Chain Plate Question: 1970 Ericson 26'

[lainey]

Greetings all,
This is my first post as a new member. I have been looking at a 1970 Ericson 26' for purchase. My sailing experience dates from a long time ago and was not very substantial at that. The boat in question has a slightly wiggly chain plate. It is the most aft plate in a set of three, midship on the starboard side. It appears that there is slight cracking in the fiberglass surrounding the chain plate. I am unable to find any information on how Ericson installed these chain plates (i.e. construction) so I am not sure if this is a repairable project or not? Does anyone know how Ericson installed the chain plates on this model? In your opinion is this problem is a deal breaker?
I'm also wondering if it is necessary to have a profesional rigger install the mast etc. The boat is on the hard at present.
What would be a good sail complement and how much would it cost (ballpark) to replace the sails and rigging should that be necessary?

Of course these are pre-survey questions. I have a number of years of powerboating experience on the westcoast. Just thought I should give old age a run for its money and try something new.
Thanks for your replies
Elaine

 

[GreenFlash35]

Hello Lainey,
I'm new here to, we have a 76 35-2 and are in the middle of a total refit. We're not professionals, yet. Would like to help, we're about to redo our decks and will be digging into the lower aft shrouds soon. What i'd do is remove chain plate, mix resin or epoxy, glass if necessary.Then fill in gap with a thickener of like colloidal silica. Sand smooth and shape. Next add a strong backing plate. We hire professional riggers, and buy used jibs.
Hope this helps.

 

[lainey]

Hi GreenFlash
Thanks for your reply. That gives me some insight into a possible repair. I would still like to know if anyone is familiar with the way Ericson did the installation on the 26'. I read somewhere that it is different from the other Ericsons.
Professional rigger and used jibs is advice appreciated.
Thank-you

 

[Randy Rutledge]

On my E29 the holes in the deck were rough cut and filled and the fill will crack out with time. That might be the cracking you see around the chainplate. As for the wiggle I don't think that should be there unless the 26 is different to the 29 in the way the chainplates are installed. Hope a 26 owner will jump in on this one.

Welcome to the site and E boats are great boats.

 

[Loren Beach]

http://www.ericsonyachts.org/infoexchange/showthread.php?t=7599&referrerid=28

Here is a long thread on the subject of glassed-in chain plates. This was the common method for shroud attachment on a lot of FRP boats in the 60's and 70's.

While I have visited aboard an E-26 Mk1, I have never delved into the construction.

There are not a lot of these E-26-1 boats out there, but there is a very good chance that the shroud attachment method remained the same for the E-27...

Hopefully, someone here with an early 26 can weigh in.

Best,
Loren

 

[lainey]

Thanks Randy and Loren
That is an interesting idea Randy. I guess it was the combination of the crack and the wiggle that got us worried. I wish I had a pic to post...

Loren I have looked at that link (thanks for the reference) The inner liner hides the construction, as mentioned, so it's hard to know how bad the problem is or how much interior and exterior exposure would be necessary to fix the problem. I didn't know that there aren't a lot of 26's out there. Maybe that would explain why I can't find out about the construction.
Thank you both very much. It is a nice boat otherwise but no one else is jumping at it either. Maybe there is a message there.

Thanks again
Elaine

 

[Emerald]

I think you should expect the worst on this, negotiate accordingly if still interested, and maybe you'll be pleasantly surprised. I don't have hands on experience with the 26's chainplates, but will offer several observations. I have never seen a chain plate on any size boat wiggle that was not a failure. Either it has broken below what you can see, or the attachment has failed. So, expect you will cut open from below decks whatever is in the way to get to this. The chain plates I've seen glassed into the hull by Ericson where typically a variation on a large cross shaped piece with the chainplate being the vertical and then typically a horizontal bar through the chain plate, all of which is then fiberglassed to the hull. I would be surprised if this layup has truly broken free from the hull, which would make me inclined to think the plate has cracked and this is why it is wiggling. So, here's the big question. Have you ever worked with fiberglass/epoxy and coordinated with a machine shop/rigger having pieces fabricated for you to install, or are you at ground zero and going to have to pay someone? If you have to pay someone, I'd get a pro out to the boat and a firm quote and then knock that off my purchase price. If you are ready to do it yourself, then you should anticipate the worst and again see if you can negotiate the appropriate price. There are a lot of boats out there for sale right now, and if you can't get comfortable going in on this, I'd keep looking for another Ericson without an issue of this type.

You also mention sails. Does this mean she has none? You can probably pick up a good used main from a place like www.baconsails.com for $400-600, and likewise for a jib. So that's another $800+ off the top. If you really need new standing rigging, and did as much of it as you could yourself, I'd budget at least $2K. Not to be a downer, but if this boat has a failed chain plate, no sails, and needs standing rigging..... I think you can see where I'm going on this one. It needs to be next to free or you're going to be on the wrong side of the equation, unless you just want a project.

 

[lainey]

Emerald
Thank you for your very sensible advice and information. The boat does have sails. I just wondered what we would be looking at in the future. The rigging is there we just need to put it up. We also need to have the boat transported from storage to the water. I prefer this particular boat to others I have looked at but I think there are a lot of difficulties to resolve.
Many thanks for your advice
Lainey