The 25+, built from 1978 to 1984

[Acorn]

I am now the proud owner of a 1981 25+. I'm wondering if there are any other 25+ owners out there with any suggestions, or comments on it. Are there any issues you've had specific to the 25+ you could pass on? Any rig modifications you've implemented?

For example: does anyone have a preference for shroud tension?

Any information, insights, or anecdotes would be greatly appreciated!

 

[Prairie Schooner]

I am now the proud owner of a 1981 25+. I'm wondering if there are any other 25+ owners out there with any suggestions, or comments on it. Are there any issues you've had specific to the 25+ you could pass on? Any rig modifications you've implemented?

For example: does anyone have a preference for shroud tension?

Any information, insights, or anecdotes would be greatly appreciated!

No advice here, but hearty congratulations and welcome!

 

[Loren Beach]

Welcome to the site.
Did you get an outboard model or an inboard model?

 

[AdventurousAnton]

Oh fun! Congrats! My second Ericson was a 27 (after my 23), but the 25 is a champ. Defnitely post photos and ask specific questions (or search for them first). WELCOME!

 

[Acorn]

Welcome to the site.
Did you get an outboard model or an inboard model?

It's got a 7.5hp Volvo inboard. Runs like a top.

 

[acubria]

Great little boat. My boat is an Ericson 26-2 (1984) which is practically the same. There a few 26-2 and 27s owners in here. Lots of fun. Where are you located ? Post some photos.

 

[Scott B.]

Congrats on getting a 25+. I've been cruising and racing my 25+ for about 10 years now. I have the outboard version. The 25+ is a great boat that excels in light to moderate air (especially in light air). Also, super easy to single hand, which I do about 95% of the time.

As far as "major" issues that I've had (which are likely common in other 25+'s), there have been two:
1) If your boat still has the household-style gate valves on the through-hulls, then get rid of them now and replace them with proper seacocks. I have a story about how my boat tried to sink itself within the first couple of weeks of my ownership partially due to corroded gate valves.
2) The mast compression post support block (under the floor) was completely rotted out on my boat when I bought it. There are clear symptoms of this condition -- first, the fiberglass will appear to be sagging under the main bulkhead (this seems common in a lot of internet photos of for-sale 25+'s), but the dead giveaway is when sailing in a good breeze the head door spontaneously pops open and starts banging about. Go down and close it, and in a few moments it pops open again and bangs about. Check to make sure a previous ownder didn't "fix" the door, instead of the problem.

As far as shroud tension goes, I've never heard of any established quantitative tension metrics for the 25+. The original one-page tuning guide that came with the boat (at least in 1979, I have the original papers) has a very qualitative methods for tuning the rig. Some key quotes from the tuning guide, which might be helpfull are:

"Set mast vertical fore and aft." "Set the backstay taut."

"Tighten one upper shroud until the masthead comes slightly to the side your tightening, then snug up the opposite side upper shroud until the mast is straight."

"Use the jib halyard to simulate the tension that the headsail would generate. Attach the halyard at the tack and apply tension by using the halyard winch. Then, snug up the headstay." "Snug up the backstay, if necessary, but not enough to induce bend in the mast."

"The lower shrouds should be slightly less tight than the upper to compensate for less stretch over the shorter distance."

"Set the aft lower shrouds so they are almost loose. They should "hang" with a slight bend and with gentle force from your hand be deflected about one inch until tight."

[Then fine tune the rig while under sail in a good breeze (my words)] "The shrouds should only be tight enough to keep the leeward shrouds tight while sailing to weather."

This tuning method has worked just fine for me over the years. The key thing that many people don't understand, is that the aft lower shrouds on the fractional rigged 25+ are supposed to be loose. They kind of look floppy when tuned correctly, but as long as they get taut within an inch or so from a little side presure from your hand, they're set right. The purpose of these aft lower shrouds is only to prevent the mid-section of the mast from moving too far forward when bending.

Other than that, just look for typical vintage sailboat issues.

 

[Acorn]

Congrats on getting a 25+. I've been cruising and racing my 25+ for about 10 years now. I have the outboard version. The 25+ is a great boat that excels in light to moderate air (especially in light air). Also, super easy to single hand, which I do about 95% of the time.

As far as "major" issues that I've had (which are likely common in other 25+'s), there have been two:
1) If your boat still has the household-style gate valves on the through-hulls, then get rid of them now and replace them with proper seacocks. I have a story about how my boat tried to sink itself within the first couple of weeks of my ownership partially due to corroded gate valves.
2) The mast compression post support block (under the floor) was completely rotted out on my boat when I bought it. There are clear symptoms of this condition -- first, the fiberglass will appear to be sagging under the main bulkhead (this seems common in a lot of internet photos of for-sale 25+'s), but the dead giveaway is when sailing in a good breeze the head door spontaneously pops open and starts banging about. Go down and close it, and in a few moments it pops open again and bangs about. Check to make sure a previous ownder didn't "fix" the door, instead of the problem.

