First Boat - 1975 Ericson 27ft

[chrisoelder]

Hey guys,

First post! Woo! As an introduction, I am in my late 20s and just finished up my ASA certifications. I have been chartering boats but am itching to get my own so i can alter it however i like. I take a lot of pride in ownership. My budget is on the cheap side but I understand quality can be a bit more expensive.

I am looking to purchase a 1975 Ericson 27ft. The seller and boat is located in Los Alamitos Harbor, Long Beach, CA. I just got the survey completed this morning and should hear back tomorrow with the full report. The boat looks really solid with little issues.

Some big issues that i need your help with.

1) The bottom needs to be painted, the through hulls need to be replaced, and I need to get the prop replaced. I was wondering if you guys know a good spot where I could get all that taken care of for a decent price? OR should i just bite the bullet it and do it myself?

2) The boat has a Volvo Penta Mb10a inboard engine that needs cylinder head. I looked up the parts and before shipping it will cost me about $510 to get it from Switzerland. I am concerned that i will have to keep ordering parts from outside the US. Would it be better if i replaced the engine with an used Atomic 4, maybe diesel, or even electric engine OR should i just repair the Volvo Penta? It does have a 9.9horse power Johnson outboard that powers it but i would rather use that for emergencies.

Other then that there are a lot of cosmetic things that i will come back to this thread to ask about. Thank you all for the help!

PS: If you know of anyone looking to rent out a slip for a 27ft boat in Marina Del Rey area please let me know! Thanks

Cheers,
Chris

 

[alcodiesel]

Welcome to the forum! Consider learning and doing the repairs/upgrades yourself. In an emergency or far from home you will have the know how and experience to fix it yourself. Not to mention less $$. Plus, professionals screw up sometimes and you'll end up fixing it anyway. There is no rocket science to this boat, can't speak to the engine: I have an Atomic4.
Best wishes.

 

[Christian Williams]

Hi Chris,

Good to meet you the other day.

I think the engine is the question mark. The boat buying sequence is 1. make an offer 2. Offer accepted followed by sea trial. 3. Offer revised (often) after sea trial.

On the sea trial you can see if the outboard setup works--how hard is it to operate, how is battery charging, and so on.

An inboard engine that doesn't work casts sort of a pall over the sell: the boat is carrying hundreds of pounds of dead weight, plus the complication of an outboard.

(I hope someone will comment about fixing the Volvo or swapping it for another engine.)

The cosmetics you can do yourself, but it still takes time and money--a good deal of both. Some things may be beyond the scope of improvement, such as weathered aluminum spars. Painting them is expensive and a handful for the owner to do himself.

In the end it depends on the negotiated price. Five grand seems like a reasonable start.

I couldn't find the boat listed on the forum, so I guess the owner has not been a participant here.

http://www.sailboatlistings.com/view/63058

 

[Gary Holford]

Welcome Chris,

You can't go wrong with the E27 but as mentioned the engine is of primary concern. There's a saying that at this vintage you are really buying an engine with a boat thrown in. I can't comment on Volvos (A4 owner) other than I've heard second hand what you already know, pricey and hard to get parts. As far as the bottom and thru-hulls goes, read up on it and do it yourself. Save cash and start paying your dues. Alot of us are still doing that in shit in our 50's and 60's. Good luck.

 

[JPS27]

Hi Chris,

It's a great move to check out this site before buying your Ericson. My comments are not meant to discourage, but I hope to impress upon you the need to take a deep breath, don't feel pressure to buy (there is always another deal out there)...yada yada blah blah. I have a 27 and I love it. It is now a part of the family. BUT (!!!) I wish I had checked out this site and asked a few questions like you are doing. Luckily, I have an understanding wife and I had saved some money in the bank to partially weather the storm of my hasty decision. Long story short, what looked like a beautiful boat at the time was merely the view from my adrenaline distorted "rose colored glasses" looking at a bunch of problems that I couldn't see. Combine that with a poor survey that I was too inexperienced to realize, and I was working my tush off and paying out the nose to bring this boat to where it needed to be...and the journey isn't over.

