wanted: Ericson 37

[Loren Beach]

Boats for sale | YachtWorld

Find new or used boats for sale in your area & across the world on YachtWorld. Offering the best selection of boats to choose from.

www.yachtworld.com

Here is one for sale in CA. Looks clean to me....
Price is really low.
Interesting!

 

[the new guy]

Hey goldenstate. Yes it is a specific boat . It seems to be the same boat that Fboutelle post #16 owned or still own it?
wasn't sure if it proper to post the ad.
Loren Beach that is the boat I were thinking of.
We are new to sailing. Had a power boat a very long time ago. right now we want to learn to sail and maybe do some travel as well later on.
Main concern is getting a bigger money pit then a normal boat would be.
No idea what to look for and what to expect. Been looking at the Catalina 30. Were planning to look at one around that area and thought it might be a great boat to look at as well. As it should be a much better boat.

1975 Ericson 37 Cruiser/Racer for sale - YachtWorld

 

[goldenstate]

Each of us has his own unique experience with boats. A great deal depends on the individual specimen more than the model in my opinion.

Here is my note on how I bought my boat.

If it is your first sailboat, I would say:

1. Take an ASA or US sailing 101 course with your partner (whoever else is in the 'we') that will get you out in the water. That will give you first hand experience with operations and help you figure out what you like and don't like.

2. Try to see a lot of boats for sale.

3. When in doubt, lean towards newer and smaller. I would want nothing to do with a 1975 37 footer, but that's just me. For me - bigger is harder to handle and more expensive to work on. Older means more stuff broken or in need of replacement.

I've been working on my 1990 32' for about a year, probably 20hrs per week and there are infinite projects remaining. Some people buy older boats and do just fine. Each of us has his own tolerance. But most of the posts on this site are about fixing stuff and not sailing.

The 37 looks like it is in pretty good shape. Don't let me discourage you. But the purchase price is also the 'ante' as another member wrote recently.

Of all the ideas listed above, I think taking a class will be the best bang for your buck, to see if you really enjoy sailing and to help you understand boats better.

 

[Martin King]

Tom makes some really good points. If you are new to sailing, I don't think buying a big boat that's going to need work is very wise. Take a dinghy
class first to get your sailing chops, and sail on other peoples boats to gain experience first.

 

[the new guy]

I got most of it covered regarding learning. Also with my work I never know till the morning of if its a day of work or fun.
Very hard to plan on the classes like this. Went out with a friend to show me the ropes (pun intended ) and will work with me more as well.
Too many boats out there that are wrecks or lived in that look and smell it. Ericsons seems to be better build and less faults then Catalina 30's
I were looking for at the 32 and 35 for the same reasons mentioned. But if the 37 is a good value, I would like to consider it , wife has to like it too.

What is so different about the 37 compare to the 35-36 or 38? What is so speciel about it?
So little info available

Thanks

 

[goldenstate]

I would compare layouts on Sailboatdata.com.

Other than that what I know about the 37 is that Webb Chiles sailed one on a circumnavigation - "Egregious" (the second) see 'Storm Passage' . At the time, the fastest monohull solo circumnavigation:

Storm Passage: Alone Around Cape Horn: Chiles, Webb: 9780812907032: Amazon.com: Books

Storm Passage: Alone Around Cape Horn [Chiles, Webb] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Storm Passage: Alone Around Cape Horn

www.amazon.com

little fugue in g minor

On occasion we run excerpts from books, and we thought this one, from Webb Chiles' 1977 Storm Passage, would be good. This was written on the day he became the

sailinganarchy.com

If you have a survey done on the boat and post lots of pictures, people will be able to contribute more helpfully.

 

[Martin King]

Other than that what I know about the 37 is that Webb Chiles sailed one on a circumnavigation - "Egregious" (the second) see 'Storm Passage' . At the time, the fastest monohull solo circumnavigation:

Well, I don't know if that is a ringing endorsement of the 37. He had all kinds of problems with the boat-some of it structural. If I recall there was
issues with chainplates, mast collar, and he developed cracks in the hull. There were phone calls to my dad about how to go about repairing it.
As I mentioned up thread, the 37 was really set up for competing in the 1 ton class. It's an early IOR boat and we all know what that means.
It was competitive in it's day for around the buoys but those days are long gone. Like the 39, and 46 it's a freight train upwind but squirrelly as hell downwind with a big chute up especially with the oem rudder.

