E-33rh

[rwiken]

I am looking at purchasing an Ericson 33 and am interested in infomation on the boat.

I don't seem to find many for sale.
What years was the boat built? How many Hulls total?

I am interested in club racing, day sailing and cruising in Maine waters.
Can this boat be sailed to its PHRF 126? This seems fast for a 33 for with
9500 lb displacement. Anyone with racing experience with the E33? How does she do?

Any known problems with the boat? Mast step? Deck core? Blistering?
Keel Bolts? Any thing to look for?

I would appreciate any infomation about the boat to help me with the
purchase decision.

Thanks,

Richard Wiken
Hampden, Maine

 

[therapidone]

Here's a little info...

Greetings Richard,

I don't know much about the model myself, but I came across a document somewhere online that listed serial numbers/hull numbers for Ericson models as well as the years of production...at least up through '87, which is when this list seems to have been compiled.

Anyway, there is only one 33-foot Ericson model listed in that document & what's on the list is as follows:
E/33 – I # 1 (1981) thru # 28 (1984)

I found another document somewhere online & downloaded it...it was entitled Ericson Specs by Year. In this document, the 33-footer doesn't appear until 1982 & runs through 1984. The only specs given are the LOA at 33' 6", the LWL at 26' 10", the beam at 11' 2", the draft at 5' 11", with a displacement of 9,500 lbs.

I can't vouch for the accuracy of any of this information, but I've got to believe that it all has to be pretty darn close.

And you're right (aside from the fact that there appears to be only 28 of them made), you don't hear too many folks talking about this model.

Have you googled various variations (i.e., Ericson 33, Ericson E33, etc.?)

Regards,

Ed

 

[Seth]

E 33

The 33RH was not one of the best of the breed-it was introduced as a small sister to the very fast and well proportioned 36RH. And while the 36 has the excellent all around performance and sailing qualities, the 33 ended up being slightly overweight and underballasted-it does have a LOT of sail area-especially upwind-the result is a pretty good light air, flat water boat, but too tippy and too heavy to either go uphill well in a breeze or downwind in a breeze-so for racing, it is a tough one at 126-You would be much better off around 132-138.

For cruising, it is a nice boat-strong and roomy-as long as you get the sail off when it pipes up, you will be OK.

I sailed the prototype for the factory, and even with a stripped interior and super lightweight rig, we struggled which it got breezy and/or choppy.

To sum it up-for PHRF racing, there are probably better racer/cruisers. As a fast cruiser, at the right price you should be very happy with it-once you understand the limitations.

Hope that helps,
S

 

[Loren Beach]

Note that when PSC acquired the tooling for the Ericson 32/200, the 34, and the 38/200, they renamed the models. Their 333 model is the former 32/200.
There is only one Ericson 33, per se, and that's the Ron Holand design with the big fractional rig.
I have done some crewing on one for the last decade and can affirm that it loves light air. It is also fast and easily controllable with a chute up in 20 kts (speaking as the designated driver...).
The picture of the E-33 in this site's splash screen rotation is an older picture of the Portland boat I sometimes get to sail on, and we were out for a perfect night on the water in about 12 kts of wind just last Tuesday. With main & genny we passed up about everything in sight... although not officially racing...

You do get used to playing the traveler and mainsheet in big air, and it's located in exactly the right place for sailing.
What with its amazing amount of tankage and storage, I rather like the boat for cruising also. Big nav table, too.
Every boat has its strengths, and I like driving the E-33 upwind, but prefer my O-34 on a windy reach. We have a little more interior room for entertaining but are stuck with a 14 gallon fuel tank compared to the 40 in the Ericson. And so it goes. Matter of fact, everything in life IS a compromise!


Cheers,
Loren in PDX

 

[Loren Beach]

E-33 evening sail, redux

I just got back home from the regular "Tuesday evening sail" on Mike's E-33. Full main and 135 furler. Wind about 12 to 15 kt. We (literally) blew right by a late model Catalina 36 flying a big genny as we reached up the river... and kept up with a friend's J-30 hard on the wind heading back down toward the moorage. I would let the main down a foot in the gusts, but we never got close to wetting the rail.
Days are getting shorter and we are just trying to get in some sailing each week... before the cold rain and short days creep up on us...


Like I said before, this Ron Holland design drives very nicely.

Loren in PDX

 

[E33Mike]

E33 Phrf

I am the Owner of the E33 mentioned by Loren. Loren browbeat me into posting a comment or two on the E33 thread. Interestiing comments by Seth -- I've never thought of the E33 as "tippy", but then comming up from smaller boats, and lacking experience on larger boats, I don't have a standard for comparison. My boat is currently rated at 145 under the the NW region PHRF. I get 6 seconds/mile credit for an undersized (roller furled) headsail -- 129% -- which turns out to be an excellent size for our local conditions. Big enough for reasonable performance in light air, and small enough to delay reefing down until true wind is in the mid-teens. My main is a 1991 UK dacron that was the newer main that came with the boatfrom the PO. It has way too much draft and is due for replacement soon. I gave up trying to be a "serious" racer years ago, but still participate in some of the local races in "level" fleets (no handicapping). My occasional forays in PHRF fleets have been notably unsuccessful, even at the 145 rating. I don't blame the E33! Now if I stripped out all the crusing gear, spares, cushins, etc., faired the bottom and cleaned it for every race, hired Dennis Conners to drive, and some AC boat crew (I would of course, be lending support from the Yacht Club), acquired a mega thousand dollar state-of-the-art sail inventory, and STILL couldn't collect a four dollar trouphy in our local races, THEN I'd blame the E33! I guess I will wind this up be saying the the E33 suits me just fine.

