Ericson 30+ (1987) for $8,500 (Southern California)

[Alan Gomes]

30’ Erickson - boats - by owner - marine sale

Priced to sell as is ,This beautiful yacht has not been used in many years however everything is still in very good shape, The bottom has been cleaned regularly, The fuel would need to be replaced...

losangeles.craigslist.org

I don't know anything about this boat. Just passing on the info.

 

[Dave G.]

Worth a look, especially at that price.

 

[1911tex]

I paid $16k for mine...and quickly put another $15k over and above my personal labor, which is quite considerable. Someone certainly needs to think about investing more in one with the most expensive updates done recently and maintained meticulously over the years. If possible, those items that do need updating, you can do yourself and/or family involvement. A $5k offer on this one will net the buyer a cost of over $30k before you realize what is happening (not including insurance, slip rental or more importantly, sails); and that is NOT the end of the investment by any means. My opinion means nothing, just something to think about.

 

[Loren Beach]

Worth a look, especially at that price.

Agree. Still, with our own current full re-fit in the final stages, I would *very roughly* estimate that such a boat might absorb about 20K plus to be brought back to life for another reliable decade and more of sailing. New standing and running rigging, new furler, refurb the engine, rebed all of the deck hardware. Probably new sails. New electronics. Bottom strip and paint. Clean and buff hull and deck. Replace any frozen sheaves.
Great foundation to build on, but "deferred maintenance" expense is the price of most tired and neglected boats out there.
That said, after about a year of updating, this boat (unlike all of the flexible and neglected "Hunta-Cata-Bena-lina's") will take you safely on a month's vacation including Hawaii and back -- or further.
And then, after about 4 decades, and sometimes sooner, all the boats will need painting and new non skid. That can add up to 15K to 40K depending on a host of variables.

 

[nquigley]

I paid $16k for mine...and quickly put another $15k over and above my personal labor, which is quite considerable. Someone certainly needs to think about investing more in one with the most expensive updates done recently and maintained meticulously over the years. If possible, those items that do need updating, you can do yourself and/or family involvement. A $5k offer on this one will net the buyer a cost of over $30k before you realize what is happening (not including insurance, slip rental or more importantly, sails); and that is NOT the end of the investment by any means. My opinion means nothing, just something to think about.

Agreed - and here's another perspective regarding chosing among several candidate boats for sale ...
Apart from the $ outlay for adding new kit and replacing/upgrading old stuff, I think that boat shoppers vastly undervalue the thought, planning, failed first-attempts and labor involved in doing upgrades and renovations. When comparing prospective boats to buy, it's easy to undervalue the thingamy-whatsits that one boat has and the other doesn't (e.g., new VHF radio, cable and antenna; chart plotter; new sails; new bottom job; solar panels, etc. - and especially a replacement engine). If a buyer wants the extras that one boat prospect already has (and would add them if they bought the another boat(s) in contention that doesn't have them), he/she should value those extra features MUCH higher when making an offer than just the base cost of buying the parts needed - even if the buyer plans to do all the work themselves.

 

[Dave G.]

"Hasn't been used in years" is definitely a concern. Ad states engine has 150 hours which unless it was replaced shortly before it was put away for years is questionable. If hull, deck, chainplates are sound & engine/trans is still good that price is a good starting point as I'm sure it will sell for a lot less. If it was in my neck of the woods I would go kick the tires !

 

[nquigley]

As the pics show it sitting in a (presumably expensive) slip, I'd guess the seller is motivated to get off that $ hook asap. Since it hasn't been used for a while, I doubt the seller has another boat ready to go in there.
But, even if the engine and transmission are in good shape and there are no structural (soft deck, chain plates, etc.), and if someone gets it for, say $6K, there's definitely ~$20K in renovation costs and significant labor hours needed to bring her up to a good sailing condition that would justify a high slip rental.

 

[Dave G.]

True enough but when I was looking I saw plenty of 20-25k boats that needed as much deferred maintenance repair. Wonder if those pics are old too?

 

[bigd14]

The less you spend buying a used sailboat the more expensive it is.

 

[garryh]

or... "the most expensive boat you will ever buy is one you get for free"... !

 

[Matt Fish]

Hi All. I'm new to this site. My name is Matt. I'm looking at this boat and in contact with the seller. This would be my first Ericson. (Currently I sail a 1986 Catalina 22 swing keel -- a solid starter boat that I reconditioned extensively.)

