Recent content by Bill Baum

Hi, guys, this is Bill, the OP. Thanks for the ideas. The West Marine vents are too small and don't come in clear or smoked plastic. It's not obvious in my photo but this component is a "smoked" plastic. I'm heading for the RV/camper people next. Maybe folks in the plastic fabrication...

The previous owner of our boat built these plexiglass hatchboards. We want to build new duplicates. What do you call the ventilation piece mounted on the middle of this hatchboards, and where would I go to buy one of these? The ventilation piece is about 9x15", and has three slots for air...

Hi, this is BIll the OP. Here are pictures of the deck and handrail. As you can see they are "simply" flat teak slats without their own feet. The second picture is the starboard side with the rail removed, showing the raised, molded, deck features more clearly (with a strip of tape over the...

The original unvarnished teak handrails on the exterior cabin-top of my '82 E33 have eroded to the point where I no longer trust them with my life at sea. The port-side rail is split in one place. Today I don't have pictures to share, but on the E33 a handrail is 1.5" wide x approx 5/8"...

Chris- Yes, a Bimini is tough on a E33. The boom is low and long , extending almost back to the wheel. I'm just over 6', so for a Bimini we just have a 2-bow Bimini, above my head, that is aft of the boom-end. It means that it is just 3' fore-and-aft, so very often it does not proviyall the...

Does anyone know what type of plywood Ericson was using in 1982? I've got a 1982 E33 and a plywood vertical settee front has an area damaged by battery acid. I'd like to replace the panel with new plywood that will look like it fits in. The plywood is about 3/8" thick, and it looks to me that...

K2M- I've also got an E33 with Navtec rod rigging. Every couple of years we inspect all the rod heads we can get at with an illuminated 50X loupe. The lower ends of the rods are easy even with the mast up (one at a time with halyard backup!!). We stored the boat on Lake Ontario this past...

Repair complete! This was a big job, but it's done, the boats in the water, mast up, and we've been sailing! This photo is not the final repair condition, but it shows the full repair area. The structure is all done, the fairing is done, and the shiny surface is wet epoxy barrier coat. After...

Sheperdson- that is exactly where we put ours eight years ago before we started cruising. We have a water-cooled Isotherm holding plate system which has worked great. I would suggest you give a little thought to access to the compressor for service. I have an anode to change each year, and...

Great- a post on the E33!! This is Bill Baum. We have E33 #5, just second owner, and have owned it for 20 years. Fractional rig, Schaefer spar. The boat came with the running backstays, but the previous owner said he never used them, and we never have (tangs are still on the stern). We raced...

Hi, this is Bill, the OP, with an update. Well, there is no question that it was a giant timber, meant to be structural. Approximately 3 1/2" thick, and between 9 and 11" wide (the rib gets wider under the mast step), the timber spans a hollow space where the bilge is deep, and fills the...

I just found this from searching within the forum. It is from a different Ericson model, but the author was cited as a former engineer at Ericson and it makes me think our wood may have been structural. I am not copying it here, but I found the actual Ericson bulletin which went out that...

Mark - It is lag bolts which hold the mast step to the rib - and yes, I am very familiar with the wood farther aft within the engine beds. So yes, I could see the argument that the wood is not structural, except that we know the wood extends at least to the starboard 10" within the rib. I...

Mark - Thanks for your reply. The wood I have found is not coring of the TAFG - it is a substantial piece inside the (single) wide rib of the TAFG that the mast step sits on. The half-inch thick section of glass that I cut out in my picture was directly under the aluminum mast step, and...

Floydp - I have an Ericson 33, hull #5, very close to yours. Glad you got the seahood off. I first did it like others - working from the aft end with wedges, careful about the teak trim piece on the seahood. If you would like I'd like to share contact information - there are so few E33's...