Ericson Blue Water Capabilities

[Bardo]

As I have narrowed down my search for a new boat to the Ericson 34, I have noticed in all my lurking about that the Ericsons are not listed in anyon'e list of "blue water production boats". They are invariably complemented as great sailors and cruisers, but never recommended for the long haul. Any ideas as to why not?

Freeman

 

[Seth]

???

Not sure where that is coming from, but many, many e-boats from 25-46' have cruised all over the world, and have crossed all the oceans..

Like ANY produciton boat, you need to make some modifications before going offshore for extended voyages, but not much more so than any other production boat.

Don't let this scare you,

Enjoy,
S

 

[Blue Chip]

Is it listed as a "Coastal Cruiser"?
Many are at this size etc.
Perhaps it has to do with fuel and water capacity as much as anything else??

 

[Bardo]

Don't get me wrong. I'm not saying that the Ericson isn't a great "blue water" boat. I'm just curious why I never see it listed with the Tartan and the Allied boats, when from everything I can see, the Ericson is just as robust a boat as any of this class. Its just strange. The tankage may be an issue, I don't know. I am sold on this boat, and have seen nothing to pursuade me that I couldn't sail it to new Zealand if I wanted to (subject to the proper re-fit blah blah blah). Does anyone have a link to an Ericson that has done a Loooonnnnnggggg voyage?

Thanks again,
Freeman

 

[Loren Beach]

As to fitness for blue water... there LOTS of threads on this site about E-boats crossing oceans and major portions thereof.

If you talking about prepping a quality coastal cruiser for extended periods at sea... no matter which brand among the "high end" makes you are looking at... that gets into adding tankage and storage and generally setting up the deck and interior for XX number of weeks of living while constantly in motion.


Basic hull, deck, and rig should be just fine, though.

My .02 worth,
Loren

ps: here is one such thread, with links to other sites within it.
http://www.ericsonyachts.org/infoexchange/showthread.php?t=4879&referrerid=28

 

[Bardo]

I should note that I don't plan to go to New Zealand any time soon. Up and down the US East Coast is more my speed at the moment. Thanks for the re-assurance that I am making a good choice! Now I just have to find the boat...

 

[Seth]

The truth

The real truth is that in sailing, as in most things, it is a mistake to assume anything published (along these lines) has any factual base. These types of listings are arbitrary and subjective. Frankly, no serious offshore types put much stock in comments or characterizations like "coastal", "offshore", etc.

What does matter:
design pedigree
contruction method and quality
track record

E boats make the grade on all counts, so who cares what some clown says about what group they fall in? Who even knows the context in which it was written? No disrespect to whoever said that (because I don 't know the context), but is not something you can or should take to the "bank".

I can see you have moved past the issue, but this is the reason we are saying this.

Good E hunting,
S

 

[rhewitt]

2 1/2 years to get here...

Our E-34 was sailed for 2 1/2 down from CA before I bought her in Costa Rica and sailed her back to Nicaruaga. Not a lot of changes had been made. New rigging, watermaker, windvane, new canvas, new bottom paint. one strong little boat... come on down and sail with us to check it out. Always welcom.

Ralph,

"No Bad Days"

 

[Randy Rutledge]

E 29 over 10,300 Nm

http://www.trafficated.com/

Not to plug the E29 or anything. This guy is foolish or brave and I am jealous.

This is to me above what the E29 was designed to do but it is doing it,
He has had engine problems and torn his main and had other mishaps but still is going where we all would like to go and doing it with whoever is going his way for crew or at times alone.

 

[Emerald]

And if you're not familiar with them, be sure to check out the Cruising 31/Independence 31 and the Cruising 36. These were marketed by Ericson as much for "coastal/offshore" work as any of the models I know of. Not saying by any stretch that they are "best" of the Ericson line for this - all boats are compromise

Here's the link to the 31 site:

http://www.ericson31.com/

You might find this site by a 36 owner interesting:

http://www.ericson-36c-kasidah.blogspot.com/


I think your biggest problem is going to be just figuring out which flavor of Ericson suits you

 

[Loren Beach]

choices, choices...

