Pacific Seacraft Bluewater Sailboats
Pacific Seacraft 34 Review and Used Buying Guide
Bill Crealock's canoe-sterned Voyagemaker, small enough for a couple to handle and strong enough to take them anywhere.
- Length
- 34.1 ft10.39 m
- Beam
- 10 ft3.05 m
- Draft
- 4.9 ft1.5 m
- Cabins
- 1 enclosed forward cabin plus quarter berth
- Used price
- $65K to $220K
On this page
- Overview
- Pacific Seacraft 34, the Crealock 34 that became a Voyagemaker
- Canoe stern, long fin and a skeg that protects the rudder
- What Practical Sailor found inside the laminate
- Cutter rig, running backstays and a cockpit for four
- Below decks, a seagoing plan for two
- Under sail and power, the test numbers
- Survey list and running costs for a 40-year-old classic
- Specifications
- Price and value
- Strengths and weaknesses
- Used buyer checklist
- Rivals
- Our verdict
- FAQ
The Pacific Seacraft 34, first sold as the Crealock 34, is a 34-foot cutter with a long fin keel, skeg-hung rudder and canoe stern. Introduced in 1984, it remains one of the most respected small bluewater boats built in the US.
- Couples planning offshore passages
- Single-handers
- Owners downsizing from a larger cruiser
- Buyers who value build quality over volume
Pacific Seacraft 34, the Crealock 34 that became a Voyagemaker
The Pacific Seacraft 34 began life as the Crealock 34, a slightly smaller and proportionally roomier companion to the Crealock 37 of 1980. Bill Crealock, a Glasgow-trained naval architect who spent eight years cruising the Atlantic and Pacific before opening his California studio in 1958, wanted the same qualities in both: easy motion, dryness, strength, windward ability, a deep and safe cockpit and, above all, balance. Pacific Seacraft introduced the 34 in 1984 and later marketed it with its bigger sisters as the Voyagemaker line.
Any honest Pacific Seacraft 34 review starts with the reputation. Practical Sailor called the production process one of the strongest in the industry, and the boat has carried couples across every ocean. A 1988 variant sold with extra standard equipment as the Circumnavigator 34 tells you how the builder saw its market. After Pacific Seacraft's 2007 bankruptcy, Stephen Brodie bought the assets, moved the company to Washington, North Carolina, and restarted production in 2008, keeping the 34 in a five-boat line built to order.
Pacific Seacraft 34 by the numbers
- Sail area to displacement
- 15.0A cruising rig sized for comfort, so expect to motor in very light air.
- Displacement to length
- 335Heavy displacement. Slow to accelerate but steady and sea kindly with a full load.
- Theoretical hull speed
- 6.9 knThe practical top speed of a displacement monohull under normal sailing, based on waterline length.
- Ballast ratio
- 36%A typical ballast ratio for a cruising monohull.
- Capsize screening
- 1.68Below 2.0, the traditional threshold for offshore suitability.
- Motion comfort ratio
- 34.0Moderate motion comfort, typical of modern cruisers.
- Length to beam ratio
- 3.41 : 1Moderate proportions.
Canoe stern, long fin and a skeg that protects the rudder
Crealock believed that when the going gets tough in a following sea, the stern becomes the bow. His canoe stern is finer than the rounded double-enders built in Taiwan in the same era, and paired with a high-lift skeg it reduces the chance of a broach. Underwater, the PS 34 has a long cruising fin keel faired toward the skeg, with the propeller in an aperture behind it. It is more maneuverable than a full keel and tracks better than a modern short fin.
The numbers describe a moderate-to-heavy offshore boat: 13,500 lbs on a 26 ft 3 in waterline for a displacement to length ratio around 333, ballast of 4,800 lbs of external lead, a sail area to displacement of about 15.1 (18.4 counting the staysail), a capsize screening value of 1.68 and, according to owner Bob Stipak's well-known Ubiquity site, a limit of positive stability around 144 degrees. Draft is 4 ft 11 in with the standard keel or 4 ft 1 in with the shoal keel.
What Practical Sailor found inside the laminate
The hull is solid fiberglass, 7/8 in thick at the bottom, starting with a vinylester-wetted chopped strand skin coat to resist blisters and followed by biaxial roving in isophthalic polyester, with extra layers at the chainplates, keel and rudderstock. A full-length interior pan is bonded to the hull, bulkheads are tabbed to hull and deck, and each bulkhead top carries a teak beam carriage-bolted through the deck, producing a unitized structure that resists flexing.
The hull-deck joint sits under a 4 in bulwark, bedded in polyurethane and through-bolted with 1/4 in stainless bolts on 4 in centers, then covered by a bedded and screwed teak caprail. The deck is balsa-cored with plywood under hardware, and fastener holes were sealed with epoxy before bolting. Chainplates are mounted outside the hull for easy inspection, the lead keel is bolted to a solid stub with backing plates bedded in epoxy, and the skeg has a steel plate molded into its leading edge.
