New here just purchased a 27

[Jarod]

Hello,

Hi there ...just purchased a 1974 Ericson 27. My survey had a few issues and I thought some of you might be able to make some suggestions. Firstly, the boat has a rebuilt Atomic but the original fuel tank has a fair amt of corrosion on the outside. I am not sure that the corrossion is on the inside as well but I suspect so if the outside is rusty. Is there anyway to tell if I can get away with the tank as is for a year or two.

Also the boat has blisters. The surveyor stated they are a cosmetic issue only at the present time. I was planning on fixing with the west system stuff after grinding with a dremel and a cutting bit as they suggest on the website. The boat has probably 200 or so from quite small to the size of a quarter. The info on the web is pretty varied from they are no big deal just fill and fair and paint to peel the boat. I guess i bought the boat cheap and do not see the sense in paying a ridiculous sum for a bottom job when the issue is not structural. I guess my reasoning is the boat is 30 yrs old and whatever was going to happen to it has already happened to it.

I also want to get rid of the gate valve on the head outlet and wondered if regular ball valve is adequate..any comments are welcomed as I am pretty much a newby to sailing ...dad always had one but I have just recently gotten the bug.

thanks
jarod

Jarod

 

[Lew Decker]

Just to set your mind at ease...My brother-in-law bought a Catalina 30 on the cheap. When he discovered blisters, he filled the big ones with epoxy, ignored the others and painted the bottom. The boat is still going strong. It wasn't worth the trouble and expense for him to jump through the hoops looking for a permanent fix. He enjoys the sailing and doesn't have an arm, leg, and two wisdom teeth invested in a boat that wouldn't be worth a nickel more than what he paid for it, regardless of what he did to the bottom. Enjoy your new boat, and welcome to the Ericson gang. There are a lot of very fine people here.

 

[Loren Beach]

Well, in general order of importance (i.e. safety) I would first make sure that the gasoline tank is keeping the gas in. You did not mention the engine compartment blower, so it is presumed to be working...
Lots of information on this site about replacing an old tank, if it comes to that. Try a "Search" (note the clickable word above this section) using words like Tank or Fuel Tank.
Blisters are usually not a structural problem on Ericsons from your era. If they are only under the gel coat layer and only go one layer into the mat directly beneath the gel coat, Fill 'em with a good quality filler (no clay-based body-putty stuff like Bondo!). If the divots go deeper, you will need to laminate in some glass cloth with epoxy resin and then fair it out. This is messy work, but if I can do it, anyone can!

I would put the gate valve replacement at the top of any short list. Those things are dangerous. Use Bronze or Forespar Marlon, your choice. You will probably have to clean/grind the inside surface and put on a new plywood backing plate -- set it in epoxy and coat it with same.
Speaking of "backing plates" you might want to check the deck cleats and hardware -- from comments on this site it appears that early in the model run these were not always put on under mooring cleats. :eek:

Keep looking around the site. Lots of information pertaining to this model. I used to ocasionally crew on a 27, they have excellent performance and a roomy interior for cruising. If you have a digital camera, use it to post project pictures and solutions to your messages.
Welcome to the Viking gang!


Loren in PDX

 

[Jarod]

Thanks for the replies. I did notice right away on this one that the interior was roomier than any 27 I have been on, including the Catalina 27. The blower was working fine according to the survey. Some of the other things the surveyor mentioned were:

* water running at the aft end of the head under the coaming close to the aft bulkhead and has stained the bulkhead on the aft side (it was raining heavily when the survey was done bulkhead is still sound)

* rudder had some slop

* he mentioned that the head can discharge to the sea...but how does this work? Is the waste pumped to a holding tank and then outof the boat from the holding tank with another pump...do i have to pump twice? it seems this boat has a holding tank up in the vberth but can i not just set it to pump direct to the sea if i need to?

 

[hcpookie]

* he mentioned that the head can discharge to the sea...but how does this work? Is the waste pumped to a holding tank and then outof the boat from the holding tank with another pump...do i have to pump twice? it seems this boat has a holding tank up in the vberth but can i not just set it to pump direct to the sea if i need to?

I just reran hoses on my '75 E27 plumbing. Look in the Specs & Documents section here and you'll find an E27 doc showing the factory plumbing layout. There's a few different ways they did it and of course someone may have changed things around over the years.

Do you have a holding tank? Assuming you do, you'll probably find there's a Y-valve allowing you to switch between the tank and the discharge. If you don't have a Y-valve, you are probably plumbed to go directly overboard...

It may go without saying, but be sure you can use the discharge in your area, otherwise you'll get fined & all that fun stuff...

 

[Jarod]

so assuming that i have a Y-Valve which I believe I do.(survey said so)...I just position the valve and the head will discharge to sea? i looked at that diagram and it appears that there is another pump on the holding tank called a whale gusher pump on the holding tank is this to pump out manually if i dont have a marina pump? i have the holding tank system (that was stated in the survey) and the surveyor did state that there was a way to overboard discharge...i just want to be sure on how it works and i cant test at the moment as the boat is on the hard and i have yet to install the required new head.

thanks again

 

[hcpookie]

Well it depends on how the Y-valve hoses are connected on your boat. You should be able to track them down.

I think for "normal" offshore use (where you can use it) the Y-valve can direct the flow either directly to the gusher valve or the holding tank. That way, when in forbidden areas, you direct flow to the holding tank, then the Y-valve can be switched to let the gusher pump empty the holding tank. I think. I've never bothered to figure it out - my gusher pump and Y-valve aren't even connected because I'm prevented by law from discharging overboard in the waters I sail. Not sure what BC allows/disallows.

In that diagram, mine is now set up like page #6. I installed the holding tank, the deck fitting, and hoses. If you search for "holding tank" you'll see that other thread when I started mine a few months back. If you don't have the deck fitting, I'm not sure how you could empty it other than overboard...

 

[Chris Miller]

1 Vote for Holding Tank...

Hi Jarod,
Welcome to the board!

Pump-outs aren't hard to find or to use. I think it's a common misconception that it's "gross" or whatever, but the parts you touch are generally not soiled. Maybe a zip tie around the Y-valve to keep it in the "tank" position unless in case of emergency?
Just my $0.02.
Chris

 

[Randy Rutledge]

Be careful if you select direct sea discharge, if the seacock is left open you could backwash the head with sea water on a starboard tack, I believe your head is starboard, if the joker valve a oneway valve on the discharge side of the head is bad or blocked by paper or other. I would use the holding tank and pumpout at the end of the day. Keep the seacock closed to keep water out. I have taken water in to the gally sink backing up through the drain on a good day of sailing (gets all the stuff you store in the sink wet you know).