The first red flag I found on this boat was that the door to the head didn't close all the way. The upper aft corner of the door was the problem spot. I'm assuming this is due to compression of the post and/or that the bottom of the post has rotted out. Second, the little privacy folding door for that goes athwartship can not longer shut. The bottom third of it looks to be the trouble spot. It's not clear what structural problems this might point to.

Any thoughts on these door issues?

 

[Frank Langer]

Hi,
Although it's hard to say for sure, many of the E30+ boats have required reinforcement across the deck above the compression post to spread the load and avoid deck compression under the mast, so you are likely right in your provisional diagnosis.
These are lovely boats, well built and they sail well. So if that's the only problem in an otherwise nice boat, I wouldn't rule it out yet. But if it's one of many issues, you may want to keep looking.
Just my thoughts....
Frank

 

[Nick J]

I had an ericson 25+ with a compression post base issue. It sounds like the 30+ may be similar. It seemed like a difficult fix at the time, but it actually wasn't that bad all things considered.

E25+ Compression Post Base

My wife and I recently purchased a 1980 Ericson 25+ and now it’s time for the work to start. The boat’s in decent shape for its age, but the main concern is the compression post base. The block supporting the hull liner directly under the compression post is rotten and needs to be replaced...

ericsonyachts.org

 

[bigd14]

My head door binds a bit if I tension the rigging down too hard. Also if things are pretty damp for a long while. I put marks on masking tape on the post and the door and could measure how much movement I had when tensioning by rigging. Didn’t move much (1/8”?) but it was noticeable and enough to make the door bind. I planed the door down a bit to prevent it. Get a good surveyor to have a look if you move forward.

 

[Dave G.]

Is it on the hard or in the water ? If it's not in the water and "tuned" it's hard to say if there is an issue or not. If you unzip the liner you can poke around the top of the compression post to see if there is any water damage. Usually you can tell if the post is solid or mushy sounding. Also look at the bottom of the post and poke the wood there too. My door doesn't rub but it is definitely closer at top on the aft end and sometimes the latch doesn't lock in place depending on heat and humidity. It doesn't take much movement in that bulkhead to tweak that door. I agree with above, if the boat looks to be a keeper in your mind get a good surveyor and make him aware of your concerns. If there is an issue I'm sure with the surveyors report you should be able to adjust price to compensate for the repair. These are great boats and sail like a dream. Good Luck !

 

[Christian Williams]

Do you have a current listing we can look at? Or your own cell phone photos? "Not used in many years" could be good or bad, and members can give you a good sense of Ericson "condition."

 

[Matt Fish]

The listing has been taken down. I have some of my own photos (taken today), but unfortunately none of the door/post issues. I will return tomorrow with the owner to get more photos of that and the cabin and re-post those tomorrow.

In the mean time, here are some exterior shots. I'll do a separate post below with photos of the M18 engine.

Note: This is a 1985 E30+ (not a 1987). The first 10 years of its life was in a charter club of some sort. The current owner bought her in 1995.

 

[Matt Fish]

...and here are photos of the engine. The current owner and I decided to not start the motor until we can get the fuel polished and have it serviced. Before letting it sit for years, there was nothing abnormal about the engine (started, ran fine, no water ingress, etc.). Tomorrow I'll try to move the crank shaft a quarter turn to verify it's not seized.








This photo is the bottom of the engine mount, showing years of dinosaur squeezings.

 

[Frank Langer]

The outside pics look pretty nice, and very similar to my 1984 E30+. But the engine doesn't look so good. I would be inclined to have a diesel mechanic do a more thorough check on it, perhaps even before starting it. If I'm seeing the pics accurately, I'm noticing alot of corrosion, maybe some leaks, some "grunge" beside the stringer on the left side of the pic, etc. It may run fine, but I think some caution may be warranted here. And I would for sure also get a detailed boat survey before making that final decision.
Frank

 

[Dave G.]

Yes the engine looks neglected in the pics. on the bright side it looks like it has a fairly new water heater. Curious if it has been sitting in that slip all these years ? Seems somewhat unbelievable. Maybe the owner launched it to sell? As far as the engine I would get all the fuel pumped out of that tank and change all the filters, oil, trans fluid, etc. How's the bilge look ?