Just bought a 1981 Independence 31 Cutter!

[DTrail808]

Hi Everyone,

I just purchased hull #65 here in San Diego. I'm still new to sailing and have been sailing rental Catalina 22s for the past year.

I got a great (TBD) deal on the boat (Wandering Star) and the slip transfers, so it was something I just couldn't pass up. The survey done last year says that she's in pretty good shape although cosmetically neglected for a while. There's going to have to be a lot of work to get her looking good again, but I'm looking forward to that.

I wanted to say high to everyone and will likely be relying on you for advice and information. I'm looking forward to the journey and hope to see some of you around.

Thanks,
Dave

 

[DTrail808]

 

[David Vaughn]

Welcome. Your sistership is currently on the Tennessee River. We’ve had her for little over two years. Awesome boats.

This place is a wealth of Ericson knowledge. Be glad to answer any questions I can specific to the E31, they are unique in a few ways.

 

[DTrail808]

Welcome. Your sistership is currently on the Tennessee River. We’ve had her for little over two years. Awesome boats.

This place is a wealth of Ericson knowledge. Be glad to answer any questions I can specific to the E31, they are unique in a few ways. View attachment 51691

Thank you David, and nice to meet you! One of the highlighted survey findings mentioned was that the 1" stainless steel shaft extends approximately 12" aft of the supporting strut. He said generally most shafts ends and propellers are located closer to the strut to reduce strain. Not sure if this is a normal thing for Ericsons?

 

[David Vaughn]

Don’t know if it’s common for other Ericsons but Kotona is that way as well.
As long as the shaft is straight and balanced and the prop is balanced, it shouldn’t be a problem (famous last words, right?).
Sail it for a while, check out any weird vibrations if they show up.

 

[DTrail808]

Don’t know if it’s common for other Ericsons but Kotona is that way as well.
As long as the shaft is straight and balanced and the prop is balanced, it shouldn’t be a problem (famous last words, right?).
Sail it for a while, check out any weird vibrations if they show up.

Thanks. I assume they have to be that long due to angle and hull design (shorter shaft would require smaller diameter propeller). Glad I don't have an oddball I don't seem to have rudder clunk, which I hear is common. Other than washing her down very well and visual touch ups. Where would you start if you were me?

Beautiful boat BTW!

 

[David Vaughn]

Thanks. Yours too. Bruce King knows how to draw a boat.

As for projects; first, make the boat safe. Address any ‘immediate’ items from the survey. Make the engine reliable, hoses and seacocks secure, etc.
Second if it is not already on board, get whatever safety gear you need for your local waters. Know how to use it. Third, do at least a couple of things that make the boat feel like a place you really want to be. Then, and you’re not gonna like this:
go sailing .

The rest will show itself the more time you spend on the water. Some will be obvious, frayed running rigging for instance. But other things didn’t start becoming obvious until we started staying aboard for a couple days or more at a time.

When planning projects, a big thing to consider is how do you intend to use the boat? We bought Kotona intending to go down to the Gulf of Mexico and cruise the Florida coast. Family health issues have postponed that for a time but that’s still our plan. So I knew some things needed to be updated. If we were going to just weekend on our local lakes those projects would not have been as needed.

Finally, and this is related to spending time on board, pick a system, any system, and learn how it currently works. In the Head for instance, what hoses go where, what seacock shuts off which hose, how is the holding tank plumbed? Stuff like that. Once you know how it works now, it’s easier to say “that’ll do” or “get this @#&$ thing off my boat!”.
But mostly- go sailing.

 

[DTrail808]

Thanks. Yours too. Bruce King knows how to draw a boat.

As for projects; first, make the boat safe. Address any ‘immediate’ items from the survey. Make the engine reliable, hoses and seacocks secure, etc.
Second if it is not already on board, get whatever safety gear you need for your local waters. Know how to use it. Third, do at least a couple of things that make the boat feel like a place you really want to be. Then, and you’re not gonna like this:
go sailing .

The rest will show itself the more time you spend on the water. Some will be obvious, frayed running rigging for instance. But other things didn’t start becoming obvious until we started staying aboard for a couple days or more at a time.

When planning projects, a big thing to consider is how do you intend to use the boat? We bought Kotona intending to go down to the Gulf of Mexico and cruise the Florida coast. Family health issues have postponed that for a time but that’s still our plan. So I knew some things needed to be updated. If we were going to just weekend on our local lakes those projects would not have been as needed.

Finally, and this is related to spending time on board, pick a system, any system, and learn how it currently works. In the Head for instance, what hoses go where, what seacock shuts off which hose, how is the holding tank plumbed? Stuff like that. Once you know how it works now, it’s easier to say “that’ll do” or “get this @#&$ thing off my boat!”.
But mostly- go sailing.

All fantastic information and suggestions. I definitely need to immerse myself into the working and functions of the boat and her systems. I'm actually very excited to do that (new owner euphoria I guess) and get to really know all the quirks and short comings. It's intimidating too, but I'll get it with time.

Regarding sailing, definitely looking forward to that. Natural apprehension is there of course, but it's probably a little like a first date. With more time, the closer you get.

My intended initial uses are just around the San Diego bay with short jaunts into the deep end (open ocean). From there maybe a trip to Catalina or Baha Mexico, but those are probably at least a year away. Pie in the sky dream is South Pacific, but I'd need a bigger boat than this one. The one I have now will hopefully throw enough curve balls at me that I'm ready for the jump when that time comes.