Cutter rig, running backstays and a cockpit for four
The single-spreader LeFiell mast carries a headstay and inner forestay, both on Harken furlers on most boats, with running backstays to support the staysail stay. Outboard chainplates give a wide shroud base and 18 in side decks. Early boats had halyard winches on the mast, while later boats with the single-hander's package lead everything aft to clutches and six two-speed self-tailing winches, the setup to look for if you plan to reef from the cockpit.
The cockpit is an oval with 6 ft 5 in seats and a narrow 28 in footwell, comfortable for four adults and secure in big seas but tight for entertaining. The arched helm seat is comfortable. Stowage in the stern holds two propane tanks, a stern anchor and fenders.
Below decks, a seagoing plan for two
With 10 ft of beam and a canoe stern, the PS 34 is smaller inside than modern 34-footers that carry 18 to 24 in more beam. In exchange you get a sea-kindly motion and a layout that works heeled. The forward cabin, the only one with a door, has a V-berth that becomes a 78 by 84 in double with an insert. The saloon has 6 ft 6 in settees on both sides, the port one converting to a 48 in double, and a table that folds against the forward bulkhead. Headroom is about 6 ft 4 in.
Aft, the U-shaped galley has a gimbaled two-burner propane stove with oven and refrigeration that has usually been upgraded on older boats. The quarter berth to port runs more than 7 ft but is only 34 in wide and 20 in high, best as a sea berth or storage. The head is small with no separate shower. Teak joinery, bronze ports and a teak and holly sole make it one of the handsomest small interiors of its era. Tanks hold about 75 gallons of water and about 38 gallons of diesel, spread between bow, stern and amidships under the sole.
Under sail and power, the test numbers
Practical Sailor sailed a ten-year-old 34 with original Dacron sails on Puget Sound in 8 to 12 knots of wind on flat water. Under Yankee, staysail and full main it sailed within 50 to 60 degrees apparent at 4.5 to 5 knots, and at about 70 degrees apparent it put its shoulder down and surged to 5.2 to 5.5 knots. It held that speed down to about 120 degrees, then slowed to 3.5 knots dead downwind without a spinnaker. A cruising spinnaker or asymmetric transforms light-air performance.
Under power the 35 hp Yanmar drove the boat at 6 to 6.5 knots between 1,800 and 2,400 rpm on just 0.6 gallons per hour, through an 11 by 17 in three blade propeller. On those figures the 38 gallon tank gives a calm-water motoring range of roughly 350 miles with a reserve. The boat turns more quickly than a full-keel cruiser and is easy to handle in a marina.
Survey list and running costs for a 40-year-old classic
Most boats on the market were built between 1984 and the early 2000s, so age, not design, drives the survey. The chainplates are 304 stainless bolted outside the hull, easy to see but still prone to crevice corrosion under the bolts, so pull and inspect a few. Older oval bronze ports drain poorly and leak, the balsa deck core can be wet around hardware and the stanchion bases, and the molded interior pan limits access to parts of the hull. Original Yanmar 3HM engines are now very old and a repower is a common, worthwhile upgrade.
Plan on $8,000 to $16,000 a year for a slip, insurance, haul-out, engine service and a fund for sails and rigging. With a small engine, modest sail area and simple systems, the PS 34 is far cheaper to keep than its reputation suggests.
Pacific Seacraft 34 specifications
| Length overall | 34.1 ft10.39 m |
|---|---|
| Waterline length | 26.2 ft7.99 m |
| Beam | 10 ft3.05 m |
| Draft | 4.9 ft1.5 m |
| Air draft | 47 ft14.33 m |
| Displacement | 13,5 lbs6,123 kg |
| Ballast | 4,8 lbs2,177 kg |
| Sail area | 533 sq ft49.5 m² |
| Fuel capacity | 38 gal144 L |
| Fresh water | 75 gal284 L |
| Cabins | 1 enclosed forward cabin plus quarter berth |
| Berths | 4 to 6 |
| Heads | 1 |
| Standard engines | Yanmar 3HM35F (about 30 to 34 hp) on 1980s boats; Yanmar 3JH2E (38 hp) on later boats |
| Maximum power | 38 hp |
| Cruise speed | 6.25 knots |
| Hull type | Moderate to heavy displacement monohull with canoe stern |
| Keel | Long cruising fin with lead ballast, faired into a skeg carrying the rudder; 4 ft 11 in standard or 4 ft 1 in shoal |
| Rig | Masthead cutter with inner forestay, running backstays and single spreader LeFiell aluminum mast |
| Hull construction | Solid fiberglass hull with vinylester skin coat, balsa-cored deck |
| Builder | Pacific Seacraft, United States |
| Naval architect | William I. B. Crealock |
| Production | 1984 to present |
| Status | Limited production |
Figures come from builder documentation and independent tests where available. Displacement is usually quoted light, so a loaded cruising boat will weigh more. Compare these specs with another model.
