Because there are two people here who are considering buying their first boat, and looking (at least in one case) only at a single boat (and in another case) 'new to sailing', I am going to take a risk and mention a few additional things beyond the question of merely "Ericson or not' and 'how about THIS Ericson.'
My reason is simply that I bought my first boat, and Ericson, 3 years ago, and had quite a lot of sailing experience before that. And despite all that, I missed a lot of things about the boat, even after looking it over carefully myself and having a (quite good) inspection done, for which I was present, and even hiring an additional expert to help go over the inspection report and other details. Further, despite being an engineer and knowing how to do my spreadsheets in advance, I nonetheless found that boats are (surprise) expensive, and a good bit moreso than my initial figuring. And my boat was definitely in 'very good' condition to start with.
PS: Apparently it is pretty normal for someone to work on buying a boat three times before actually doing it; that was true for me. each time you cycle through the process you learn more. Don;t feel pressured -- remember: chartering is still cheaper!
To be clear, I am very happy with my Ericson, and regularly glad I bought it. No regrets. But before the folks on this thread buy their first boats, a few items I discovered recently, and sometimes the hard way:
Initial thoughts:
- Take-home: it is cheaper to bareboat charter and do lessons than to own... and in the process you will sail on more boats, and learn which you like (one reason I now sail an Ericson and not a Catalina
and what features in a boat you really use/care about. Plus you can charter anywhere, but just try getting YOUR boat to the Caribbean or Greece.
- Surveyors miss stuff. You miss stuff. The more you look at boats, the less stuff you will miss and the easier it will get. Argues for not just looking at one boat.
- Don't underestimate the expenses of updating old electronics (easily $10k) or sails (easily $10k, really more) etc. Old boats come with some likely big up-front expenses unless those things have been updated quite recently.
- Many costs scale like the square of the length, so an E27 will be vastly cheaper in every way -- to buy, to refit, to keep in a slip, to repaint the bottom -- than an E34. Do you really want to start with a large boat?
- Buying a boat comes with sudden timelines: the minute your offer is accepted, you have a day or two to get the boat to your own moorage. Do you have a slip? Where? Is it available now? Will they rent to you without insurance (no)? Do you have insurance? Where can you get it? -- All must be dealt with quickly. Worth thinking that stuff through, pricing it out, well before making your bid. After all, if you are planning to buy
something, sooner or later, no reason not to decide where you'll berth it, insure it, etc., ahead of time.
- Again, you will have to move the boat very quickly after closing. Are you ready to move an unfamiliar boat from an unfamiliar harbor to another unfamiliar harbor, by yourself (or with your also new-to-sailing friends)? Or will you hire a captain? I moved mine myself, and (of course) the engine died in the middle of a narrow shipping channel. Oh, do you know what to do (see also: more bareboat chartering before buying -- I was OK only thanks to excellent training
Do you have towing assistance?
** Before you read below and are potentially startled by the numbers,
- Much boat work will be vastly cheaper if you do it yourself. But that takes a lot of time, and tools you probably don't have. Every time I see someone here doing everything to their boat I wish I could do to mine, and doing it (e.g. preparing for Hawaii) in just a season.... they are retired or not working for the time being. If you work a full-time job, especially one that is > 40 hrs/wk, like many careers, then you have to have other people do a lot of this and the costs spirals. Which category do you fit in? Don't forget that it is not just replacing the hatch plastic, for instance -- you have to research what to do, get the new piece templated and cut, possibly when it is not raining, get the tools you don't have, then do the job...
- Regardless, the electronics and sails have to be bought, and are expensive, though you can save a good bit by installing yourself.
Costs:
Recurring Costs:
The main cost is NOT buying the boat. It is owning the boat. Be ready:
$1-2k/yr Insurance (PS: Boat US will NOT insure you if you haven't already owned.... do you know you can even GET insurance? Know before signing that contract...)
$0.5 - $1k/yr Property tax and registration
$6k/yr Slip fees ($500/mo down here; YMMV)
$1.5 - $3k/yr Bottom cleaning ($200+ monthly in summer, less in winter (may be less often in the PNW)
$1k/yr Bottom paint. Need new paint every 3-4 years, and hauling and painting are $3-4k
$2k/yr Random minor items. New sheet, or fixture, or whatever just broke. It adds up.
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$12k/yr plus.
Be ready. Also: this alone is... about 24 bareboat day-charters a year... Consider doing more chartering before buying. What will owning do for you that chartering won't? You can charter anywhere (Greece!), but you can only have all your own stuff and modifications on your own boat, etc.
Set-up costs:
$15k New sails (main, 130 and 90% jibs) for an E34. NOTE: smaller boats have
much cheaper sails. See below.
$5-15k New electronics (radio with DSC/MMSI: $0.5-$1k, AIS: $1k, Chartplotter: $2-4k, wind/depth/etc: $few k. Radar: $etc. Having it installed roughly doubles the parts prices.)
$0.5-1.5k Safety: flares/distress signals, GPIRB
$1k Decent lifevests for you and some crew, with safeety lights etc
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Can easily be $10-30k. (Usually doesn't need to be done all at once.)
Initial maintenance:
Your boat will need some initial maintenance. Examples from mine: minor engine work/lift pump issue, leaking anchor locker, hatches, needed new sheets, docklines, fenders, lifelines, bottom paint, head hoses, a couple of throughhull fittings; haulout required.
** DO NOT take it to the boatyard right away (unless you absolutely must) -- rather, sail it for a season and see what you think
really needs fixing. Stil, expect it to add up to :
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$5-10k easily. (Actually, easily well more than that).
That's all a LOT... and much of the expenditure is irrecoverable -- your boat will not appreciate to cover the costs of those upgrades (yes: waiting to find an already-upgraded boat is not a bad idea financially and time-wise...)
Because you will be investing a lot, consider:
- Is this really the boat you want? More bareboating might help settle that question. For instance, my E34 is very nice below, but I am always on deck singlehanding on SF Bay. What matters to me more are the sailing qualities. In the PNW, I cared a lot more about it being cozy below... my friend's Catalina, with a diesel heater and the ample room Catalina's have due to their width was really nice. What are you really going to be doing with the boat (and what time of year)?
- Consider a small (24'-27') boat with an outboard engine first. Everything will be cheaper (loads and sail areas and slip areas... and thus prices -- all go like the square of the length); outboard engines are just much easier to deal with. Make your mistakes learning to fix that. Then later move to a bigger boat... if in fact you need one. Of course, if your plan is to spend a lot of time below while the rain drums on the cabintop then maybe this isn't the right plan for you.
- If you have not already read through the:
* Practical Sailor "Practical Boat Buying" Guides (2 vols) then that is really worth the time.
You might also consider
* "Selecting and Purchasing an Ocean Cruising Sailboat",
https://mahina.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Book.pdf
I would also encourage you to look at Catalinas and other boats. Catalina has sold approximately infinity boats, so there are spares, and plans, and information much more easily available than for most other boats (which had smaller production runs and/or for which the builders are no longer in business).
So why did I buy an Ericson 34? I prefer the lines. I knew they could go offshore, and I cannot charter a boat to Hawaii. I really prefer the sailing qualities (I never considered a Catalina or Beneteau; I knew
from chartering that I don't like the way they sail as much. On the other hand, for cruising (mainly motoring) in Alaska all that room below on a Catalina was very nice. But without my even really trying, my E34 regularly outpaces other boats of similar size in my area (albeit boats that are unaware we are racing
and I enjoy that. I am really very happy with my boat -- happy enough that the regular annoyances of ownership (that leaking whatever it is this time...) are minor by comparison, which in the end seems the most important part.
