Anyone have information and perspectives about the Ericson 34X?

[windward_life]

Hi, this is my first post here. I'm the new "almost" owner (money in trust, survey is thursday) of an Ericson 34X. I've found it very difficult to find almost any information about this boat separate from what's on sailboatdata. Even on this site if you type in the Tags field for Ericson 34x nothing comes up. Anyone have any information about this seemlingly rare boat? I believe I read that there were only 10 built but I don't know if that's true. It's a Bruce King design so I wonder if contacting his firm would surface anything, although I imagine they don't respond to those sorts of requests. Anyway, I'll be getting it ready to race and sail around the SF bay. Next year I hope to sail the transpac. If there are any other owners out there I'd love to pick your brains about preparing this boat for blue water.

Thanks!

 

[Loren Beach]

early Ericson 34 model

Searching can be challenging in this site's software.
We have discussed it here:
http://www.ericsonyachts.org/infoex...Site-quot-Search-quot-Questions&referrerid=28

Since you are referencing the late-70's Ericson 34, also try searching for material on the 34T and the 34R. Not sure, but I believe that all had the same hull.
The Google search idea actually works well.

As you point, this model is rare.
I have seen one for sale several years ago in Portland.

Loren

 

[windward_life]

Not many returned results

Thanks Loren,
That helped but also showed how little there was about the 34x on this site. Basically some people posted they were looking at one but not much info really came with it. Thanks for that though I'll look at info regarding the 34T and 34R.

 

[Loren Beach]

'77 Ericson 34

Is this the boat?
http://www.sailboatlistings.com/view/21446

Nice looking, and there appears to be another newer Ericson moored astern of it.


Then there's this one:
http://www.sailboatlistings.com/view/9012

LB

 

[windward_life]

That's the one

At least I think it is, the ad says "california" so I'm not sure if that's the exact boat but yeah, that's exactly what she looks like.

 

[Seth]

No Ericson 34X

So it seems you have a 34R of some type. You will want to confirm if you have std or tall rig, or something modified(many of the 34 rigs were). Otherwise they are essentially the same. The 34T has a higher trunk cabin as you will see from the specs, but you have the R, not an "X".

I think you were seeing a misprint, HOWEVER, the original prototype for the 34 was a one-off boat named Cadre, which sailed a lot in New England in the early-mid 70's. Same hull shape but with a flush desk (IIRC). I have heard that boat referred to as a 34X. The boat was owned by Charlie Leighton and was the very first of the design (before it went into production mode).

In any case, the 34 is a very nice design for PHRF racing and all kinds of cruising.

Might not be the best boat for Transpac if you goal is to be highly competitive. The boat will get you there safely for sure, but in race mode (always pushing) it is a bit of a handful downwind in big breeze due to the tall skinny sailplan and very narrow transom (coupled with moderate to slightly heavy displacement). If you have a section of similar vintage boats to sail against it is fine, but the newer, lighter boats will get there faster with less drama.

I like the design very much, though, and it is a great SF Bay boat!

Any questions, holler!

 

[Novabab3]

I have a 34x it will be in your hull id. Number mine is "ery34x11m77....etc... I recently acquired it it is almost completely unmodified and I look forward to restoring it. I wasn't aware it was such a rarity

 

[Christian Williams]

Welcome to the forum. This thread hasn't been active since 2012, but we're glad to revive it for the E34X.

I think you'll find the site useful as the grand repository of information about Ericson and Olson yachts.

Rare boat, congrats on taking on the restoration.

 

[Loren Beach]

I have a 34x it will be in your hull id. Number mine is "ery34x11m77....etc... I recently acquired it it is almost completely unmodified and I look forward to restoring it. I wasn't aware it was such a rarity

Post up a picture or two when you can. That is an unusual model.

 

[Novabab3]

These are the pics from the cl post I bought her off of. She's quite a bit cleaned up since then. I will take pics tomorrow. I'll be out working on measurements for new flooring

 

[markvone]

I have a 34x it will be in your hull id. Number mine is "ery34x11m77....etc... I recently acquired it it is almost completely unmodified and I look forward to restoring it. I wasn't aware it was such a rarity

Hi,

Welcome to the site!
Don't know how many 34 T/R were built, but not that many, and you wonder how many are still around.
The 'X' in your HIN is a placeholder for a third digit in your actual hull number - for hull numbers 100 and up. You have hull number 11 correct?
Since they didn't build more than 99 of this model, as well as the E36RH and E33RH, they all have the 'X' after the two model (length) digits.
My E36RH, hull number 21 is ERY36X21M81J and my old E33RH, hull number 3 was ERY33XX3**** (*=can't remember).

This must be the reason your hear reference to the 34X model. It's rare and older, had two versions and is not very well known. They built less than 100 hulls so every HIN started with ERY34X.

