Model identification and boat refitting (mast support issue) - Please help!

[marketto80]

Hi everyone,

Me and some friends are currently working on refitting an old Ericson sailboat, but we've hit many problems and would really appreciate some help and advice from the community.

1. We can’t identify the exact boat model and year

Unfortunately, there’s no plate or serial number visible anywhere on the hull or cockpit. We don’t know the exact model or year of the boat, though we suspect it's from the 1970s. We are looking for particular details in order to be able to trace the exact model, so if anyone can give us a hint as to where and what to look for, we would greatly appreciate it.

2. Structural issue under the mast

We’re dealing with what seems to be a fairly common issue on older boats:

There’s a visible crack on the cabin top where the mast base sits.

The bulkheads that anchor the shrouds also look quite old and may need replacement.

The area under the mast is hollow — there’s a gap between the cabin sole and the actual hull, with no structural support between.
We're considering reinforcing the whole area by:

-Repairing the cracked deck

-Possibly replacing the bulkheads

-Adding a compression post under the mast

-Building a solid mast step below the cabin sole, to transfer the mast load directly to the keel or hull

We’d love to hear from anyone who has tackled a similar issue:

What’s the best way to structurally reinforce this kind of setup? Do we really need to work on each of these aspects?

Tips on compression post placement and step construction?

Materials and methods that worked well (or didn't)?

We shared some photos, if you need more images or close-ups, just let us know — we’ll be happy to share them.


Thanks in advance for your help!

 

[e38 owner]

Seems to be a Ericson 32 from 1972-1976. We had a sister ship. On another one in our marina the boat lost about 2 inches of headroom because the deck stepped mast began to crush the cabin top. The boat was designed with a large teak support to transfer the load from the cabin top to the hull. the support was a little short and thus the problems began. I am not and expert but would start from the hull and work upward rebuilding the support structure. I would use g10 and build up and glass a support on the cabin sole to the hull. I would assume there is plywood in the deck that has gotten wet and soft. I would then use g10 and rebuild the deck portion and finally rebuild the support from the deck to the cabin sole

The bulkheads show water damage that will also need to be addressed.

Lots of work