How much does a Pacific Seacraft 34 cost?
Pacific Seacraft 34s are among the priciest 34-footers on the US used market because buyers pay for build quality and offshore credibility. Mid-1980s boats generally ask $65,000 to $110,000, 1990s boats $95,000 to $165,000 and the few 2000s and North Carolina-built boats considerably more. Circumnavigator-spec boats, recent repowers, new standing rigging and a cockpit-led sail handling package all lift prices, while original oval ports and tired teak bring them down.
Estimate your yearly cost
A planning estimate using common rules of thumb: insurance near 1.5 percent of value, maintenance near 3 percent, haul out and bottom paint by length. Your marina, region and use will move these numbers. Open the full cost calculator.
Versions and options
- Crealock 34 and early PS 34 (1984 onward)
- Mast-mounted halyard winches, oval bronze ports, Yanmar 3HM35F diesel.
- Circumnavigator 34 (1988)
- Sold with extra standard offshore equipment.
- Shoal keel
- 4 ft 1 in draft, popular on the US East Coast and in the Bahamas.
- Later and North Carolina-built boats
- Rectangular ports, cockpit-led lines, larger Yanmar engines and modern refrigeration.
Pacific Seacraft 34 timeline
- 1976Pacific Seacraft founded in California by Henry Mohrschladt and Mike Howarth
- 1980Crealock 37 introduced
- 1984Crealock 34 launched, later renamed the Pacific Seacraft 34
- 2001Practical Sailor publishes its comparison of the PS 34 and 37
- 2007Pacific Seacraft files for bankruptcy; Stephen Brodie buys the assets
- 2008Production restarts in Washington, North Carolina
Strengths and weaknesses
What owners like
- Exceptionally strong, well engineered construction
- Sea-kindly motion and a skeg-protected rudder
- Easily handled cutter rig
- Shoal keel option at 4 ft 1 in
- Very economical under power
- Strong resale and loyal owner community
What to weigh up
- Narrow interior with a tight quarter berth
- Small cockpit and footwell
- Running backstays add complexity
- Older oval ports leak
- Expensive compared with mainstream 34-footers
Used Pacific Seacraft 34 buyer checklist
Take this list to a viewing. Your ticks are saved in this browser so you can come back to it.
Always commission an independent marine survey and an engine survey before you buy. How a marine survey works.
Rivals to consider
Pacific Seacraft 37
The bigger sister with a larger cockpit and interior; Practical Sailor's pick if you carry more people and gear.
Compare side by sideWestsail 32
Another Crealock-influenced double-ender, heavier, slower and usually much cheaper.
Compare side by sideCape Dory 36
Full-keel Alberg classic with a traditional interior and lower prices.
Compare side by sideOur verdict on the Pacific Seacraft 34
The Pacific Seacraft 34 is the archetype of a small, well-built American bluewater cruiser. It sacrifices interior volume and cockpit space for motion, strength and balance, and owners who sail it offshore rarely regret the trade. Pay for a boat with a sound deck, inspected chainplates and an updated engine, and you will own a cutter that is easy for two to handle, cheap to run and still easy to sell, which is about as good as small cruising boats get.
Pacific Seacraft 34 questions answered
How much is a Pacific Seacraft 34 worth?
Most US asking prices fall between about $65,000 for a mid-1980s boat and $220,000 for a late, well-equipped example, with 1990s boats typically $95,000 to $165,000.
Is the Pacific Seacraft 34 a bluewater boat?
Yes. With a skeg-hung rudder, strong solid hull, cutter rig, 1.68 capsize screening value and a limit of positive stability around 144 degrees, it was designed for ocean passages.
What is the difference between the Crealock 34 and the Pacific Seacraft 34?
They are the same boat. It was originally sold as the Crealock 34 and later marketed as the Pacific Seacraft 34.
How fast is a Pacific Seacraft 34?
Hull speed is about 6.9 knots. In 8 to 12 knots of wind Practical Sailor saw 4.5 to 5.5 knots, and it motors at 6 to 6.5 knots on 0.6 gallons per hour.
What keel options does the PS 34 have?
A standard fin and skeg underbody drawing 4 ft 11 in, or a shoal version drawing 4 ft 1 in.
Is the Pacific Seacraft 34 still built?
Pacific Seacraft has kept the 34 in its Voyagemaker line as a build-to-order model since restarting in North Carolina in 2008. Contact the builder to confirm current availability and pricing.
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