Ericson Deck Problem - a word to the wise

[lrclough]

A word to the wise - I owned an 1987 Ericson 34 for 22 years, sold it several years ago to go sailing in the Caribbean and am now looking to purchase a smaller Ericson to use seasonally in Maine.

I had a 1984 Ericson 30 under contract with the knowledge that there was a small area of foredeck problems. Any 30+ year old boat will be somewhat imperfect

What the surveyor found was that water had gotten in through the anchor locker hinges, anchor locker latch and bow pulpit base which was not tight to the deck (as some point in its history the bow pulpit was removed and the rear backing plates were not re-installed). Also the boat was not covered over the winter.

The report found that the foredeck core was wet and had significant core deterioration. Water had also gotten into the side decks, which were also suffering from water intrusion around the stanchion bases. While the boat was deemed adequate for coastal cruising, it is hard to get water out of the core once it is inside and with water present my concern was that deterioration would continue.

I rejected the boat, but am out travel, survey and yard haul costs.

The seller has now reportedly has reduced the asking price by $7,000.

An expensive exercise for a problem that never should have arisen with a modest amount of care.

 

[Christian Williams]

Thanks for the heads up.

Soft decks on any prospective boat are cause to walk away.

 

[tenders]

Tons of boats of all makes and models have this issue. Replacing core is a messy job, and you have to be willing to accept a KiwiGrip deck pattern (at least the way I do it), but with the right technique it isn’t particularly difficult or time-consuming.

We have regular day jobs, but over the years my boat partner and I have done four decent sized repairs on my 32 deck including the complete replacement of the cabin top deck under the mast step. That was a big project but I had far less than $1k in materials in it. A $7k discount in an E30 for a foredeck fix is a big deal.

http://www.ericsonyachts.org/infoex...-E32-cockpit-core-repair-an-illustrated-guide

http://www.ericsonyachts.org/infoex...?13256-Seeking-advice-on-E32-mast-step-repair

 

[Loren Beach]

Decks...........

Tenders has explained it well enough to write an article for publication. :nerd:

Note also the importance of "pedigree" when contemplating major repairs.
For example a friend of mine is now selling his pristine Catalina 30 for a very low ball offer because he does not no-way no-how want to do or pay for a re-core of a side deck. This is a boat that had been visually well maintained by several owners and the problem was not caught by a surveyor about 5 years ago when my friend bought it.

Thing is, the Cat 30 has a reputation as a "roomy" boat with indifferent sailing performance.
This happened to another guy I know with an older Cat 30, about 17 years ago, with a totally spongy foredeck. (Darned deck was like a trampoline when I walked on it.)

Contrast: Another friend just finished a lengthly re-core project of both side decks on his Ericson 32-2. The E-boat sails very very well, is considered a modern classic, and for my friend who is about 6'3" or a bit more, has standing head room inside for cruising.
Heck, our Olson only has 6'2" headroom.

While there are a lot of aging sailboats on the market, there are not that many... that actually... Sail. Ericson is certainly not the only line with such a pedigree but is solidly there, throughout the design line up.

Opinion: Magazines and boat brokers do not often mention basic design and engineering, but the better boats have it. The mass of poorer ones simply do not. And in a sort of sailing version of Gresham's Law, they make their money off of the greater mass of poorly-designed and weakly-built boats.

Still, get a good survey and be sure of what lies ahead no matter what boat you buy, that goes for any (!) boat over five years old.

Regards,
Loren

 

[lrclough]

Deck problems

For this Ericson 30, a couple of hours of attention to rebedding and backing plates would have saved many thousands of dollars. I was not interested in the boat at any price after reviewing the survey that found issues with the fore and side decks.

Of course when I first looked at the boat the problem was represented as being an original build defect in one small area that was stable post construction.

 

[bigd14]

“A couple hours of attention...”

Ahhhh, if only!

 

[Afrakes]

Opinion Only After a Couple of Vodkas

Anyone who thinks that any boat older than 10 years doesn't have problems is not living in reality. Especially boats that are in salt water year round. Just like a house they require constant maintenance to combat the elements. Failures are going to happen, not if, just when. Roofs don't last forever why should decks. Most of us don't have the means to keep a boat in pristine condition forever no matter how hard we try. Boats themselves are not ageless. Age catches up with all of us, both humans and machines. Some of us have mistakenly come to expect perfection that is not to be found. Somehow we feel affronted by something being offered that is not perfect and that our efforts to seek that perfection are always to be awarded. Too bad, reality sucks. I've been foolish enough to purchase boats that would have been better served being set on fire. I loved the battle bringing them back to life and deserted them as soon as that battle was over. Luckily, I'm on my last boat and am at the point I no longer feel the need to desert her in spite of all of the expense involved to sail a meager 4 months a year. Fueled opinion over.

 

[tenders]

Every boat is an infinite pile of three-hour projects. In that pile, one lurks, undone, that ultimately ends the boat. But you can’t determine which one it will be until too late. And, at that point, it will appear obvious.

Of course that through-hull needed to be replaced. Of course the chain plate was unsealed so the bulkhead rotted and the mast fell down. Of course the deck fittings were leaking and caused more core rot than somebody is willing to deal with. Of course that deck drain hose was kinked so rainwater filled the boat over the winter and it fell off the stands.

Nautical nihilism, I guess. Love it, embrace it...or charter.

 

[Leslie Newman]

Every boat built with a cored deck can get wet. Same for cored hull. And most out there are wet to varying degrees. Many owners have not a clue regarding the need to re-bed the deck hardware. And they also drill into their deck adding things and don't do it properly to prevent water ingress. Buyer beware. I would never buy any boat without a survey from a reputable surveyor. But also, you can save yourself some money up front if you educate yourself some on what to look for and how to do a little pre-survey yourself when you first view the boat.

 

[ignacio]

For whatever its worth (if anything at all), I have some soft spots on the foredeck and went sailing into the North Pacific for 45 days in 2016, plus the sailing I've done since I returned. I still see no visible signs of impending doom. It's on the list of projects, of course, but I didn't have time to do that project before I left (that, and replacing my meathook-laden steering cables). They were calculated risks and I prepared for the worst, but I'm still alive and she still sails well. I'll probably tackle that project in the next year, however.

 

[Leslie Newman]

For whatever its worth (if anything at all), I have some soft spots on the foredeck and went sailing into the North Pacific for 45 days in 2016, plus the sailing I've done since I returned. I still see no visible signs of impending doom. It's on the list of projects, of course, but I didn't have time to do that project before I left (that, and replacing my meathook-laden steering cables). They were calculated risks and I prepared for the worst, but I'm still alive and she still sails well. I'll probably tackle that project in the next year, however.

It takes years before something catastrophic happens. I sold our 1981 O'Day 34 to a friend with the understanding there were a couple of soft spots on the deck. He never fixed them. That was in 2006. He continues to use the boat and it continues to get more and more soft spots on the deck. He has never re-bed any deck hardware. Water drips in around the deck track bolts inside the cabin. Sadly he will never fix these water leaks and at some point I suspect his foot will go through the deck or the head sail will rip the track from the deck. But he mostly uses the boat as an apartment on the water and does very light river sailing. I figure one day he'll have the boat dry docked and ground up as it won't be worth fixing with all these years of leaking into the balsa core.

 

[dcapn@hotmail.c]

Great philosophical (& practical) advice/direction!

It's sad that a lot of first-time boat buyers (including Ericsons) will not be exposed to the wisdon/advice on this site. We need to share this wealth!

Every boat is an infinite pile of three-hour projects. In that pile, one lurks, undone, that ultimately ends the boat. But you can’t determine which one it will be until too late. And, at that point, it will appear obvious.

Of course that through-hull needed to be replaced. Of course the chain plate was unsealed so the bulkhead rotted and the mast fell down. Of course the deck fittings were leaking and caused more core rot than somebody is willing to deal with. Of course that deck drain hose was kinked so rainwater filled the boat over the winter and it fell off the stands.

Nautical nihilism, I guess. Love it, embrace it...or charter.