• Untitled Document

    Join us on March 29rd, 7pm EST

    for the CBEC Virtual Meeting

    All EYO members and followers are welcome to join the fun and get to know the guest speaker!

    See the link below for login credentials and join us!

    March Meeting Info

    (dismiss this notice by hitting 'X', upper right)

Potential Ericson 35

Ryan.P

New Member
Hi All,

I am new to the forum and am interested in purchasing an Ericson 35. We recently sold our MacGregor 26X and are in the market for the next boat. Ericson's are high on the priority list. I may be going to check out this boat tomorrow and was wondering if anyone had any insight or items I should be concerned about prior to viewing. I am excited about the repower, the new chain plates, and running rigging. However, I am a little concerned about the interior. Any insight would be much appreciated.


 

Christian Williams

E381 - Los Angeles
Senior Moderator
Blogs Author
Looks promising. And if you haven't yet hired a marine surveyor to survey a boat, this might be worth the expense-- following a surveyor around is a great education for every boat you'll be looking at.

A boat like this one will require that you do most of the refurbishing of the interior yourself. In fact, you'll do almost everything yourself, which is required by the formula $25K=35-foot sailboat. That means time, patience, an interest in tools and new skills.
 

Loren Beach

O34 - Portland, OR
Senior Moderator
Blogs Author
What Christian said, every word.
:)

BTW, that one might be one of the last built of that model run, by year. Pretty much every factory production upgrade is represented, like the teak interior. Nice to have a late model diesel. VERY pretty design; the E-35-2 often shows up on lists of "modern classics"... !

Keep us posted.
Worthless trivia: over the decades we have shopped a few boats from that brokerage and the staff always seemed like honest folk. (which proves nothing in particular)
 

Ryan.P

New Member
Thank you for the input. I do plan to hire a marine surveyor for any boat that I may move forward with, I figure much like a home inspection there can be a great deal to learn. The plan is for our next boat to be the one we keep longer term. The MacGregor was intended to get our feet wet, which luckily we never actually got wet. We love sailing and are ready for the upgrade including the learning curve.
 

Mr. Scarlett

Member III
As the new owner of a 1979 E35-2 I say go for it. It's one great boat. I paid almost the same amount as the one listed, and "yours" has cabin top winches and an upgraded traveler - something I don't. Although I did get three year old barely used sails and brand new cushions/canvas from the v-berth to the cockpit.

What are your concerns with the interior? Yes, it's original but perfectly functional and comfortable for two people. Somehow the stbd bench looks wider than mine, with more taper. I'm going to have to compare when I get home and can make it out to the boat.

Do get a surveyor. Ask questions. You'll likely need one to get insurance anyway. And if all is good, don't do a thing (unless the surveyor says its important), to the boat except sail it - for the first year. Then make changes based on your experiences with the boat. Hauling out to "fix a few things up" can lead to deep, long rabbit hole.

Good luck
 

Pete the Cat

Member III
I just finished redoing the interior of my 32-200. I would suggest you fix the deck and hatch leaks first if they have not been attended to. Butyl tape is easy to work with (See Compass Marine's How Tos on this) and the fastners for hatches were simply screwed into the deck without much care at the factory--learrn about "drill and fill" if you have not been exposed to the process. It is easy to do and will prevent a lot of problems down the line. . I see some of the challenges on the interior similar to the work that I had. You can refinish the teak with very light sanding and then using some solid satin varnish as directed with undercoats--you will want to dilute the first coats with solvent to ensure penetration--hopefully no one used teak oil below as it is a bitch to remove. I refinished the teak and holly floor by light sanding and then 5 coats of Epiphanes Gloss and a couple final coat of Rubbed effect. Went from hopeless to gorgeous. If the floor is destroyed already, you can replace it--I did this on my Tartan 37--takes time and patience but it is worth it. As mentioned, you will need to do this work yourself and you can take your time. But start with getting everything off the boat before you dig into it. And follow the directions on whatever the finishes you use. I would also suggest that you keep up with your new diesel in maintenance. If it was installed in 2006 it is probably time to take out the heat exchanger, examine the raw water pump and impeller, and possibly take off the exhaust elbow to inspect them for incipient problems. Marine diesels, even new ones, are not like modern car engines--you do not want wait until a red light goes on to attend to them. I recommend you do this work yourself as well as getting familiar with your boat's mechanicals at the dock where help is available is a whole lot better than having problems when out cruising. Seems like a nice boat. We are lucky to have Youtube videos on just about any aspect of boat maintenance. I recommend Maine Sail at Compass Marine for very good how to videos--the guy just had a stroke but the website is still operating--his advice is a bit OCD but he knows what he is talking about and very helpful.
Good luck. Lots of good advice here from others.
 

Ryan.P

New Member
Thank you all, this is helpful. Great advice on the priorities. I will certainly have a lot to learn but this site is a great resource. If I spot any areas of concern tomorrow I will post pictures.
 

Ryan.P

New Member
Well, we went to see the boat and it wasn’t quite what we were hoping for. I had recently viewed a 1976 Cal 34, so this wasn’t my first older boat visit, the problem with the Cal is first it wasn’t an Ericson, second, the lay out was not ideal for us, generally speaking I believe it was a prime example of a boat in great condition, I likely would have bought it with the alterrnate layout. This Ericson in Olympia needed more attention than I could convince myself or my fiancé to commit to. There appeared to be significant water damage to the floors, some water damage on around the bulkheads and port lights. In addition the boat didn’t hav enough extra goodies, to convince us. Thank you all for the input the search continues!
 

Attachments

  • 8EB74DE4-3607-4CAC-AA25-BE332EC4125A.jpeg
    8EB74DE4-3607-4CAC-AA25-BE332EC4125A.jpeg
    177.4 KB · Views: 30
  • 39E5010B-759B-4238-B113-119842047DA3.jpeg
    39E5010B-759B-4238-B113-119842047DA3.jpeg
    135.7 KB · Views: 30

Frank Langer

1984 Ericson 30+, Nanaimo, BC
Good decision in my opinion! There are older boats in better condition, but you may need to be patient.
Frank
 
Top