Just your point #1 in your post could result in a few thousand bucks if all doesn't pan out. And I'm not sure if you actually hauled out yet, but others can correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think you can tell if a boat has blisters until it is hauled out and you can evaluate for weeping from the blisters. In other words, a diver can't tell much about blisters (or at least not a full picture). This may be the boat for you, but no offer is too low if you potentially have an engine to fix. I hope this works out for you, if it doesn't something else will. Good luck!

Jay

 

[chrisoelder]

Hi All,

Thank you for all the advice and help!

@alcodiesel - You have a point, doing it myself will give me the skills to be able to handle an emergency with some knowledge on the situation

--

@Christian Williams - It was a pleasure meeting you this week! Your Ericson is an inspiration to me. So far we have hauled it out (no blisters), and overall pretty solid haul. Just need to replace the thru-hulls, prop, and some small marks on the keel with a fiberglass patch kit. I have taken it around the marina/harbor and the outboard does good work pushing the boat but i would prefer to put that in a cabin locker and save it for an emergency. Using the outboard and the wheel limits my visibility and movement (which we all know is mandatory for safe sailing) hence my urge to stop using it. This is something i will have to fix but just need to weigh out the options of putting an used atomic 4 in there cost vs the repair cost of the Volvo.

I completely agree - putting the boat up on land and doing it myself will be the way i go. If anyone has any recommendations of places that are good to do this at please let me know!

We are at 5K right now before i get the survey back (should be today). I am probably going to go closer to the 4K area since i will have to spend some $$ on the bottom of the boat, basic safety material (VHF radio, flares, fire extinguishers, etc), engine repairs, and get at least 2 more batteries (currently has 1 but has room for 4).

---

@Gary Holford - You are 100% correct, i need to get my butt under that boat and get sanding haha

---

@JPS27 - Thank you for sharing your experience. We have pulled the boat out of the water and the bottom looks pretty good for blisters and soft spots. It will need to be painted, thru hulls fixed, new prop, and a small amount of fiberglass work. I have grown up with boats and am fully aware that the best days of owning a boat are the day you buy it and the day you sell it. haha


Overall the boat is pretty clean and solid. The price is also pretty nice. The buyer is pretty desperate, which i am using to my advantage. He has upgraded all the electric work and has gotten new cushions on it, other then that i cant tell much of what he has done.

Once i get the survey back today i will update this post with the list of "recommended to fix" and the "estimated cost of repairs".

Thank you all again for the help! If anyone has any more knowledge on weather i should repair or replace the engine i am all ears!

 

[Christian Williams]

Try King Harbor. They haul and allow you to work on your own boat, which is rare around here.

King Harbor Marina ・ 208 Yacht Club Way
Redondo Beach, CA 90277

Phone: 310.376.6926 ・ Fax: 310.376.9927

 

[chrisoelder]

Try King Harbor. They haul and allow you to work on your own boat, which is rare around here.

King Harbor Marina ・ 208 Yacht Club Way
Redondo Beach, CA 90277

Phone: 310.376.6926 ・ Fax: 310.376.9927

Excellent! Love that its so close too. Thank ya

 

[Don Smith]

If you decide to replace the inboard rather than settle for the outboard, I'd urge you to take your time and look at some other E27's. If you buy this boat for $4k to $5k and then add the price of a replacement inboard, you're at about the price you'd pay for an E27 in reasonably good condition with an Atomic 4 inboard. 25 ft slips are currently available in Port Royal Marina in King Harbor, so that may be a good temporary solution if you end up on a waiting list for a slip in MDR.

Captain Don
E26, Gitana

 

[chrisoelder]

Hey All!

Thank you so much for all the help with this. I have decided to not take the boat as the seller and I couldn't agree on a price. Simply too many unknowns with the engine and deferred maintenance.

The search continues! If you guys hear of a nice 27ft-32ft boat for sale please let me know!

Thank you again for all the advice and help

 

[nquigley]

Good decision, I think.
For future reference, a friend replaced her mid-80s Cal28's engine 2 years ago with a brand new one (2-cylinder Yanmar diesel) - it cost her about $9000 all up (getting the old one out; buying, delivering and installing the new one; getting the engine, control cables, etc, all properly adjusted, etc).
Good luck hunting!