First Time Boat Owner

[_Ish_]

Greetings everyone,

I am the new owner of a 1981 Ericson 25+ with a Honda 15hp, my first boat. I’ve been working on aluminum landing craft for several summers and have a couple stints deckhanding on ships. But fiberglass and sailing are entirely new to me. And my work with electrical systems, wood care, and engines has been minimal.

As I work to get the boat into the kind of shape I’d like, I imagine I will be turning to this forum quite a bit. I’ll do what I can to search through previous posts before asking questions that have surely been answered before. The previous owners were good about keeping things in an operational state but mostly used it as a place to live up here where the housing is hard to find. So, there are plenty of little projects waiting for me.

I plan to redo the battery set up soon since tons of things are tied directly into the battery. But some of the first things I’m looking to address are fairly cosmetic in nature. I was hoping somebody could give me some advice.

• My rubrail is leaving chalky white residue on everything that brushes against it and it’s driving me crazy. I think it's just old and experienced photodegradation. Is there a coating or anything I can put on this to stop it from happening or will I need to replace the whole rubrail?
• The wood paneling along the windows is cracked and peeling up on places. A couple spots on the sole are doing the same. What can be done to mitigate this and prevent further damage? Pics are attached.
• I want to bring my wood back to life and it sounds like there are many variables that dictate the best way to do so. Does anyone have suggestions of a process or product they have found works well for the wood used in this model?

Also, if there is a thread for new owners or common problems with the 25+ or any other useful resources you think would be good for a new owner, please pass it along.

I’m happy to be joining the forum. And admin, please let me know if this is posted in the wrong place. I’m fairly unexperienced in using forums.

 

[Jerry VB]

• My rubrail is leaving chalky white residue on everything that brushes against it and it’s driving me crazy. I think it's just old and experienced photodegradation. Is there a coating or anything I can put on this to stop it from happening or will I need to replace the whole rubrail?

Given the vintage and length of your boat, plus the chalky white residue, that is almost undoubtedly a Wefco rubber insert that has deteriorated.

You should still be able to buy the rubber insert from Wefco. I replaced it on my E27 in 2015 for $280 (bought 40' IIRC). Installing the new rail was really easy - I put the lower lip into the extrusion and then used either my fingers or a plastic (dull) putty knife to compress the top lip to hook it into the top of the extrusion.

More discussion with pictures: Replacement Rub Rail

Wefco profile 4107 (PDF that prints out pretty close to real dimensions - see the second page, middle column, bottom)

Wefco Rubber Mfg., Co., Inc.
21000 Osborne Street, Unit 2
Canoga Park, CA 91304

PH: 818-886-8872
FAX: 818-886-8875
www.wefcorubber.com

 

[peaman]

Your first two images show evidence of leaks, so fixing that is top priority. The port lights probably need to be re-beded, and overhead hatches as well

I plan to redo the battery set up soon since tons of things are tied directly into the battery.

I had a similar problem, where each of several circuits all used different fuse types in their individual holders. I replaced them all with a battery terminal fuse block which really cleaned up the space, and which requires only a single type of fuse.

 

[Christian Williams]

Welcome.

For E25 documents: https://ericsonyachts.org/ie/resources/categories/e25-docs.10/

For searching: Use Google first, just include Ericson in the search phrase.
( "Leaking ports Windows hatches Ericson yachts" or some such). The forum search engine is OK, but works best if you know the name of the poster.

Ericson blogs: hard to search for specific model. Roscoe has an off-site E25 blog with good information.https://www.ericson25.com/p/introduction.html

List of recurring topics (Master Threads list): https://ericsonyachts.org/ie/threads/master-threads-recurring-topics.19732/

There's a lot of information on the site, and members may point to threads they remember as pertains to an issue. My portlight leak job is here:

Please fill out your signature line with model and engine (top right of page Username/Signature.) Info will appear below every post and helps members recall what boat you have. Also, give us a name there so we don't have to call you _Ish_ .

