E29 tall rig and extra ballast

[sgwright67]

Hello all,

I am still an looking for an E29, and waiting to view a '76 locally that looks promising. I've only been aboard one E29, a '74 model, and I've seen a lot of other boats since then. I am curious how many E29s were the tall rig, and if there are any easily identifiable clues as to which rig it has (aside from measuring the mast). Was the boom also changed?

Also, the manual available here refers to an extra 300lbs of lead installed in the hull ahead of the keel (I assume below the forepeak sole). Was this something dealers would do, or was it left to the owner? Or was it made standard in later production runs? I assume this and the cavity behind the keel suggest that a bit more ballast forward is helpful, but curious how critical this change is?

I really appreciate all the great information and kind support found on this site, and can't wait to find our own Ericson!

 

[bgary]

I'm not an expert on the E29, but if I recall correctly the tall-rig had a shorter boom than the standard rig. Something like 2 feet shorter.

Maybe not definitive, but... a boom would be easier to measure than a mast, and it might give you a hint.

ObNote, you can always take a 50-foot tape measure and pull it up the mast with a halyard to see how tall it is...

 

[Loren Beach]

Back in the 70's Ericson would float their new boats in their own pool to check for trim. I have pictures of this final production procedure in an old brochure. They would reportedly add "trim ballast" to level the boat before final delivery to the customer.

I know of site members that removed whatever lead weights that they discovered. Perhaps they substituted some cases of beer.... or Dinty Moore stew?

Late 80's Ericson trivia: all of the Olson 34's are heavy on port side and have a slight list.. After I replaced the 23 gallon water tank under the starboard settee with a 38 gallon ss tank, our boat floats level when that tank is full. That's about 390 pounds including tare.

While it would be sort of nice to have the boat initially float dead-level, I am glad not to have any additional weight aboard to slow us down.

 

[toddster]

Some of the tall rigs appear to have the forward lower chainplates inboard - on the bulkhead instead of the hull. (Because: sheeting angles? I don't know.) But there appear to have been a lot of variations.

Re: weights. Note that 300 lbs = 1.5 units of rail meat. I can "correct" the trim of my boat by sitting on the starboard side instead of port. Also, the book says "8500 lbs" but the scale thinks it's more like 10,000...

 

[texlan]

Some of the tall rigs appear to have the forward lower chainplates inboard - on the bulkhead instead of the hull. (Because: sheeting angles? I don't know.) But there appear to have been a lot of variations.

The early tall rigs with two sets of spreaders have this. I am in a (substantial) refit of hull #8 with such a rig. And it's both aft and forward lowers, not just forward; aft are anchored (fairly weakly) to the transition between deck and side of the cabin, under the sloping part of the forward long portlight.

I believe the lower chainplates are inboard because of clearance of the side deck. Because the two-spreader rig's first spreader is much lower than a single-spreader rig's, (Just under 11' up the mast) if the lowers' chainplates were at the rail it would make it extremely difficult to walk forward past them..

My boat came with about 400lbs of lead dumped in the sump haphazardly and poorly glassed over with roving... a month of cleaning that mess of oil and tears out and putting the lead back in and embedding it in epoxy+ sand + chop strand comprised step 1 of my refit..haha. I haven't found any lead forward of the keel per the available manual, so who knows what's going on there.

Sean

 

[toddster]

Thanks, that makes sense. Hard to get the big picture from little snapshots that get posted on line. I wonder why they didn’t put some kind of a knee under that aft lower? Sure, you’d have to watch your head while sitting there...

 

[sgwright67]

Thanks for the info. So based on the standard shroud placement and single spreader, I will assume the two 29s I have seen are the standard rig.

I am comparing photos and it looks like the '74 model with tiller steering may have a longer boom than the '76 with wheel steering. The '74 has the traveller on the transom top edge and split backstays, while the '76 has the traveller just ahead of the wheel. Both are sheeted at the boom end, but the '74 boom looks like it would extend past where the wheel is on the '76. I can only assume the '74 model had a longer boom added along with the split rear backstays. Was the transom traveller a factory option or custom? I recall when I saw this boat that I liked how much it opened up the cockpit. It sold before I could take another look.

The owner of the '76 is away for two weeks, so I must try to wait patiently to view it. The only other 29 in my area has an A4 and is twice the price, and there is a 30+ at 3x the price. There are a few 27s but all with OBs.

 

[toddster]

I think the boom length is the same for wheel or tiller options. Only the rigging of the sheet is different. Compare drawing (wheel) in the manual posted on this site with the drawing (tiller) posted on sailboatdata.com If the traveler were on the transom with wheel steering, the sheet would sweep the head of the helmsman.

Some misguided persons have retrofitted wheels onto boats that didn't originally have them - with resulting weirdness. (One sign, these boats may not have bridge decks and have no locker aft.)

The tiller option is superior for several reasons:
Better helm response
Spacious cockpit
Helmsman position (up against cabin, under dodger, if present) is more sheltered. And warm (engine exhaust standpipe right under seat).
Simpler mechanism. Less maintenance & repair.
Autopilots (tiller pilots) are simpler, less expensive, and easily stowed away.

It has some drawbacks:
May impede traffic through the companionway, if many people are on board.
Excess crew may impede tiller movements. Not to mention the dog.
Solo sailors may not be able to reach the sheet and traveler controls from the helm. (Tiller extension and TP help.)
If offshore sailing is a possibility, the cockpit is a bit too spacious. According to ISAF Offshore Regulations formula, needs to be reduced by about 16 cubic feet (IIRC). (Maybe deck-over aft of rudder post to make vented fuels locker?)
Only equipped with one cockpit drain!

 

[frick]

My E 29

Greeting,
I have a standard rig E 29, 1971.
With the long tiller, the helmsman sits forward, the trimmer are after is a long 7 foot cockpit.
I have the classic end boom mainsheet, with a harkin midsized traveler.
Love the boat.

Rick

 

[missalot]

I can only speak to my 29 Tall rig, 1970. It has a double spreader rig. BOTH fwd and aft lowers are inboard. The boom is only 10 feet long. I have been under the assumption (31 years) that it has the IOR rig making it measure into the 1/2 ton class. Per the documentation about 2.5 feet taller on the mast and about 2 feet shorter on the boom. Over the years only seen one other 29 Tall, and it also had double spreaders.

Good luck in your search.