As far as shroud tension goes, I've never heard of any established quantitative tension metrics for the 25+. The original one-page tuning guide that came with the boat (at least in 1979, I have the original papers) has a very qualitative methods for tuning the rig. Some key quotes from the tuning guide, which might be helpfull are:

"Set mast vertical fore and aft." "Set the backstay taut."

"Tighten one upper shroud until the masthead comes slightly to the side your tightening, then snug up the opposite side upper shroud until the mast is straight."

"Use the jib halyard to simulate the tension that the headsail would generate. Attach the halyard at the tack and apply tension by using the halyard winch. Then, snug up the headstay." "Snug up the backstay, if necessary, but not enough to induce bend in the mast."

"The lower shrouds should be slightly less tight than the upper to compensate for less stretch over the shorter distance."

"Set the aft lower shrouds so they are almost loose. They should "hang" with a slight bend and with gentle force from your hand be deflected about one inch until tight."

[Then fine tune the rig while under sail in a good breeze (my words)] "The shrouds should only be tight enough to keep the leeward shrouds tight while sailing to weather."

This tuning method has worked just fine for me over the years. The key thing that many people don't understand, is that the aft lower shrouds on the fractional rigged 25+ are supposed to be loose. They kind of look floppy when tuned correctly, but as long as they get taut within an inch or so from a little side presure from your hand, they're set right. The purpose of these aft lower shrouds is only to prevent the mid-section of the mast from moving too far forward when bending.

Other than that, just look for typical vintage sailboat issues.

Thanks for the reply. It's interesting that you race your 25+. I pretty much abandoned cruising about twenty years ago with the sale of my last boat, but I've been racing on a Martin 242 (24.5' fractional one-design) for the last 15 years. Also spent some time on a Farr 30, Cal 20, and J/24. But this Ericson 25+ marks my return to coastal cruising-- something I've missed.

I don't imagine I will ever race this boat, but I have been keen on upgrading the running rigging which was bare-bones to say the least. But I'm not keen on spending too much to do it, so I've been moving pretty slow. So far, I've rigged the backstay tensioner (the car was there, but had never been rigged) installed a boom vang, rigged the outhaul (which seemed to have just lived fully taught), and added some other minor improvements.

What's bothering me the most at the moment is the jib setup. (I will mention that I will allow myself to purchase one sail a year, the first one definitely being a new jib) It came with only one jib-- a 150% genoa in fair shape. Great for running, terrible for pointing. So, as a racer, I have a few questions for you:

• I was thinking that a tri-radial 110% jib would be a pretty decent, all-purpose jib that would point significantly better than the genoa.
• The jib sheets are 1/2" line, and rigged 1:1. To me, they seem too heavy, and too much work in even moderate winds, I'm considering dropping down to 3/8" line, and installing blocks on the jib clue, and starting the sheets at the car, making them 2:1.
• It kills me that the rig is designed to set the jib sheet on a jam cleat on the leeward outside of the cockpit. I've taken to running the working sheet around its winch, and up to the windward winch, and then into the high jam cleat, This means the jib sheet crosses the cockpit over the tiller, which is not ideal.

Any suggestions, or comments you might have on the above issues would be welcome. I'm considering installing a post a few inched astern of the winch that the sheet could go around, and to a cam cleat that you could set from the high side. I've never actually seen that before, but it seems like it could work...

-A

 

[Prairie Schooner]

Thanks for the reply. It's interesting that you race your 25+. I pretty much abandoned cruising about twenty years ago with the sale of my last boat, but I've been racing on a Martin 242 (24.5' fractional one-design) for the last 15 years. Also spent some time on a Farr 30, Cal 20, and J/24. But this Ericson 25+ marks my return to coastal cruising-- something I've missed.

I don't imagine I will ever race this boat, but I have been keen on upgrading the running rigging which was bare-bones to say the least. But I'm not keen on spending too much to do it, so I've been moving pretty slow. So far, I've rigged the backstay tensioner (the car was there, but had never been rigged) installed a boom vang, rigged the outhaul (which seemed to have just lived fully taught), and added some other minor improvements.

