Looking at a Pacific Seacraft Ericson 34

[northerner]

HelloWe're currently looking at a 1991 Pacific Seacraft Ericson 34. We have seen the boat, and organized a survey for early in April. Is there anything we should specifically be looking for? How prone are these boats to rot? I ask this because our current boat, an S 2, had a bunch of Rot that we are still fixing. There is no haul out where the boat is, in AlaskaIs this important to do as part of a survey? Also, the boat has no dodger, and I want one. When I called around to canvas companies, they old me I had to bring the boat in. Is there any way to get around this? There is a good canvas company in Vancouver and one in Seattle, and it would surprise me if they hadn't made dodgers for this model of boatThe other thing I'd be interested in knowing is what the difference is (if any) between the Pacific Seacraft version and the normal Ericson 34Thanks very much. I was really pleased to see such an active Ericson forum

 

[newpbs]

East Coast Dodgers

I have never done any business with East Coast Dodgers, but they claim to be able to make a dodger for lots of boats. They do list an Ericson 34. Maybe someone else on the forum has some experience with them.

This forum has been very helpful to me.

Good luck.

Paul

 

[northerner]

Thanks Paul. I will check that out. And I agree, this is a really great and informational forum

 

[sailingdeacon]

I owned a 87 e34 for years. Design flaws are just hard to think of - As opposed to other competitive brands. Some E34s had some gel cracks near the anchor locker, nothing serioius. The e35's had potential deck rot near the dorades, but the e34 did not have dorades, and i dont think the PS version did. The only possible weakness is that the older 34's came with a 23 hp engine... not enough in some cases. Hopefully the ps version was better. If you get it, luck you.

 

[northerner]

Thanks sailing deaconThs boat has a 2003 Volvo Penta 28 HP, so I assume the owners must have done that for a reasonThanks for the other informationI'm looking forward to getting it surveyed, but not the price - $1600

 

[PDX]

If you decide to go the mail order dodger route, make sure they understand which Ericson 34 you are talking about. Ericson made both a late 70s model and the late 80s eventual Pacific Seacraft model you are looking at.

 

[Loren Beach]

Thanks sailing deaconThs boat has a 2003 Volvo Penta 28 HP, so I assume the owners must have done that for a reasonThanks for the other informationI'm looking forward to getting it surveyed, but not the price - $1600

Wow... $47./foot.
Seems a lot higher than I remember, but perhaps the general cost of living is higher where you are (or my mememberer is not so accurate any more!)


Those are nice sailing models with a great interior layout as well.

Good luck,
Loren

 

[northerner]

Wow... $47./foot.
Seems a lot higher than I remember, but perhaps the general cost of living is higher where you are (or my mememberer is not so accurate any more!)


Those are nice sailing models with a great interior layout as well.

Good luck,
Loren

Thanks Loren

Do you think it's necessary to get the survey? We had a value and conditions survey done, for insurance purposes, but this one was to look closely at the boat. Can this be done ourselves do you think?

 

[northerner]

Thanks PDX

I will definitely tell them which boat

 

[Loren Beach]

So-called Knowledge

Thanks Loren

Do you think it's necessary to get the survey? We had a value and conditions survey done, for insurance purposes, but this one was to look closely at the boat. Can this be done ourselves do you think?

Personally, I would get a full survey.
I can observe a lot from a lengthly walk-through and I bet that you can too, but I still have only a fraction of the knowledge of what to look for (and where...) that an experienced and schooled surveyor has.
It's kind of like saying that the older and more experienced I get, the more I realize that there's more and more that I don't know!

Actually, things were better back in my 20's, when I thought I knew a lot, and had not yet discovered all the stuff I was ignorant about!

All the Best,
Loren

 

[MarkA]

Actually, things were better back in my 20's, when I thought I knew a lot, and had not yet discovered all the stuff I was ignorant about!

All the Best,
Loren

I resemble that remark! I wish more of the world realized how ignorant they truly are.

 

[northerner]

Personally, I would get a full survey.
I can observe a lot from a lengthly walk-through and I bet that you can too, but I still have only a fraction of the knowledge of what to look for (and where...) that an experienced and schooled surveyor has.
It's kind of like saying that the older and more experienced I get, the more I realize that there's more and more that I don't know!

Actually, things were better back in my 20's, when I thought I knew a lot, and had not yet discovered all the stuff I was ignorant about!

All the Best,
Loren

So, true, thanks Loren

One of the things I would look for with the survey is any rot or soft spots. We have an S2 right now and our survey didn't pick up on the rot. We're still fixing a large area on either side of the boat under the chainplates. I'm crossing my fingers that the Ericson does not have this problem because I REALLY don't want to have to fix this again

 

[Mort Fligelman]

Value of a survey

I purchased my boat in February of 2006.....I was given a survey done in October of 2005.....I would say pretty current.....

I brought a friend of mine who has built 2 boats that he sailed and raced on Lake Michigan, and took the latter to the Carib and West Indies, Puerto Rico etc. He now builds High Speed powered racing catamarans, and holds the Kilos record of 115 MPH plus on the water....these were his bonafides.... His opinion of the boat was quite comprehensive.......he found things, though small, were glaring enough that the surveyor should have found and mentioned. There was also a divers report......once the boat was put on the hard we found much that was missing there.....

All of this was used to negotiate the price down in anticipation of having the questionable items repaired or replaced.....

What I am really telling you is that the value of the survey is only as good as the surveyor......be sure that you get multiple references as to the ability of the surveyor and his reputation from knowledgeable people.

As to the S2......this is a problem common to all of them.......any surveyor should have known that this was the first place to look.....

I hope these rantings prove to be of some value to you...

Regards

Mort

 

[northerner]

Hi Mort

Thanks for that

Our surveyor did the S2 didn't know about the chainplate problem. For that matter, neither did the previous owner, who had the boat for 10 years and raced her. He never did any maintenance on the chainplates. When we started investigating the water in our vee berth, that's when we found it. The core was completely saturated, and we could wring it out with our hands. We repaired the damage and then rebedded all the deck fittings. I'm starting to resign myself to the fact that we will probably need to rebed the chainplates on the Ericson

I think this surveryor is good. He is accredited at least. I asked him a lot of questions about detecting rot. I will follow up and ask for references. Especially for the $$ we are paying

Thanks for the advice. We will be careful