 

[Prairie Schooner]

+1 to what @peaman says about leaks to be traced and fixed. They can start some distance away from the resulting evidence.

Sorry, for electrical I'm still very much a novice.

Cheers,
Jeff

 

[_Ish_]

My thanks to everyone for the information. I will work my way through the Master Threads and all these other resources. Looks like there's a lot of great info there.

Good to know that the rubrail wasn't too big of an undertaking to replace. I was worried that I'd be taking off my wood paneling to get to the attachment points. I'm looking forward to getting that taken care of. Feel bad that every person who has been gracious with their time in teaching me how to sail ends up walking away absolutely covered in white dust.

I'll be reading up on what would be involved in rebeading the port light. Unfortunately, a lot of projects are likely to be a ways out in getting addressed. Summer weather has been slow to arrive and we've only had one day in the last month that didn't rain. And now that we're this far into the season, my days off become fewer and farther apart. Good news is that we have a reliable S wind in the evenings and it doesn't get dark until midnight.

- Josh

 

[Christian Williams]

Theme of the forum seems to be, sail when you can, the work can wait. Another way to put it is that the work is always there, waiting.

 

[southofvictor]

“…it doesn’t get dark until midnight”. Wow, the old adage about never going to work for a man with electric lights in his barn should be expanded to include working in Alaska!
Welcome to the forum!

 

[_Ish_]

Welcome to the forum

Thanks! I'm happy to be here.

"Another way to put it is that the work is always there, waiting. "
This is true enough for sure. Not that I've ever been in abundance of idle time but, if I were, this boat would be consuming it.

 

[RKlemm]

Given the vintage and length of your boat, plus the chalky white residue, that is almost undoubtedly a Wefco rubber insert that has deteriorated.

You should still be able to buy the rubber insert from Wefco. I replaced it on my E27 in 2015 for $280 (bought 40' IIRC). Installing the new rail was really easy - I put the lower lip into the extrusion and then used either my fingers or a plastic (dull) putty knife to compress the top lip to hook it into the top of the extrusion.

More discussion with pictures: Replacement Rub Rail

Wefco profile 4107 (PDF that prints out pretty close to real dimensions - see the second page, middle column, bottom)

Wefco Rubber Mfg., Co., Inc.
21000 Osborne Street, Unit 2
Canoga Park, CA 91304

PH: 818-886-8872
FAX: 818-886-8875
www.wefcorubber.com

Hey all, just coming into this thread. I have substantial damage on my Port rubrail. 85' 32-3. Got tangled up on a sea wall, the sea wall won. I need To replace the entire rail. The rail mount has about a 3/8" protrusion where the screws drive into. I've seen where some remove the protrusion, if I can find a replacement that will fit over then I'll stick with that. What parts should be looking at. Color isn't a factor. I know it's a two PC assembly. Just looking for the best fit. Zoom in to see what I'm referring to. I can retake if needed

Thanks for the help

 

[Christian Williams]

This model is a particular challenge, now that the Taco profile I used has been discontinued.

Some creativity will probably be necessary. It is unlikely any of us has any leftover factory original aluminum rub rail left.

E32-3 - Ericson 32-3 and 381 Aluminum Rub Rail Replacement

Video update for the Ericson 381: Forum thread searches for "aluminum rub rail" go back many years and tell the story of Ericson as a yacht manufacturing company just out of business, then picked up by Pacific Seacraft, then with owners left...

ericsonyachts.org

 

[Frank Langer]

I recall someone on this site replacing their damaged rub rail with a wood moulding of some kind that they screwed in place. It looked very nautical and the owner was quite pleased with the outcome. Perhaps a search here would show that post.
Frank

 

[Christian Williams]

Re E32-3:

A Taco new product has popped up on my screen. Maybe worth looking into. Apparently it's "white" (or is it "Traditional anodized aluminum" as another vendor says). Mine was "polished aluminum". The dimensions look right and it's cheap.

News Taco Marine A11-0511TAL20D Aluminum Rub Rail, Solid, Drilled 13/16″W x 1-3/16″H x 20’L – bestsccd