I just finished re - bedding all deck hardware on my boat except for stanchions which will be next,the biggest job so far was the teak grab rails on which just about every screw hole was leaking. My 2 cents worth is if you are buying a new old boat just plan on re - bedding all deck hardware and you wont have any leaks(it's just normal maintenance),all the holes Will be accessible irrespective of the headliner unless they used self tapping screws which I doubt!
If you intend buying an Ericson,find the best one for your money and just do it,there is no such thing as the perfect boat within the same model,just realize that no matter how good the boat looks or surveys,you will still have a @$?it load of things that you want to do better than the PO did!
As far as the differences in the E38,the main things are: deep keel or shoal keel, the deep keel will not be as tender as the 3' 11" draft and will point better,some differences in layout but that's about it. Don't sweat the minor stuff,find a good boat ,buy it and get sailing while you're still alive IMHO.