I think your biggest problem is going to be just figuring out which flavor of Ericson suits you

And, then there are the Olson 34 and Ericson 35-2 owners solo racing to Hawaii......


Matter of fact, I betcha that E-36RH for sale in SoCal would cross an ocean with ease, also.

Loren

 

[rwthomas1]

Someday my wife and I want to go cruising. We are working towards that eventuality without a real end date, but that is another story. The E38 we own is accidental. Initially concerned that the E38 wasn't enough boat, thought a little more room would be needed, etc. Have come to the realization, through many on this board, that the E38 is just fine as is for the Caribbean and can be easily upgraded to true blue water specs with the usual expenditures. Obviously if the financial situation improves then maybe we move to more boat. If not the E38 will fit the bill when we finally get it together. I don't feel the the boat is anything of a compromise in blue water ability with the obvious exception of always needing more room. The upgrades continue towards this goal.

It is also important to remember that many, many of the so called "blue water boats" need all the standard and recommended upgrades to actually live up to their potential as well. RT

 

[E27Peregrine]

Record Holder...

Does this sound like a blue water cruiser to you?
My Ericson 27 set a long held record for sailing a boat under 30 from Japan to California..
28 days.not too shabby..

 

[Gary Peterson]

When my older brother owned our E381, he and his wife sailed from Grosse Ile, MI to Newfoundland, down to Nova Scotia, and then to Boston. Due to a lack of time it was then trucked back to Michigan. No issues and the sail from Newfoundland to Nova Scotia was a very nasty high wind beat uphill.
Gary Peterson E381 QUIXOTIC

 

[Bardo]

Seems I got yer dander up with this post! Thats great, I love to hear all the success stories of the E boats. I just want to say how refreshing this board is compared to the other owners' sites that I have haunted in my search. Based on this board alone, I would abandon the other boats, just so I could hang out with the cool kids over a the EYO site! Thanks for all your great input.

Freeman:nerd:

 

[sleather]

Sounds like you're "maybe" becoming a "believer". I'm looking forward to "blue water" adventures on my next Ericson, Good Luck in your search!!
Have you ever read "DOVE" (Robin Lee Graham)

 

[Morgan Stinemetz]

Guys,
Three years ago I sailed my 1973 E-27 (#372) from Tampa Bay to Cuba and back. Going across the Straits of Florida was no picnic either way, but the boat did better than the crew.
Morgan Stinemetz

 

[bigtyme805]

An Ericson 30+ sailed around the world. I think it was the same guy who sailed the E27 to Australia.

The biggest knock on Ericson's and long distance sailing is that they don't have full keels and people who want to go cruising really believe you have to have a full keel design. Obviously that is a misconception. Same thing goes for the rudder design.

My E30+ is preparing for a voyage to the Sea of Cortez for a few months and I see no issues. My surveyor just surveyed the boat and thinks I am in better shape than most cruisers because of the detail I put into getting it ready.
Beefed up rudder, rigging upgrade, bilge upgrades, 75 gallons of water capacity, new port windows, new dodger, and the list goes on.

Now it's up to Captain Don to do the rest.

My surveyor whispered in my ear and said the reason Ericson went out of business is because they designed a quality boat with beautiful interiors and excellent construction but the prices were too high for people of that era. The reason you see so many is because they are bullet proof.

 

[Frank Langer]

Don,
As a fellow owner of an E30+, can you describe in more detail the upgrades that you did to the rigging, bilges, etc.?
Thanks,
Frank.

 

[Rocinante33]

More fine references to long distance Ericsons are;
The E-39 "Maverick." She circumnavigated, but not without problems
http://www.ussmaverick.net/about.html
The Maverick web sight is very good reading.

Guy Stevens, frequent contributer to this site, & wife crossed the Pacific in their E-39. They have a very good web site, too.
http://svpneuma.com/

Andrew Urbanczyk (sp???) crossed from SF to Japan and back in his E-27 & spoke highly of the boat. He is a very well known sailor, puportedly with over 100K miles beneath his keel. Perigrine, is that your boat he used for that crossing?