What's bothering me the most at the moment is the jib setup. (I will mention that I will allow myself to purchase one sail a year, the first one definitely being a new jib) It came with only one jib-- a 150% genoa in fair shape. Great for running, terrible for pointing. So, as a racer, I have a few questions for you:

• I was thinking that a tri-radial 110% jib would be a pretty decent, all-purpose jib that would point significantly better than the genoa.
• The jib sheets are 1/2" line, and rigged 1:1. To me, they seem too heavy, and too much work in even moderate winds, I'm considering dropping down to 3/8" line, and installing blocks on the jib clue, and starting the sheets at the car, making them 2:1.
• It kills me that the rig is designed to set the jib sheet on a jam cleat on the leeward outside of the cockpit. I've taken to running the working sheet around its winch, and up to the windward winch, and then into the high jam cleat, This means the jib sheet crosses the cockpit over the tiller, which is not ideal.

Any suggestions, or comments you might have on the above issues would be welcome. I'm considering installing a post a few inched astern of the winch that the sheet could go around, and to a cam cleat that you could set from the high side. I've never actually seen that before, but it seems like it could work...

-A

Man, if there's any way you can add self-tailing winches, that would be a dramatic improvement. Do you have a local marine consignment shop?

 

[Acorn]

Man, if there's any way you can add self-tailing winches, that would be a dramatic improvement. Do you have a local marine consignment shop?

That would certainly be an improvement. Ideally, I'd like the sheet to go to a cam cleat that I could set from the high side, but there just isn't enough room from the winch to the edge of the cockpit.

 

[Alan Gomes]

That would certainly be an improvement. Ideally, I'd like the sheet to go to a cam cleat that I could set from the high side, but there just isn't enough room from the winch to the edge of the cockpit.

West Marine has an annual BOGO sale in winches. That would be a great way to go if you can wait. (I'm assuming they are still running those specials.)

 

[Nick J]

Acorn,

We owned a 1980 25+ for 5 years before upgrading to our current 35-3. We LOVED the boat. It was the perfect starter boat for our family and I'd still be sailing it today if it wasn't for our kids growing up and needing a little more space. We sold it 6 years ago. Here's the posting I put up here with all the things we worked on during our ownership:

1980 Ericson 25+ for sale $6,000

We’re a few days away from closing on the 35, so it’s time to sell our 1980 25+. I’m finishing up the core repair on the port side of the cabin top, but I thought I would put it up here before I’m finished and post it for the rest of the world. We’ve owned Luffalee for 5 years and have put a...

ericsonyachts.org

The two main issues that were specific to the 25+ were the compression post base Scott mentioned above and the cabin top leaks that rotted the balsa core. Hopefully your boat had some careful ownership and the cabin top core issues was avoided. The compression post base is more of a design flaw and almost impossible to avoid. If it hasn't already rotted out, it will eventually and will need to be addressed. Ericson quickly addressed this flaw by adding a fiberglass grid to the successor, the 26, somewhere around '84

For rigging, we found the easiest change that provided the most immediate impact was right sizing the running rigging. our main sheet, traveler, and vang were all way oversized for the sheeves. Changing over to 5/16 line made a huge difference.

We also changed out the traveler, added self tailing winches, installed a tiller pilot, and rebuilt the back stay. Each one made a significant difference, but those are all somewhat expensive. The self tailing winches were by far the best upgrade.

We found a 110 was just about perfect for coastal cursing. It was easy to handle and didn't provide that much difference in power compared to the larger 120-130. Downwind, the asymmetrical was a lot of fun and saved us form motoring on many trips.

Adding creature comforts like shore power, a bulkhead heater, and a working stove (the Kenyon pressure alcohol leaked and I couldn't find parts) made a significant difference for the rest of the family and weren't that difficult.

 

[Acorn]

Acorn,

We owned a 1980 25+ for 5 years before upgrading to our current 35-3. We LOVED the boat. It was the perfect starter boat for our family and I'd still be sailing it today if it wasn't for our kids growing up and needing a little more space. We sold it 6 years ago. Here's the posting I put up here with all the things we worked on during our ownership:

1980 Ericson 25+ for sale $6,000

We’re a few days away from closing on the 35, so it’s time to sell our 1980 25+. I’m finishing up the core repair on the port side of the cabin top, but I thought I would put it up here before I’m finished and post it for the rest of the world. We’ve owned Luffalee for 5 years and have put a...

ericsonyachts.org

The two main issues that were specific to the 25+ were the compression post base Scott mentioned above and the cabin top leaks that rotted the balsa core. Hopefully your boat had some careful ownership and the cabin top core issues was avoided. The compression post base is more of a design flaw and almost impossible to avoid. If it hasn't already rotted out, it will eventually and will need to be addressed. Ericson quickly addressed this flaw by adding a fiberglass grid to the successor, the 26, somewhere around '84

For rigging, we found the easiest change that provided the most immediate impact was right sizing the running rigging. our main sheet, traveler, and vang were all way oversized for the sheeves. Changing over to 5/16 line made a huge difference.