The most expensive boats are often the cheapest to buy. Best to get a thorough survey done on whatever you are serious about buying.

 

[the new guy]

will try and take as many pics and get as much info as i can when we see the boat.
I sure do plan on the survey. not touching it with out one.
on same line of thinking. Any recommendation for a surveyor?

 

[Martin King]

Jim Wallace, out of Long Beach. He's a good surveyor.

 

[Loren Beach]

Jim Wallace, out of Long Beach. He's a good surveyor.

No names to suggest, but our experience with a broker in Alameda (SF) in the 90's was instructive. My insurance agent for several years for our previous smaller sailboat suggested contacting Jim Jessie in Oakland, and we did so and he agreed to do the survey at a yard in Alameda. He and Jim had sailed dinghies together as youngsters.

When the broker asked me if I had surveyor lined up and I told him the name, he paused for a moment and said the Jim was really good but some brokers called him a "deal killer".

Jim was great and I learned a lot following him around the boat. He did find a couple of important flaws - that needed immediate repair - and pointed out some other broken gear that I would need to address. Another guy, a local referral, did the engine survey and he found a problem that cost the seller several hundred $, and saved me money. He liked explaining things to a newbie, also.

I really wanted the Olson, and was only wanting to know what needed repairing and the potential cost, so there was no talk of canceling the sale.

Anyhow, hope you find a good surveyor, perhaps one that frightens (some) brokers!


After the deal was signed, I did ask if there was another surveyor that brokers all liked, and was told that there was one guy that was reported to sometimes do a "survey" from the dock or a parking lot... and was nicknamed 'blind' Floyd.

I was lucky.......

 

[Martin King]

Deal killer, ha! I guess so from a broker's perspective. Still, you need a survey from an accredited surveyor for insurance.

When I was looking for my last boat, I loved to bust out my moisture meter while the broker was doing his best sales pitch and start
taking readings on the deck. Many of them were speechless after that.

 

[Loren Beach]

Even after learning more details from this thread - even with a few drawbacks - about the design, I confess to still being smitten by the looks of the E-37.
Gorgeous boat!

 

[the new guy]

I love the nick name deal breaker. would sure to talk to him.
Thank you guys.

Loren Beach can you share what you learned about the 37. I'm clueless mostly here. In many ways its the 37 or Catalina 30, yes I know its two different sides of the equation there.

 

[Loren Beach]

I love the nick name deal breaker. would sure to talk to him.
Thank you guys.

Loren Beach can you share what you learned about the 37. I'm clueless mostly here. In many ways its the 37 or Catalina 30, yes I know its two different sides of the equation there.

I was referring to the stronger/ more evident IOR heritage of the 37. But even that is a mixture of plusses and minuses. While I love the way we have surfed down the seas off of the coast for hours at 10 kts on our Olson, we do not slide up to weather as effortlessly as the E-33RH I used to crew on. Ditto for the times when a friend would let me helm his Yamaha 33 to weather.

Ericson and Catalina... Comparing the two companies is really "apples to oranges" or to walnuts or something.
Different construction and engineering. Different markets. Different design briefs and purposes.
Whatever else you do, do not buy an older Cat 30 unless the sump where the keel was poorly attached has been completely rebuilt ($$).

 

[the new guy]

I believe I should explain more about wife and me. What we are looking for. Our idea is to learn how to sail with a goal of selling everything and cruise . We also would like to see if we like the sailing part. From having a power boat long time ago I know as a sad fact that I get sea sick bad to the point i want to jump over board and drown myself.
We were looking for a boat around 30ft to practice with and keep the cost down. If we like the idea then we sell the boat and start our sailing on the east cost, on a bigger boat. If we don't like the sailing part then we sale the boat and travel by van around north America.
Came across many boats that were wrecks and broken down. A few good boats but they were sold before I had a chance to see them.
We are not in a rush to buy a boat but we would like to get to it instead of wait for ever.
From my time of looking I figured out that most people have no idea how bad the boat is or they just flat out lie to you with hope you don't notice.
I hoped that this boat might be in good shape. No keel bolts to worry about. Its big enough that if we like it we might start the cruising part till we get a bigger boat, would love a catamaran. Same time its a bigger boat then we planned on. Bigger boat bigger hole in the ocean.
Came across one Catalina where there were no bolts left rusted out . I'm sure the rust was what held it to the boat.
Hope i sort of make sense on where I'm coming from.

