ocean races.


Theoretical Maximum Hull Speed

What is Theoretical Maximum Hull Speed?

The theoretical maximal speed of a displacement boat of this length is 6.5 knots. The term "Theoretical Maximum Hull Speed" is widely used even though a boat can sail faster. The term shall be interpreted as above the theoretical speed a great additional power is necessary for a small gain in speed.


Immersion rate

The immersion rate is defined as the weight required to sink the boat a certain level. The immersion rate for Pion is about 142 kg/cm, alternatively 796 lbs/inch.
Meaning: if you load 142 kg cargo on the boat then it will sink 1 cm. Alternatively, if you load 796 lbs cargo on the boat it will sink 1 inch.


Sailing statistics

This section is statistical comparison with similar boats of the same category. The basis of the following statistical computations is our unique database with more than 26,000 different boat types and 350,000 data points.

Motion Comfort Ratio

What is Motion Comfort Ratio (MCR)?

The Motion Comfort Ratio for Pion is 23.2.

Low High 50% 0 50 100
Comparing this ratio with similar sailboats show that it is more comfortable than 50% of all similar sailboat designs. This is an average comfort value!


L/B (Length Beam Ratio)

What is L/B (Length Beam Ratio)?

The l/b ratio for Pion is 3.10.

Slim Wide 50% 0 50 100
Compared with other similar sailboats it is more spacy than 50% of all other designs. It seems that the designer has chosen an average hull design.


Ballast Ratio

What is a Ballast Ratio?

The ballast ratio for Pion is 39%.

Low High 38% 0 50 100
This ballast ratio shows a righting moment that is higher than 38% of all similar sailboat designs. A righting moment (ability to resist heeling) just below average.


D/L (Displacement Length Ratio)

What is Displacement Length Ratio?

The DL-ratio for Pion is 261 which categorizes this boat among 'light crusers & offshore racers'.

Heavy Light 50% 0 50 100
50% of all similar sailboat designs are categorized as heavier. This boat has a precise average ratio between displacement and length!


SA/D (Sail Area Displacement ratio)

What is SA/D (Sail Area Displacement ratio)?

The SA/D for Pion with ISO 8666 reference sail is 15.3, with a 135% genua the SA/D is 18.2.

Low High 42% 0 50 100
The SA/D ratio indicates that it is faster than 42% of all similar sailboat designs in light wind.


Over- / underrigged

Low High 31% 0 50 100
The Pion has more rig than 31% of all similar sailboats, which indicates that the boat is slightly underrigged.


Maintenance

Bottom Paint

When buying anti-fouling bottom paint, it's nice to know how much to buy. The surface of the wet bottom is about 26m2 (279 ft2).
Based on this, your favourite maritime shop can tell you the quantity you need.

Note: If you use a paint roller you will need more paint than if you use a paintbrush.


Rig

Dimensions of sail for fractional rig.

mainsail specifications headsail specifications

Are your sails worn out? You might find your next sail here: Sails for Sale



If you need to renew parts of your running rig and is not quite sure of the dimensions, you may find the estimates computed below useful.



Guiding dimensions of running rig
UsageLengthDiameter
Mainsail halyard 27.6 m(90.4 feet)10 mm(3/8 inch)
Jib/genoa halyard27.6 m(90.4 feet)10 mm(3/8 inch)
Spinnaker halyard27.6 m(90.4 feet)10 mm(3/8 inch)
Jib sheet 9.1 m(29.8 feet)12 mm(1/2 inch)
Genoa sheet9.1 m(29.8 feet)12 mm(1/2 inch)
Mainsheet 22.7 m(74.4 feet)12 mm(1/2 inch)
Spinnaker sheet20.0 m(65.5 feet)12 mm(1/2 inch)
Cunningham3.1 m(10.2 feet)10 mm(3/8 inch)
Kickingstrap6.2 m(20.3 feet)10 mm(3/8 inch)
Clew-outhaul6.2 m(20.3 feet)10 mm(3/8 inch)

Boat owner's ideas

This section shown boat owner's changes, improvements, etc. Here you might find inspiration for your boat.

Do you have changes/improvements you would like to share? Upload a photo and describe what to look for.



Finally

We are always looking for new photos. If you can contribute with photos for Pion it would be a great help.

If you have any comments to the review, improvement suggestions, or the like, feel free to contact us. Criticism helps us to improve.



References