Mark

 

[nquigley]

We'd love to see the layout below decks.
She looks very sleek - probably goes to weather really well(?)

 

[Novabab3]

Oh ok good to know..so this is a 34 __ ?
Also i do havesome questions about the hull id. I thought it was supposed to be 12 digits. Mine is ery34x11m77. That is all that is written on bill of sale. I'm thinking maybe the guy who I bought it from (the original owner passed away and I bought her from the marina manager) didn't write it down correctly as he also wrote "fry" instead of "ery" isn't there supposed to be another character?

 

[Novabab3]

By the way I'm new to this. I lucked into this ericson totally on accident and bought it on a whim bc my dad expressed interest in sailing and the price was so good I felt that I couldn't lose by reselling it. However I have fell in love with her and can't even start to think about selling. In sure you understand. So I don't know much although I am reading feverishly all literature I can come across so thanks for your input

 

[markvone]

I’m not an expert on the E34 but nothing on your sleek deck/cabin looks “tall” to me so I’m pretty confident you have the 34R.
BTW, Sailboatdata.com does say the 34R was also known as the 34X even if that wasn't an official Ericson nomenclature.
See post #6 above. Seth worked at Ericson back in that timeframe.

https://sailboatdata.com/sailboat/ericson-34t

https://sailboatdata.com/sailboat/ericson-34

It looks like you are missing a digit from the last four for the production date. It also looks like you have the post 1984 format (which can't be correct for a 70s mfg boat).

Hull ID Numbers: A Comprehensive Guide | Boat Safe | Water Sports, Product Reviews, and Nautical News

Unsure how to decode Hull ID Numbers? Use our comprehensive guide and ensure your boat's proper identification, registration, and safety compliance.

www.boatsafe.com

I'm going to guess that the marina seller didn't put a lot of effort into looking up the HIN. I would look carefully at the upper starboard side of the transom for an imprinted HIN and check it vs the number you were given.
There is usually one other place inside the boat where Ericson wrote the HIN. Maybe another E34 owner has found where that location is and will chime in. I haven't found a second HIN on my boat and I've been crawling around in it for 10 years.

Mark

 

[Loren Beach]

There is usually one other place inside the boat where Ericson wrote the HIN. Maybe another E34 owner has found where that location is and will chime in. I haven't found a second HIN on my boat and I've been crawling around in it for 10 years.

While some other boats have this imprinted on a part of the engine compartment bed log, our boat has it imprinted flat on the surface of the aft cabin berth, way back at one end, and way toward the inside. I wonder who, at EY, was in charge of "hiding" the second HIN ?

 

[Novabab3]

Thanks I'll deff check it out and report back, and yes the marina manager was outrageous. But I'll tell that story another day

 

[Sean Engle]

ery34x11m77

I would read that as the 11th hull of an Ericson 34X laid down in 1977 - if you have a letter at the end, it corresponds to the month it was started. We do have a mention of the 34X in the documentation going for our Certificate of Origin, but no production numbers:

34T, 34X

34T, 34X

EricsonYachts

Fin w/Spade Rudder

FG

Masthead Sloop

33.67

26.33

10.92

5.92

10000

5000

T' model was trunk cabin version of the 34 variant. There is also an 34X variant with a flush deck.

I also don't (as you know) have any documentation - so anything you have that you can rip off pdfs of would be useful for the archive.

Apparentely there is also one for sale in Oregon (ERY34X16M77J - A 34X #16, laid down in Oct 1977) right now:

1977 Ericson 34 x sailboat for sale in Oregon

...and these two in BC:

1978 Ericson 34 34x SailboatSailboats For Sharing in Vanco

We are offering 2 new shares for the upcoming year for Bluefin, a Ericson 34x racer/cruiser, which has been converted to electric propulsion. Details of the bo

www.nauticalmonkey.com

Ericson 34 X - Thunderbird Marine

thunderbirdmarine.com

and new sails if you need them:

Ericson 34 X Performance Cruising Mainsail

Instant pricing on Ericson 34 X sails. Best Prices Online. Customize your sail cloth and options online.

www.precisionsailloft.com

//sse

 

[Loren Beach]

Over a decade ago, I had a brief visit aboard one of these, in Portland. It had been used as a live aboard, but was clean. Interesting thing was the A4 gas engine was attached to a stock V-drive. I have no idea if others were a "V" or used a straight shaft.

 

[bgary]

Yes, spent several years racing the original 34's "back in the day"

Originally, the 34 was just "the 34". Designed to be competitive in the IOR three-quarter-tonner division and, for a production boat, did very well.

They later made a version with a trunk cabin and cruisy-er interior, marketed as the 34-T. Colloquially, the original has been called the 34-X but I don't think that was ever used in marketing....

I think I still have copies of the original brochures. Somewhere.

Bruce