 

[goldenstate]

I believe I should explain more about wife and me. What we are looking for. Our idea is to learn how to sail with a goal of selling everything and cruise . We also would like to see if we like the sailing part. From having a power boat long time ago I know as a sad fact that I get sea sick bad to the point i want to jump over board and drown myself.
We were looking for a boat around 30ft to practice with and keep the cost down. If we like the idea then we sell the boat and start our sailing on the east cost, on a bigger boat. If we don't like the sailing part then we sale the boat and travel by van around north America.
Came across many boats that were wrecks and broken down. A few good boats but they were sold before I had a chance to see them.
We are not in a rush to buy a boat but we would like to get to it instead of wait for ever.
From my time of looking I figured out that most people have no idea how bad the boat is or they just flat out lie to you with hope you don't notice.
I hoped that this boat might be in good shape. No keel bolts to worry about. Its big enough that if we like it we might start the cruising part till we get a bigger boat, would love a catamaran. Same time its a bigger boat then we planned on. Bigger boat bigger hole in the ocean.
Came across one Catalina where there were no bolts left rusted out . I'm sure the rust was what held it to the boat.
Hope i sort of make sense on where I'm coming from.

I thought you had said before that you had the sailing part down?

Again, I think your best option is to take some classes. You'll learn much that will be valuable in boat shopping, and whether you want to take on sailing as a hobby or life choice. Even if spending $1-2K on classes feels like wasted money - I can't imagine how you could buy a boat and have it for 6-12 months and turn around and sell it and not have spent/lost at least the same amount. How much does it cost to keep a berth in your area? Fuel? Parts? etc..

 

[Sonofseven]

Yes Virginia, there is an Ericson 37...

Contrary to that earlier posting the E-37 does indeed exist...
It was built in the early 1970's and was a really nice looking boat.

Here's the link to the docs....

http://www.ericsonyachts.org/infoexchange/local_links.php?catid=96

Steve

Hi Steve
I stumbled into this old post of yours but it seems that the link isn't working anymore. " The requested page could not be found."
Could you be so kind as to point me in the right direction to locate the docs.
Much appreciated

​

 

[Sonofseven]

Hi all.
I've been sailing out of Marina Del Rey since 2017. Mainly informal sunset cruises on a 30 ft Lancer up to twice a week and Wednesday night beer can races on a couple of race boats. Even have a Newport - Ensenada and Santa Barbara - King Harbor race under the belt. I'm feeling confident about my boating skills now and looking to take the plunge into boat-ownership.:eek:
I'm in the market for either a mid 70's E37 or God forbid a Ranger 37 and would love any information regarding construction techniques used in the former. For instance, are the decks cored and if yes with what material? I read Martin's post above mentioning something about issues with chain-plates, mast collar and cracks in the hull. I'm also started reading Storm Passage by Webb Chiles to see what I can learn....thanks for the tip.
All insights, however small, would be much appreciated.
Cheers

 

[Fboutelle]

Well, I don't know if that is a ringing endorsement of the 37. He had all kinds of problems with the boat-some of it structural. If I recall there was
issues with chainplates, mast collar, and he developed cracks in the hull. There were phone calls to my dad about how to go about repairing it.
As I mentioned up thread, the 37 was really set up for competing in the 1 ton class. It's an early IOR boat and we all know what that means.
It was competitive in it's day for around the buoys but those days are long gone. Like the 39, and 46 it's a freight train upwind but squirrelly as hell downwind with a big chute up especially with the oem rudder.

The most expensive boats are often the cheapest to buy. Best to get a thorough survey done on whatever you are serious about buying.

Hey Martin the Ericson 37 is my boat, don’t let the price fool you I bought a powerboat 44 wellcraft San Remo which the wife loves. It has a jacuzzi tub in the aft cabin. I’m tired of paying for two slip fees that’s why the price is LOW. My Ericson 37 is in Good condition.

 

[K2MSmith]

Still looking for an Ericson 37. Sure would hate to go Baltic on you! lol!

I was considering a 70’s (and larger) Ericson before I bought my ‘82 33RH but I was worried about the refit cost unless I could find one restored but that seemed like a rare bird.