grarya01
Member I
After nearly 20 years of dreaming of owning a sailboat, I've actively started my search. When I was In my early 20s, I had the opportunity to spend 3 months cruising around the Puget Sound, Gulf Islands, and Desolation Sound. I was hooked after that. A few years later a good friend of mine (Captain P) embarked on a 6 month trip in his O'Day 27 to Alaska. I joined him for a month and sailed around the Kenai Peninsula, from Seward to Homer. Even more hooked. Years went by and my friend with the O'Day became a delivery captain and I got to help on a couple of deliveries up and down the west coast. Still hooked. He eventually upgraded to a Cape George Cutter and sailed it around the world with his wife. I lived vicariously through him and started sea kayaking with my partner as a way to get out on the water more and hone my navigation and weather skills (she tells me there is no way we are selling our sea kayaks when we buy a sailboat). I crewed on a couple more deliveries: La Paz to San Diego; and from Lake Erie through the Welland Canal out the St. Lawrence Seaway around Nova Scotia and down to Newport. I feel pretty fortunate to have made all these trips over the years.
A while back I told Captain P that I was starting to think about a boat of my own and he, knowing a bit about what I wanted, immediately told me to find an Ericson. The seed was planted at that point.
We finally started looking at boats last weekend. Had an opportunity to buy a Catalina 27 with a lot of upgrades at a decent price. Since I was mostly already set on an Ericson, I had sort of skipped over Catalina 27 listings in the past, but it was a good deal and I've been really wanting to get out on the water again. I looked at another Catalina 27 just for comparison. I found rusty, corroded keel bolts and a couple of owners who didn't seem to care or know much about the boat. Both tried to steer me away from getting a survey done. At their price point, I suppose it could be tempting to skip the survey, but we told ourselves no matter the price, we would always have a survey done first. The experience was a bit of a turn-off so to speak, granted these were priced at the low end of my budget.
I'm not looking to get into a major retrofit and would like to find something close to the features I already want. But I'm also totally fine doing some electrical work, cosmetic, interior, woodwork, possibly chainplates, thru-hull and seacocks, canvas work, etc. I also have a friend who works at a sail loft.
I would prefer an inboard diesel in good shape, but not opposed to an outboard. And a standard rig (I think they made a tall rig E27 right?). Mostly just something with good bones , lower hours engine, and well cared for over the years.
Above all else, we are prioritizing safety over luxury and amenities, and we are excited to get our hands a little dirty to bring the right boat into a condition that meets our cruising needs. We spend a lot of time sea kayaking in the Broken Group Islands (Barkley Sound on the west coast of Vancouver Island) and would love to take our sailboat up there or beyond after a few seasons of honing our skills together and exploring more protected inner waters first.
I messaged a bit with the owner of this boat: https://skagit.craigslist.org/boa/d/anacortes-ericson-e27-sailboat/7477721932.html but unfortunately it's a bit out of my price range at $21k. I would definitely take a look if it was within my budget.
I'm not in a huge rush, I've waited this long. I'm just trying to find the right boat. Ideally located somewhere between the Portland area and Vancouver B.C. The closer to the Seattle area the better.
I have a bit of a checklist going for things to look for with boats of the '70s and '80s vintage. I'm still working on putting a list together on things specific to the E27s right now. Chainplate locations and what to look for, thru-hull and seacock locations, etc. on the various models. I'm sure I'll find the info on this forum, but if you have any links for me to speed up this checklist creation that would be great, or even just your top things to look for.
Captain P captains a 70' sailboat right now in southern California, but he's around all summer and has made himself available for a sea trial when the time comes. I've only done a cursory search for surveyors in the area. I also know that slips are going fast this time of year. But I do have the opportunity to keep a boat in a slip in Ballard (5 minutes from my house) until September 30th. Not sure how long it will stay available though. For those you who have bought a sailboat with a diesel engine, did you always get a separate engine survey done?
Anyways, I didn't want to make this the longest wanted post ever, but maybe you know of something or someone that will help me find what I'm looking for. And if there are any proud owners out there in the Seattle or Everett area who might want to show off their Ericson, I'd be super grateful to just have a tour and poke around for an hour or so. I can provide the beer!
Cheers,
Ryan
A few photos for good measure:
A while back I told Captain P that I was starting to think about a boat of my own and he, knowing a bit about what I wanted, immediately told me to find an Ericson. The seed was planted at that point.
We finally started looking at boats last weekend. Had an opportunity to buy a Catalina 27 with a lot of upgrades at a decent price. Since I was mostly already set on an Ericson, I had sort of skipped over Catalina 27 listings in the past, but it was a good deal and I've been really wanting to get out on the water again. I looked at another Catalina 27 just for comparison. I found rusty, corroded keel bolts and a couple of owners who didn't seem to care or know much about the boat. Both tried to steer me away from getting a survey done. At their price point, I suppose it could be tempting to skip the survey, but we told ourselves no matter the price, we would always have a survey done first. The experience was a bit of a turn-off so to speak, granted these were priced at the low end of my budget.
I'm not looking to get into a major retrofit and would like to find something close to the features I already want. But I'm also totally fine doing some electrical work, cosmetic, interior, woodwork, possibly chainplates, thru-hull and seacocks, canvas work, etc. I also have a friend who works at a sail loft.
I would prefer an inboard diesel in good shape, but not opposed to an outboard. And a standard rig (I think they made a tall rig E27 right?). Mostly just something with good bones , lower hours engine, and well cared for over the years.
Above all else, we are prioritizing safety over luxury and amenities, and we are excited to get our hands a little dirty to bring the right boat into a condition that meets our cruising needs. We spend a lot of time sea kayaking in the Broken Group Islands (Barkley Sound on the west coast of Vancouver Island) and would love to take our sailboat up there or beyond after a few seasons of honing our skills together and exploring more protected inner waters first.
I messaged a bit with the owner of this boat: https://skagit.craigslist.org/boa/d/anacortes-ericson-e27-sailboat/7477721932.html but unfortunately it's a bit out of my price range at $21k. I would definitely take a look if it was within my budget.
I'm not in a huge rush, I've waited this long. I'm just trying to find the right boat. Ideally located somewhere between the Portland area and Vancouver B.C. The closer to the Seattle area the better.
I have a bit of a checklist going for things to look for with boats of the '70s and '80s vintage. I'm still working on putting a list together on things specific to the E27s right now. Chainplate locations and what to look for, thru-hull and seacock locations, etc. on the various models. I'm sure I'll find the info on this forum, but if you have any links for me to speed up this checklist creation that would be great, or even just your top things to look for.
Captain P captains a 70' sailboat right now in southern California, but he's around all summer and has made himself available for a sea trial when the time comes. I've only done a cursory search for surveyors in the area. I also know that slips are going fast this time of year. But I do have the opportunity to keep a boat in a slip in Ballard (5 minutes from my house) until September 30th. Not sure how long it will stay available though. For those you who have bought a sailboat with a diesel engine, did you always get a separate engine survey done?
Anyways, I didn't want to make this the longest wanted post ever, but maybe you know of something or someone that will help me find what I'm looking for. And if there are any proud owners out there in the Seattle or Everett area who might want to show off their Ericson, I'd be super grateful to just have a tour and poke around for an hour or so. I can provide the beer!
Cheers,
Ryan
A few photos for good measure:
