New Owner with Assorted Questions

[psanburn]

I purchased a wonderfull 1984 30+ last fall. Now with a few days experience with her, I have a few questions I need help with.

1. I suspect some leaking along the rub line, is putting a bead of chaulk along the top seam a solution? Is silicone or polybutylene chalk better?

2. It was suggested to close all the seacocks when I leave, but what about the two for the scubbers?

3. The galley sink drain has a long hose (like a vacuum hose) connected to a "t" joint with a scubber hose to seacock. The hose is so long it sits on the hull and is lower than the seacock - preventing adequate drainage. Is that right, or should I get shorter hose for a true run to seacock?

4. The previous owner never ran the diesel (Universal 18) faster than 5 mph, yet the engine seems to run smoother going 5.8-6 mph. Any advice?

5. MY previous SJ 24 loved big wind, with full main and depowering by reducing the headsail. On the 30+, in 20-25 mph winds, is it better to reef main, furl in the headsail or both?

6. What's the best way to take a boat name off that is painted?

Thanks for the help on these questions. The participation and tips from this site and is a big reason why I went with the Ericson.

Peter S - "a happy Ericson owner"
Gayle Winds
Bayview, ID

 

[davisr]

Peter,

Welcome to the Viking club. As far as your question regarding the leak in the vincity of the rub rail is concerned, I would think that you would need to remove the rub rail and reseal the hull-to-deck joint with 5200 or something similar. The link below gives you an idea of what a common Ericson hull-to-deck joint looks like. The only downside to fixing your leak is that you might end up having to replace the rub rail.

http://www.ericsonyachts.org/infoexchange/showthread.php?t=9365

Regards,
Roscoe

E25, #226

 

[Frank Langer]

Hi Peter,

On our 1984 E30+ we close all the seacocks except for the two scuppers--one on the starboard side with the seacock under an opening in the quarterberth and the other connected to the galley drain hose. If you leave the galley seacock closed, the galley sink will fill up with rainwater from the port scupper, so we leave it open to drain.

The scupper hose should not be on the floor, so I would shorten it a bit and re-attach, or replace with new if they look suspect.

The rubrail should not be leaking, as that area is sealed with fibreglass from the inside; unless a previous owner replaced the rubrail with screws that penetrate the fibreglass, which could cause leaking. A common area for leaking, that looks like a rubrail leak, is the anchor locker with water running down the bulkhead at the front of the V-berth, along the inside of the vinyl headliner where you can't really see it and it then pools near the bulkhead separating the V-berth from the salon. So diagnostic work is important to be sure of where the leak is originating.

We run our 16 hp M20 Universal engine at about 80% of full throttle (by sound/feel as we don't have a tach) and that drives our boat at about 5.8 - 6.0 knots quite comfortably, less in real choppy waters.

We normally sail with the mainsail and a 125% headsail. We furl the headsail up to about 1/3 and put a first reef in the mainsail at about 18 knots of wind, and a second reef in the mainsail at about 23 knots. Others may handle this differently. For example, a previous owner of our boat left us notes suggesting a first reef at 13 knots and a second reef at 18 knots. I find she sails best at about 15 knots of wind where she will reach 7.8 knots on our knotmetre on a close reach (confirmed by GPS), despite technical calculated hull speed being only about 6.7 knots based on waterline length.

The E30+ is a wonderful boat--esthetically pleasing inside and out, quite fast, responsive and fun to sail.

Frank

 

[mherrcat]

I do just about everything Frank mentioned. I have a Raymarine Wheel Pilot and I find that reefing the main around 13 knots (true) and adjusting the jib to suit will keep the boat on a more even keel and not overpower the auto pilot.

I was sailing this past Saturday in variable winds up to about 16 knots apparent, which I figured was about 10 to 12 knots true, and I had the first reef in the main and full jib, which (I'm guessing) is about 110%. I ended up shortening the jib about 30% and the boat tracked much better with the auto pilot. (I also don't particularly like to fight the wheel in the gusts without the auto pilot.) This was with just myself on the boat. If I had a few more people to hang off the windward rail I probably could have carried more sail.

I have the M-18 engine as well, with well over 2,000 hrs, and it still seems to run well. I have noticed a strange oil leak in the last several weeks that I will address in another post.

As others here have mentioned often, reef early. (Sometimes I do it before I even leave the dock.) It's way easier to take it out than to put it in singlehanded in 20+ knots of wind.

Of course, if you are racing, that's a whole other technique, and I don't really do that. I prefer to just enjoy the ride...unless I'm trying to chase down and embarrass a Catalina or something...

 

[psanburn]

Roscoe, Frank and Mark,
Thanks for the great information, it is very helpful to me as I try to maximize the joy of sailing a wonderful boat.

Peter