Recent content by Bill Baum

Christian- No, the 150 catamarans in George Town harbor are privately owned boats. I don't believe there are any charter fleets of note in the Bahamas. Many of them may have been charter boats in the past- ie Caribbean charter fleets- but these are private boats.

Fellas! I have loved my E33 for 25 years- sailed her to Grenada and back- but you're missing the big picture! It's not an '80's Ericson versus a 2020 Catalina. (Confession- we now also own a '99 Catalina 42 and love it also). The big picture is that monohulls, any monohull brand, appear...

Hi, guys, this is Bill, the OP. Thanks for the ideas. The West Marine vents are too small and don't come in clear or smoked plastic. It's not obvious in my photo but this component is a "smoked" plastic. I'm heading for the RV/camper people next. Maybe folks in the plastic fabrication...

The previous owner of our boat built these plexiglass hatchboards. We want to build new duplicates. What do you call the ventilation piece mounted on the middle of this hatchboards, and where would I go to buy one of these? The ventilation piece is about 9x15", and has three slots for air...

Hi, this is BIll the OP. Here are pictures of the deck and handrail. As you can see they are "simply" flat teak slats without their own feet. The second picture is the starboard side with the rail removed, showing the raised, molded, deck features more clearly (with a strip of tape over the...

The original unvarnished teak handrails on the exterior cabin-top of my '82 E33 have eroded to the point where I no longer trust them with my life at sea. The port-side rail is split in one place. Today I don't have pictures to share, but on the E33 a handrail is 1.5" wide x approx 5/8"...

Chris- Yes, a Bimini is tough on a E33. The boom is low and long , extending almost back to the wheel. I'm just over 6', so for a Bimini we just have a 2-bow Bimini, above my head, that is aft of the boom-end. It means that it is just 3' fore-and-aft, so very often it does not proviyall the...

Does anyone know what type of plywood Ericson was using in 1982? I've got a 1982 E33 and a plywood vertical settee front has an area damaged by battery acid. I'd like to replace the panel with new plywood that will look like it fits in. The plywood is about 3/8" thick, and it looks to me that...

K2M- I've also got an E33 with Navtec rod rigging. Every couple of years we inspect all the rod heads we can get at with an illuminated 50X loupe. The lower ends of the rods are easy even with the mast up (one at a time with halyard backup!!). We stored the boat on Lake Ontario this past...

Repair complete! This was a big job, but it's done, the boats in the water, mast up, and we've been sailing! This photo is not the final repair condition, but it shows the full repair area. The structure is all done, the fairing is done, and the shiny surface is wet epoxy barrier coat. After...

Sheperdson- that is exactly where we put ours eight years ago before we started cruising. We have a water-cooled Isotherm holding plate system which has worked great. I would suggest you give a little thought to access to the compressor for service. I have an anode to change each year, and...

Great- a post on the E33!! This is Bill Baum. We have E33 #5, just second owner, and have owned it for 20 years. Fractional rig, Schaefer spar. The boat came with the running backstays, but the previous owner said he never used them, and we never have (tangs are still on the stern). We raced...

Hi, this is Bill, the OP, with an update. Well, there is no question that it was a giant timber, meant to be structural. Approximately 3 1/2" thick, and between 9 and 11" wide (the rib gets wider under the mast step), the timber spans a hollow space where the bilge is deep, and fills the...

I just found this from searching within the forum. It is from a different Ericson model, but the author was cited as a former engineer at Ericson and it makes me think our wood may have been structural. I am not copying it here, but I found the actual Ericson bulletin which went out that...

Mark - It is lag bolts which hold the mast step to the rib - and yes, I am very familiar with the wood farther aft within the engine beds. So yes, I could see the argument that the wood is not structural, except that we know the wood extends at least to the starboard 10" within the rib. I...