How many Ericson 30+ built?

[bigd14]

Thanks. Do you know if the boom was shortened?

I don’t think so. But I can measure is next time I’m at the boat and let you know. Do you have backstay clearance issues now?

 

[eknebel]

The 30+ didn't really have different versions for the leech length & luff length of the mainsail, although a number of owners have done a variety of things, from just shortening the leech to keep the boom higher, to moving the gooseneck fitting higher up the mast and shortening the luff length. Of course you end up with a smaller mainsail, but if you sail where there is often more than 10 kts of wind, it won't hurt. From the factory the 30+'s all had the same mainsails. The 30-II did have Standard and Tall rig versions, but that was a masthead rigged boat with different geometry than the 30+.

The mainsheet from the factory was 4:1, not 3:1 so someone may have done some ill-advised mods. Still it was not enough purchase so using the winch is an option, but if it were me I would go with a 4:1 with a built-in fine tune. This is a standard configuration (Harken, for example), and is much more desirable than relaying on a winch to adjust the mainsheet tension. Like this:

This is one example, but it gives you the idea. Happy sailing

Best modification I have made! I changed the original 4:1 to a 2 speed 4:1/16:1. My wife can easily trim using the 16:1.

 

[mjsouleman]

I'll add my 1983 E-30+ Discovery to the inventory here as number 599

 

[Valkyrie]

Reporting in so I can see my hull number in the signature.

 

[Valkyrie]

Greetings Seth,

My full HIN is ERY30721J687...with the "721" portion being the serial numbers of interest. This would mean that the #'s did extend into the 700s.

Regards,

Ed

Hello Neighbor! I'm Hull #724

 

[Valkyrie]

One definite answer & one possible answer

Frank Langer started this thread wanting to know how many E/30+'s were built. This is only a possible answer. Spirit's serial number is 721. I have yet to come across anyone with a serial number higher than that. Given that the serial numbers for the E/30+'s began with 501 and assuming no gaps, that would mean that there were at least 221 of these built.

According to the document that I excerpted earlier about serial numbers for Ericson models, the 30-foot models & their years of production go as follows:

E/30 – I # 1 (1966) thru # 150 (1970)
E/30 – II # 1 (1977) thru # 47 (1979)
E/30+ # 501 (1979) thru #

Now, during the thread, I asked Seth if he thought the hulls for the E/30 - II and the E/30+ were the same design/mold. Here is the answer that I received from Bruce King via his wife, Pam:
bruce king <bruceking245@adelphia.net> wrote:
Hi Mr. Petrick,

Yes, Bruce said the same hull design was used for both the E/30+ and the E/30 II (except for the rudder). However, the original and earliest hull design for these boats is dated 1977. If I'm missing something here, just let me know.

Regards,
Pam King

So, the answer is it IS the same hull for both models. However, the reason that I wanted to know this was because I was hoping that the E30 - II was in production as of or prior to 1975. According to the info from the serial number document, they were only built from 1977 - 1979. I've attached the serial number document for anyone who has any interest.

If any member has an E/30+ with a serial number higher than 721, I think we'd all be interested in hearing about it.

Using Spirit's HIN (ERY30721J687), here's the breakdown on interpreting a Hull Identification Number (HIN) to help:
- the first three characters (characters 1 thru 3) indicate the name of the mfgr...ERY = Ericson
- the next two characters (characters 4 & 5) indicate the LOA of the boat...30 = 30 feet
- the next three characters (characters 6 thru 8) give the serial number of the boat...721
- the next two characters (characters 9 & 10) are either the date of certification (i.e., it is certified to be in compliance with all safety standards as of the first day of the month indicated in the 9th character) or the date that the building of this boat began with the 9th character equalling the month using a letter (i.e., A= January, B = February, etc.) and the 10th character is the year of the decade for the model...so Spirit's 9th & 10th characters are J6 = October of 1986,
- the last two characters = the model year of the boat...87.

I hope this helps.

Regards,

Ed

I'm 724!

 

[Peter B]

Ed,

Thanks for your detailed and helpful reply. I had heard from some other owners about possible changes in the ericson 30+ over time. My 1984 #637 has many of the same modifications that you mentioned--it would be interesting to have a detailed update from someone who worked at the factory during that time, and could provide information on why the various changes were made, and any other information about the 30+ that may not be as visible, in terms of build quality, etc. I know that we have some very knowledgeable people on this board, but I don't know if they worked at the factory during this era.

Thanks again for your reply. Hopefully others will also add to the discussion.

Frank.

My girl's number is 714. A 1984 30+. A reliable and loyal boat as I've ever had.

 

[Seth]

My girl's number is 714. A 1984 30+. A reliable and loyal boat as I've ever had.

HI Peter, I have spoken about this on this thread, and I did work at the factory from right after the 30+ went into production until 1982. The truth is there were VERY few factory modifications. Almost anything interesting you see will be something a previous owner or the original dealer had done. I cannot think of any significant interior changes by the factory-although many owners have made their own well executed mods. No rigs mods were done either. There was only one size (the 30-II did have std and tall rigs). Some owners moved the gooseneck up a little but this was aftermarket and requires a recut mainsail or a new one. Every single one I recall had the wheel steering, and the boat was really designed with wheel steering in mind-although now that I think of it I think there was ONE boat with a special order for the tiller-that would have been a special order- the wheel was standard. Even backstay adjusters were never done by the factory. The dealer or a subsequent owner would have done this if you see one like that. The only "custom" things I really recall would have been deck layout/reefing arrangements with stoppers located per the buyer or dealer request. I did most of these layouts, so it came down to maybe having the main halyard on port or starboard, having halyard winches at the mast or led aft. One or 2 were requested with running backstay tangs so we would lay out the running backstay control system and reefing options (either in stoppers at the front of the boom or led down to the deck). But really, it was the dealers who did the custom work for the owners, rarely the factory. It was more profitable for them to do it during commissioning. Hope this helps