buying e 31 independence

[Keiffer]

E 31

Bill,

Welcome to the forum, I am the owner of Emerald Lady Hull # 51 purchased five years ago at Smith Mountain Lake Virginia.
There are several active E 31 owners on this forum all more than willing to share their knowledge and experience.

We just pulled Emerald Lady out of the water and are preparing for a month of planned maintenance and upgrades.

The Independence is an excellent boat, we purchased ours in distressed condition and it has been a labor of love.
"All good fun" as Glyn Judson likes to say. If you are looking at an e31 I suspect you have already meet Glyn.

Please share some photos of the boat you are considering, I am happy to answer any questions that i can.

 

[Bill Tanner]

Ericson 31 Crusier photo link I hope this works

Bill,

Welcome to the forum, I am the owner of Emerald Lady Hull # 51 purchased five years ago at Smith Mountain Lake Virginia.
There are several active E 31 owners on this forum all more than willing to share their knowledge and experience.

We just pulled Emerald Lady out of the water and are preparing for a month of planned maintenance and upgrades.

The Independence is an excellent boat, we purchased ours in distressed condition and it has been a labor of love.
"All good fun" as Glyn Judson likes to say. If you are looking at an e31 I suspect you have already meet Glyn.

Please share some photos of the boat you are considering, I am happy to answer any questions that i can.

http://www.yachtworld.com/boats/197...2758030/Topping/VA/United-States#.VNt2vaN0wy8

 

[Emerald]

Hi Bill,

I'm sure you've seen some of my earlier posts in this thread regarding sailing characteristics, but I don't know if you've stumbled on my website yet. If you haven't seen it, give it a whirl, and hopefully it will provide some insight to these wonderful boats. Let me know any specific questions you may have, and I (and others) will do our best to respond.

http://home.comcast.net/~independence31/

 

[Christian Williams]

They are really pretty boats, which to my mind is always 90 percent of it.

 

[Bill Tanner]

is it possible to get a list of active members with the 31 cruiser

Is it possible to get a list of members that are active members with the Crusier 31 model ?

Hi Bill,

I'm sure you've seen some of my earlier posts in this thread regarding sailing characteristics, but I don't know if you've stumbled on my website yet. If you haven't seen it, give it a whirl, and hopefully it will provide some insight to these wonderful boats. Let me know any specific questions you may have, and I (and others) will do our best to respond.

http://home.comcast.net/~independence31/

 

[Bill Tanner]

Opening Bronze Ports

Hello Dave,
I notice that you have really nice opening bronze ports on your boat, I believe that they were original on the Independence. Is there a company that makes these for sale?, I would love to have my replaced I just love the look.Plus the extra ventilation would be nice.
Bill

Hi Bill,

I'm sure you've seen some of my earlier posts in this thread regarding sailing characteristics, but I don't know if you've stumbled on my website yet. If you haven't seen it, give it a whirl, and hopefully it will provide some insight to these wonderful boats. Let me know any specific questions you may have, and I (and others) will do our best to respond.

http://home.comcast.net/~independence31/

 

[La Papi]

Hello,
I am a new member to this forum. I am in my research stage of selecting a boat for the purpose of circumnavigating; most likely single-handed. I live in Portland, Oregon and I saw an Ericson 31 Independence for sale here locally, as well as one in Everett, WA. I have been researching and reading about the qualities one should consider when selecting a boat for bluewater sailing, one that would be suited to single-handed or short-handed sailing. Most owners and experienced circumnavigators talk about the safety of the boat as it pertains to sailing in gale force winds as the first criteria for selection. Comfort in high seas I gather to be the second important criteria. Speed of the boat would not necessarily be a highly critical aspect that I would look for in my boat, as I have no plans to be in a rush to complete my journey.

With this in mind, I would like to reach out to this community to gain insight from you on the 31 Independence as it pertains to its suitability as a bluewater boat. I have already received some very good advise from members of a different discussion group, including Loren Beach (thank you so much Loren), and I have been directed to this group being as you are all owners of the 31 Independence. So basically, would you recommend the 31 Independence as a good choice to navigate around the world?

I thank you in advance for any kind comments and advice,

Ron

Reply

 

[Christian Williams]

No, not for me. The problem isn't the boat, which is designed to be lovely (I almost bought one)--it's the question. There is an answer: most people who sail around the world go in the boat they have. You could do it in an Ericson 31, or in Robin Knox-Johnson's Suhaili, an old, slow, wooden double-ender, or in a 25-knot trimaran. Or a daysailer without even a cabin (Ant Stewart). The range of boats and types that have sailed around the world is extreme.

You are imagining the perfect boat, or at least a suitable one, for singlehanding. But all you need is a boat, and the choice is constrained for everyone by budget and availability. If rich, you can buy a Tartan 40 with all the options. It won't be perfect. If poor, you can fix up a 27-footer and set off. It won't be perfect.

Any boat you buy will be customized by you based on your experience with strong winds, seas, cold, power generation, self steering and so on. Since you have no experience at all, it's very difficult to communicate the enormity of the task or the conflicting arguments and compromises. I don;t want to beat analogies to death, but it really is like asking what guitar to buy to become Joe Pass.

Does the apparent innocence of your inquiry "is this boat good for sailing alone around the world?" irritate me personally? Yeah, maybe. I've met round- the- world singlehanders, and a friend, Whitall Stokes, just completed his voyage ( https://svsparrow.com/ ). I knew his father, too, Francis, who was in the OSTAR. Round-the-world singlehanders are different from me. You seem to assume they're not different from you.

But do carry on. I think the E31 is a great first boat for coastal sailing, although it is very difficult to get the subtleties of sailing without first sailing a Laser in 20 knots. Cruising boats don't teach well. Dinghies are much better at it. But then, you have to learn.

 

[La Papi]

Thank you Christian, all your points well taken. Just for the record, I have sailed a Laser a few times many years ago, although I doubt the winds were that strong. I do have some experience, but I rather take a more humble approach to this endeavor and allow myself to absorb the advice and experience of those that have deep knowledge.