We also changed out the traveler, added self tailing winches, installed a tiller pilot, and rebuilt the back stay. Each one made a significant difference, but those are all somewhat expensive. The self tailing winches were by far the best upgrade.

We found a 110 was just about perfect for coastal cursing. It was easy to handle and didn't provide that much difference in power compared to the larger 120-130. Downwind, the asymmetrical was a lot of fun and saved us form motoring on many trips.

Adding creature comforts like shore power, a bulkhead heater, and a working stove (the Kenyon pressure alcohol leaked and I couldn't find parts) made a significant difference for the rest of the family and weren't that difficult.

Great advice. The compression post seems to be fine, but I will certainly keep an eye on it. It is a Southern California boat, which even at the ocean is considerably dryer than where I grew up in the North East. According to the previous owner, the bilge has always been kept bone dry.

I have the same size issue with the jib sheet-- it's huge! The idea of a self-tailing winch is attractive, but I doubt I'll be willing to buy them new. I'll keep my eyes open for a used pair. They seem to be a little harder to find used in smaller sizes. Also, as I mentioned above, I'm probably going to make the jib sheets 2:1 when I change them out. We'll see how that goes...

 

[Nick J]

They've come up a little since I purchased them, but this is still the best deal I've seen for winches suitable for a 25+:

Harken 20STA Radial Single Speed Self Tailing Winch Aluminum - Free Shipping in Canada | Binnacle CA

ca.binnacle.com

Night and day difference from the ones that came on our boat. (This is in cad $)

 

[Acorn]

I’ve posted about my general rigging issues— especially my jib rig— on this, and several other threads, and I wanted to give anyone interested an update on the changes that I’ve made to Acorn, my 1981 25+.

The way the jib was rigged was, by far, my biggest issue. The boat came with a 150% Genoa. I hated that I had to spend so much time on the leeward side of the boat to make adjustments. The jib sheets were also oversized— probably 12mm line that had swelled even more with age, and I didn’t care for the clumsy jam cleats that came with the original design.

So, for the jib, I have made the following changes:

• I purchased a new 110% jib from Ullman Sails, which has become my general, all-purpose jib, and what a difference! I have gained, at the very least, 15 degrees of point, and significant upwind speed, and VMG. I will still likely use the 150 for journeys that I know will be mostly down wind.
• After teaching myself how to eye-splice double-braided line, I replaced the old, oversized, stiff jib halyard with a 10mm one. This made it easier to change jibs, and also easier to adjust jib luff tension.
• I replaced the oversized sheets with 8mm line.
• I added cam cleats to the coaming, about five inches aft of the jam cleats, at an angle towards the stern. The sheets now go from the winch, around the jam cleats (which don’t work with the thinner line anyway), and into the cam cleats, so that I can easily set, and adjust the jib from the high side, without cross-sheeting over the tiller.
• Against the advice of just about everybody, (including several on this forum, and the Ullman rep who designed my new jib), I added bullet blocks to the jib clue, and rigged the sheets 2:1. In fact, I’m very happy with the results. I sail single-handed most of the time, and while it is just a bit slower to get the sail around, it’s much easier. I’m also rather obsessive about sail trim, and I absolutely prefer the ability to fine-tune with one hand from the high side.
• I’ve added a whisker pole ring to the mast. Some day, I hope to rig an asymmetrical spinnaker to add to my sail inventory, but for now it does a great job holding a telescopic whicker pole for downwind sailing.

Other changes I’ve made to the rig:

• I re-rigged the outhaul to be easily adjustable under sail.
• I rigged the traveler with a continuous line, long enough to have it loop aft of the rudder post. This makes single-hand tacking much smoother.
• I rigged the backstay tensioner. I don’t think the backstay car had ever been used (although, to be honest, a backstay tensioner on a boat like this is a little like putting a spoiler on a Toyota Corolla).
• I added a vang.
• I re-rigged the preventers with snap shackles, so they can be clipped to the shrouds when not in use.
• I installed lazy jacks (with some fine guidance from this forum).

I will say that so far, I work on this boat a lot more than I sail it! I welcome any questions or comments.

 

[Christian Williams]

I thought this blog, about the E25 centerboard, was well done. Might be some ideas there.

Ericson 25CB Resurrection

This is the ongoing story and documentation of the resurrection of a 1973 Ericson 25CB called "Janie Ann". I chose the term "Resurrection" rather than "restoration" deliberately as we view this project as an effort to give a beautiful Ericson a...

ericsonyachts.org