 

[DTrail808]

Oh, I forgot to ask... I need new wind instruments. Is the mast on these smaller boats beefy enough to go up the mast, or do i need to take another approach? I'm 6'1" 200lbs.

 

[David Vaughn]

The mast is quite beefy enough. I’ve been up a couple of times no problem. You’ve got a few pounds on me but not that much. Have the right gear and do it properly, it’s no problem.
There’s a thread here somewhere about climbing the mast if you don’t already have a way you’re comfortable with.
Ah here it is: https://ericsonyachts.org/ie/threads/a-proper-way-to-climb-a-mast.21713/

 

[Christian Williams]

Take photos of everything you look at -- with a cell phone. Organize them on the computer by function and also by general area of the boat (interior foredeck, shaft seal area, alternator environment , etc). Photos are critical for understanding and remembering issues, easy to collect nowadays, and will be a constant source of reference...and for posting here when need arises.

 

[DTrail808]

Take photos of everything you look at -- with a cell phone. Organize them on the computer by function and also by general area of the boat (interior foredeck, shaft seal area, alternator environment , etc). Photos are critical for understanding and remembering issues, easy to collect nowadays, and will be a constant source of reference...and for posting here when need arises.

Fantastic suggestion!

 

[mjsouleman]

Thanks. Yours too. Bruce King knows how to draw a boat.

As for projects; first, make the boat safe. Address any ‘immediate’ items from the survey. Make the engine reliable, hoses and seacocks secure, etc.
Second if it is not already on board, get whatever safety gear you need for your local waters. Know how to use it. Third, do at least a couple of things that make the boat feel like a place you really want to be. Then, and you’re not gonna like this:
go sailing .

The rest will show itself the more time you spend on the water. Some will be obvious, frayed running rigging for instance. But other things didn’t start becoming obvious until we started staying aboard for a couple days or more at a time.

When planning projects, a big thing to consider is how do you intend to use the boat? We bought Kotona intending to go down to the Gulf of Mexico and cruise the Florida coast. Family health issues have postponed that for a time but that’s still our plan. So I knew some things needed to be updated. If we were going to just weekend on our local lakes those projects would not have been as needed.

Finally, and this is related to spending time on board, pick a system, any system, and learn how it currently works. In the Head for instance, what hoses go where, what seacock shuts off which hose, how is the holding tank plumbed? Stuff like that. Once you know how it works now, it’s easier to say “that’ll do” or “get this @#&$ thing off my boat!”.
But mostly- go sailing.

To each his or her own. One of my first tasks was to replace head hoses with sani-hose and clean the heck out of the holding tank. that cured the stink and made the boat more pleasant to visit and sail.

 

[DTrail808]

To each his or her own. One of my first tasks was to replace head hoses with sani-hose and clean the heck out of the holding tank. that cured the stink and made the boat more pleasant to visit and sail.

Luckily it doesn't stink, but definitely a good place to start!!

 

[Waayout]

Sage advice flows through this community, I try to follow the threads even if they don't directly apply to my boat or a project I'm working on, I've acquired knowledge that eventually is of great help. I bought Imi Loa off the moorings in San Diego, she lives in MDR now. Similar scenario, prior owners had done a nice job on underlying systems, the aesthetics were really rough but are slowly coming back in line. They're great boats, well drawn and constructed, wonderful to sail here which I think of as their home waters!

 

[DTrail808]

Sage advice flows through this community, I try to follow the threads even if they don't directly apply to my boat or a project I'm working on, I've acquired knowledge that eventually is of great help. I bought Imi Loa off the moorings in San Diego, she lives in MDR now. Similar scenario, prior owners had done a nice job on underlying systems, the aesthetics were really rough but are slowly coming back in line. They're great boats, well drawn and constructed, wonderful to sail here which I think of as their home waters!

Beautiful boat! Looks like you've added a self steering windvane? It's good to see that this can be done. I wasn't sure with the rudder setup.

Looks like we're neighbors. Would love to comapre notes on projects as I get deeper into the restore/ refit process!

 

[David Vaughn]

Hey Waayout

Glad you’re still around here.
Would be interested in some details about your wind vane. We’re hoping Santa brings an autopilot this year. But down the road, a wind vane would be a nice addition.

 

[Waayout]

I'm always lurking and learning here! The wind vane is a cape horn, the Varuna model. Christian has posted a detailed account of a Cape Horn installation, the Sailing Uma folks have a nice youtube video as well. Yves Gelinas, the famous circumnavigator still runs the company and they've records of every unit sold and the boats where they were installed. Part of what drew me to hull #59 was the extensive digital footprint, much of it on this site. The gentleman that installed it (Devon) posted about the upgrades he made, he also had a wordpress blog detailing all the work they did. The person he purchased the boat from also posted here when it was on Lake Mead where she originally sailed. The PO also posted here. With so many owners documenting their experiences I believed it indicated a level of care that would be helpful in the never ending quest to keep these beautiful boats sailing. My water pump started leaking on Sunday (nice sunset sail out of MDR)...........onwards and upwards! I know how old it is because I've seen pictures of Devon lowering the 2012 Yanmar through the companionway when he installed it!

 

[DTrail808]

Hi again! I'm looking at the USCG and marina documents that state may boat has a draft of 6'2" whereas the Sailboat data says it has a draft of 4.92 ft. Is it possible that this boat has a different draft than other boats? What are your drafts? Thanks!

 

[Christian Williams]

Is it a documented vessel? If so the info on the certificate is often wrong. My draft is 6'6" but listed there as 5'4".