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1989 Ericson 34 TAFG Cracked and Separated from Hull

Puget sailor

Member II
Looking at these pictures more clearly on my desktop, and considering the keel looks reasonable and the owners were clueless (let's for the moment give them the benefit of the doubt) I think we are seeing ice damage. Imagine a small leak from above, boat on the hard all winter, nobody aboard. Water level is up to the top of the tafg, including under the tafg "beams". Then it freezes solid as a rock because its in Maine. You have a several inch deep area of water freezing and expanding by a decent amount, pushing the tafg apart from the hull. The tafg is very robust indeed (thank you Ericson) and the hull is no slouch either. But the tabbed in connection and bonding to the hull is almost certainly the weak link and bam, it pops loose. Between ice, pushing it up, and subsequent force from sailing and hauling twice a year, there ya go. If the hull is sound, the, repair requires lots of cleaning (not easy), repositioning the tafg (moderate work) and rebonding (moderate work). And then it all needs to get put together nice and pretty again.

If this has happened once due to ice, it's happened many times in the northeast. If the price can be negotiated down enough to reflect the time and materials and then some, I'd ask around a other yards that do storage and repairs to see if they've seen similar damage from ice expansion. I bet they have. I'd think a responsible yard would check boats periodically during the winter for water unless they have a drain plug (some do, Ericson's don't seem to), but some owners have boats hauled to their own property too. I have a relative with a Tartan 34 that lives in his yard all winter, and he lives an hour from the coast outside Boston. It's cheaper that way. So oversight will vary, and damage is not hard in that situation.

Could also be a keel strike or drop or some combination of unfortunate events. How does the rest of the boat look? One thing is for sure, this is not normal wear and tear, so proceed accordingly. But if the hull is sound, and the keel connection sound, it does seem possible to repair. Perhaps no worse than a bad keel strike at 7 knots, although that can be bad too. This thread has some good insights, description of keel strike damage, and notes on tafg:

 

Kenneth K

1985 32-3, Puget Sound
Blogs Author
Think of it as an insurance sale, and price accordingly.
Yeah, it may not be insurable as is. And since the repair cost (at a yard) likely exceeds the value of the boat, it may essentially be "totaled," meaning it is basically worth its salvage value of only a few thousand $.

If not insurable, some marinas may not accept it for moorage.
 
Last edited:

Loren Beach

O34 - Portland, OR
Senior Moderator
Blogs Author
Yeah, it may not be insurable as is. And since the repair cost (at a yard) likely exceeds the value of the boat, it may essentially be "totaled," meaning it is basically worth its salvage value of only a few thousand $.

If not insurable, some marinas may not accept it for moorage.
The owner may well need a current survey for insurance no matter what. As i mentioned in the past, I got a new survey after our full re-fit, and the insurer quickly accepted our boat for double the prior agreed value. In my experience, and it may be completely different than for others, it pays to insure thru an independent agent, and to avoid a certain company.
 

Kai

New Member
I agree with most of you that ice is one of the most likely causes. The more I look at the photos I have it seems like there isn’t the other signs I would expect to see from a really severe impact. Of course its possible there was one a long time ago and the damage has been covered up. Looking through Sure Shot’s write up of the damage he had, the strike on the keel of this boat is much smaller. With the location of the cracked stringer being so close to the engine I think I would have to pull the engine up in order to cut and re align the TAFG. Many of you made good points about incorrect blocking being a contributing factor. I’m curious what would happen if I lift all the weight off the keel or even put the boat back in the water. I wonder if the hull would settle a bit and the gap between the hull and tabbing might close up some.

The owners told me they had it surveyed in 2017 before listing it for sale and the surveyor said everything looked good. However when a guy came to look at it they said he found the damage very quicky. I’d like to get a copy of the survey but I’m not sure I’ll put much stock in anything it says since he missed some pretty obvious damage.

If I can get it basically free I don’t think the material cost of the repairs would be all that much. Just a lot of time effort and learning which I am ok with. As I understand it I would need another survey post repairs in order to insure to boat again.

I am going up to meet the owner and check out the condition of the rig and sails tomorrow. I will update if I find anything new and whether I decide to take it on.
 

Kasbud

Junior Member
I have a damaged e34-2. If the boat is going to be parted out, I would be interested in buying cushions and the aluminum gunnel strip
 
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