Welcome! And congrats....
I bought an Ericson 34 1987 last week. So far I love it. Mine was a great value and was on the west coast. I look forward to many years of use. Very comfortable to sail. Mine was updated in the early 90's with new electronics and everything works. I am really excited to start this chapter of my boating career.
I couldn't find the video of the flexing cockpit deck. That seems worth talking about.
Moisture meters--lots to go wrong in use and interpretation, I am told.
I would not let any of these issues so far stop you if you are prepared for some hard work.
A pedestal shouldn't move around, and mine doesn't. But it may be that the set screws on the guard base aren't tight.
Any flexing of the cockpit deck in that area would be of interest, since the sheaves assembly is bolted under there too.
Helpful to know, thank you.Five years ago, the previous owner replaced the prop shaft, cutless bearing and added the dripless seal on his 87 E4=34. Also new front motor mount so the engine alignment had to be checked. Total bill was about $2000. Seems cheap for the SF bay area, dont know what the current price for this job would be now.
Yes I believe it is. Here is a diagram of the base that fastens the underside (Stop Ring) maybe as you say, loose? Just heard back from the broker, will be driving back tomorrow for the verdict.Regarding the pedestal: is that an Edson system? If so, good, since the company is still around.
To get a view of the pedestal base area there is a panel in the ceiling of the rear berth that is held in place with 4 screws. Just had mine off two days ago.
I just purchased my 87 E34 in May. As far as replacing the coupling if its just rusted and everything else is in good shape I'd leave it alone. If you do replace the coupler you might as well replace the shaft and cutlass bearing as well. The shaft and coupler need to be machined to fit each other. Pay close attention to this area. The previous owners handiwork cost me a haul out and 6 weeks of sailing . I found this link to be very helpful.
http://www.pbase.com/mainecruising/pss_shaft_seal
I just finished replacing the shaft, coupler , stuffing box, cutlass bearing and motor mounts. Total cost for parts was just a bit over $1000 . My yard charged me $250 for the alignment (which I will soon be redoing my self).
Looks like the stuffing box has been spraying for a while. But this rust issue in itself might not bother me much.
Core issues would, because it's a project.
But I have a hunch this boat is pretty close to what's out there among Ericsons, esp. regionally available, esp. if looking for a specific model, esp. considering the average sales price, which suggest they all need work.
Someone's been doing some repair work under that cockpit. I note that some of the short pieces of tape-wrapped metal that EY routinely used to secure control cables are now bypassed. Not an alarming sight, but having spent some idle hours under our cockpit doing and R/R on the steering sheaves and later paying (gasp) a yard person to replace the shift/throttle cables (and then having do a little re-securing of those runs after having them do it. Grrr...)
I see some familiar Ericson stuff.
One thing foreign to me is that whole raised cockpit sole section aft. I do not recall seeing that on sister ships, but then I was not looking for it either.
One note about core repair cost -- it's all about skill and hours. And a good craftsman should give you a realistic bid and stick to it, albeit with some contingency in the 10% area for fixing unknowns.
To me the greatest challenge is just matching the gel coat color.
Best of luck,
Loren