Mike Oxborrow
E33 Hull #25 J.P. Foolish

 

[Seth]

145 would help a lot

Maybe I need to put my comments in a better perspective.

When I began racing the boat-we won a lot of races-we had the the best crew and hardware and sails available, and even in top level racing did well. We struggled upwind in heavier air against the better boats, but usually made up for it downwind.

We were initially sailing under IOR and did not have a rating which reflected the boat's potential.. Later, sailing in PHRF-we had a rating of 114-and it in lighter air, we were fine.

I do feel the 33 is not as well rounded a boat as the 36, but the 36 is exceptional.

I actually DO think that at 145, with most of the cruising stuff pulled off the boat, good sails and good bottom, the boat should do very well indeed.

Yes, it is not optimal upwind in breeze, but at 145, you have a lot of room for that.

It has been a long time since I sailed one, but I think it would would be worth "getting serious" with the boat at any rating of 132-145-it should be plenty quick-better in light air/flat water, but competitive all around.

I certainly did not mean to belittle your yacht!!!
Good sailing!

S

 

[dcoyle]

Hi

We own Happy Ours, an 82 E33 hull 11, in Falmouth Maine. I loooove this boat. We, wife, 3 kids 2 8 year and 1 6 year old, and myself just returned from a 2 week cruise downeast, the boat is unbeleavable to sail and has huge amount of storage. We left Falmouth on the day of the Monhegan race, which had a nice 15 to 20 knot breeze blowing. We sailed across Casco bay to Seguin Island at 7 knots and top speed was 7.25 while my family slept below. Although I agree the boat likes flat water and is fast in light air, with a reef in the main and head sail she is very comforatable to sail. The previous owner was a big racer also out of Famouth and has a room full of sailing trophies from Happy Ours. Did I mention she is fast? We will be involved in club racing only and cruising, but this is an awesome boat. You can email me at coyles5@msn.com with any questions.

 

[dcoyle]

Forgot to mention in my previous post, she will outpoint any boat I have met in Caso bay so far, and she doesn`t get passed very often.

 

[Rocinante33]

E-33

Richard,
We have an E-33, also. We have hull #24 of the 28 built. We bought her after Loren wrote passonately about the model when we asked about it & so did Mike O. It is a GREAT boat for it's size! I cannot speak about the racing aspects of it, but just from experience, I think it is very fast, especially to windward. The sheeting angle is very tight & the big, powerful main really moves the boat close hauled. It also flies on a reach with the asymetrical 'chute, like in the picture of Mike's boat posted here.
Seth is always a great source of info on these, also. He is right in many respects, but don't get the impression from his comments that the boat is not solid & seaworthy. It is! It IS very tender, so you will learn to reef early. The boat will still perform well when reefed appropriately. A few weeks ago we sailed out to our Channel Islands. There was about 20-25 knots on the nose & significant chop. It was difficult & got to be uncomfortable after a period of that, but the boat was always controllable & it took good care of us.
As for problems, just look for the usual; leaks around the chainplates, engine issues, etc. Don't hesitate to get a good marine survey - it is worth every penny.
There are many fine features included in this design & I think you will like it. Let us know if you get it.

Keith
E-33
Rocinante

 

[Rocinante33]

slight correction

Whoops! Looking back at the picture of Mike's boat, that is a standard 'chute, not an asymetrical, like we use. Hence, probably more of a run than a reach.

Keith

 

[ted_reshetiloff]

Seth did you say 114?

"We were initially sailing under IOR and did not have a rating which reflected the boat's potential.. Later, sailing in PHRF-we had a rating of 114-and it in lighter air, we were fine."


Was that the initial PHRF rating for the E-33 when it was a new boat? That would be a pretty tough number to sail to today would it not?

 

[E33Mike]

More E33 Coments from Mike O.

Hey Seth -- no offense taken. I thought you called 'em as you say 'em, and I found you comments very informative and straight

I would note that the E33RH has at least ONE point of advantage over the E33PH -- lower cost of ownership!

About that picture of my boat with the red, white, and blue spinnaker -- As I recall, that picture was taken by a friend on the race committee boat during our first season of ownership, actually the first race! All things considered, I think we look perty good. That spinnaker has since been demoted to cruising duty and lives in a spinnaker sock. (I did use it for two races this season while my new spinnaker was being repaired.) The newest sail in our inventory is a North Spinnaker which is so superior to the older one... that I can't think of a good adjective. In lighter winds we can carry it with the wind way ahead of the beam.

Mike O.
E33 JP Foolish, Hull #25

 

[E33Mike]

E33 Whoops

What I meant to say was:
I would note that the E33RH has at least ONE point of advantage over the E36PH -- lower cost of ownership!

Mike O.

 

[Seth]

Glad to hear it

Thanks-
No question from a build quality and strength perspective, the boat is fantastic-the only negative-if you even want to call it that, is the tenderness due to less than optimal B/D ratio-but, this is what makes her good in the light air.

The 33 is great (and yes, less expensive than the 36!), and I was just trying to bring up what I felt was relevant info-glad you see it that way.

And yes-we WERE sailing the prototype at 108, and the production boat at 114-later 117-so this made us work pretty hard for our trophies!!! But we won quite a few-and only were at a disadvantage in breezy uphill conditions. However, keep in mind this was when sailing against other 114 raters!!!

Great boats-glad to see they are being enjoyed!!

Cheers,
S

 

[ted_reshetiloff]

So what does it rate now?