Michael Bender
Member II
Hello Fellow Ericson Owners! I have owned Seascape, an Ericson 32-3 (vintage 1985) since the fall of 2013. I am in the San Francisco Bay Area and I race and cruise in the bay and in near coastal waters. I have been reading this site for a few years but never really contributed much. I recently took Seascape to be hauled at San Francisco Boatworks and have an online photo and video album that I started when I got to the yard. As work on the boat is progressing, I add pictures and videos to this album:
Seascape 2015 Haulout - Public Photos and Videos
She was originally at the yard for the usual 2-year haul out/bottom job (Petit Trinidad anti-slime formulation), but I had the yard look at a few other things while she was on the hard. One thing that has been concerning me is that my bilge is frequently full with about an inch or so of water, and I can use a hand pump to remove the water, but it seeps back in over a few weeks. As you can see form the pictures, the keel is smiling (which means that I'm not ;-) and we know that at least two of the keel bolts have lost their threads where the nuts used to be. The yard is pulling the cabin sole to get access to the other bolts to inspect them and if we see more damage, we are going to drop the keel, inspect the bolts and see if we need to add new bolts. If we only see two bolts with damage, then we'll tighten up all the bolts and add shims to the two damaged bolts and then reseal the gap between the keel and the hull. Well, that's the plan anyway. I am on the fence about whether I want to drop the keel and really have a look; as far as I know, the keel has never been dropped on Seascape.
I am also having her rudder post and bearings looked at because (as you can see in the videos), it has horizontal and vertical play. There is also a distinct "bhrrump" sound and shudder when you manually move the rudder from the port side to the starboard side as the rudder nears the centerline. I've been able to check the quadrant, cables and chain in the pedestal when she's been in the water and all looks good there, so I'm guessing it's the rudder bearings. The yard says they definitely need to shim it to remove the play.
The electric windlass is frozen, the shaft and bearings going from the deck-side unit to the motor is frozen but the motor and deck side mechanism seem fine. The yard wants close to $2K parts and labor to fix it, which I am declining, for that price I can replace the one-speed/one-direction windlass with a 2-speed, 2-direction windlass or try to fix it myself. Reminds me of the quote on this forum saying "I bought a boat because burning $100 bills in a fire is not as efficient".
As all this is going on, my sailmaker (Dave Hodges from Santa Cruz Sails, now Ullman Sails) is putting together an A-spinnaker for me. I've learned a lot here from folks that have done the same.
So, that's my story for now, nice to meet everyone here! My dream would be to get enough E32-3's on SF Bay to have a one-design division in YRA races. I only know of two others that race somewhat regularly. Seascape is a great boat for racing, I've done beercans and YRA bay and coastal races and the Great Vallejo Race and the Delta Ditch (in the cruising class since I didn't have a kite) and I've got a great regular crew that is really excited to learn how to fly a kite and make us more competitive. Plus they bring the beer (the benefits of being an MFO
Seascape 2015 Haulout - Public Photos and Videos
She was originally at the yard for the usual 2-year haul out/bottom job (Petit Trinidad anti-slime formulation), but I had the yard look at a few other things while she was on the hard. One thing that has been concerning me is that my bilge is frequently full with about an inch or so of water, and I can use a hand pump to remove the water, but it seeps back in over a few weeks. As you can see form the pictures, the keel is smiling (which means that I'm not ;-) and we know that at least two of the keel bolts have lost their threads where the nuts used to be. The yard is pulling the cabin sole to get access to the other bolts to inspect them and if we see more damage, we are going to drop the keel, inspect the bolts and see if we need to add new bolts. If we only see two bolts with damage, then we'll tighten up all the bolts and add shims to the two damaged bolts and then reseal the gap between the keel and the hull. Well, that's the plan anyway. I am on the fence about whether I want to drop the keel and really have a look; as far as I know, the keel has never been dropped on Seascape.
I am also having her rudder post and bearings looked at because (as you can see in the videos), it has horizontal and vertical play. There is also a distinct "bhrrump" sound and shudder when you manually move the rudder from the port side to the starboard side as the rudder nears the centerline. I've been able to check the quadrant, cables and chain in the pedestal when she's been in the water and all looks good there, so I'm guessing it's the rudder bearings. The yard says they definitely need to shim it to remove the play.
The electric windlass is frozen, the shaft and bearings going from the deck-side unit to the motor is frozen but the motor and deck side mechanism seem fine. The yard wants close to $2K parts and labor to fix it, which I am declining, for that price I can replace the one-speed/one-direction windlass with a 2-speed, 2-direction windlass or try to fix it myself. Reminds me of the quote on this forum saying "I bought a boat because burning $100 bills in a fire is not as efficient".
As all this is going on, my sailmaker (Dave Hodges from Santa Cruz Sails, now Ullman Sails) is putting together an A-spinnaker for me. I've learned a lot here from folks that have done the same.
So, that's my story for now, nice to meet everyone here! My dream would be to get enough E32-3's on SF Bay to have a one-design division in YRA races. I only know of two others that race somewhat regularly. Seascape is a great boat for racing, I've done beercans and YRA bay and coastal races and the Great Vallejo Race and the Delta Ditch (in the cruising class since I didn't have a kite) and I've got a great regular crew that is really excited to learn how to fly a kite and make us more competitive. Plus they bring the beer (the benefits of being an MFO