E 35 MK III topside and keel - Mtc. projects

[Bryan Watts]

Hi All 1983 [+ or -] 35 MK III owners,

I'm new to this site am excited to "talk" to fellow owners who have had some "personal - hands on" mtc. experiance with their boat. Currently, I have three topside projects that need addressing:
1. I need to replace the "portlight" screens and gaskets. Where does one go today for the replacement gaskets?

2. I need to replace the deck hatch hinges, gaskets and latch dogs. I have tried "Bowmar' and "Lewmar" with no results. What does one do now, short of replacong the entire hatch?

3. I need to "rebed" the lifeline stanchions to the deck, as the S. S. foot pads are showing signs of "rusting out from underneath. I have found that they are thru-bolted [which is a good thing], but how in the world does one get to the nuts on the back side? - as a lot of them are behind "built in" cabinetry and woodwork.

4 The last area of concern is the "famous" Ericson "California Smile". Yes my keel has cracked away from the leading edge of the "hull stub" [about 12"]. There is no leackage into the bilge. But what about water in contact with the keel bolts? The keel bolts are tight. My "bottom cleaner" says not to worry about it unless I get leakage into the bilge and to have the problem addressed during the next haul out [which is in about a year]. Anyone have experiance with this?

Looking forward to "hearing" from anyone with "first hand" knowledge in these areas.

Thanks,

Bryan Watts abord the WHITE STAR here in San Diego

 

[EGregerson]

Stuff

Hi; I don't see any 35 people responding but... these are issues among many models of Ericson. If you search, you'll find threads on the hull to keele joint and what many have done to address it. Same for the port lights and hatches. Here is Lewmar's site for portlights: http://en.lewmar.com/webspares/index.aspx?prod=portl
Also thread for rebedding deck hardware. Welcome aboard.

 

[Bryan Watts]

valinor,
Thx for the response. Will keep watching for others. Am new to this site and am still trying to learn how to find these "old discussions" re. various topics.
Thx again,
bryan

 

[Tom Metzger]

Lewmar hinges

A number of years ago Lewmar sent me to Florida Rigging & Hydraulics for hinges. I didn't buy them as I came up with a fix for them, but they had them in stock.

http://www.rigginghydraulics.com/index.shtml

Also, Select Plastics in CT had them when I considered having them rebuild my fore hatch. Again, I didn't buy.

http://www.selectplastics.com/lewmarhatches.htm

Enjoy.

 

[lbertran]

Portlight Screens

Hi, Brian-
Welcome to Ericson World! I have a 1985 E35-3 and had to locate screens for the opening ports. I'm copying the info on the ports that were installed on my boat, they're Bomar not Lewmar. See copied post below. As for gaskets, I've not tried to purchase those. How to get to the underside of the stanchions is something I've been trying to figure out too. I'd appreciate any experience others have had with this. Good luck with your projects!

"After much searching, I've found the brand and model of the opening ports used on my 1985 E35-3. I needed this info in order to find screens for these ports. The ports are Bomar Extruded Portlights 3000 Series, Model N3410. There are parts, screens, and complete replacement ports available from Pompanette LLC, http://www.pompanette.com/home."

 

[Loren Beach]

Finding the information...

Hi All 1983 [+ or -] 35 MK III owners,
2. I need to replace the deck hatch hinges, gaskets and latch dogs. I have tried "Bowmar' and "Lewmar" with no results. What does one do now, short of replacong the entire hatch?

The forward-bolt keel issue is common to many if not most boats with fin keels, lots of discussion here. Do a "search" on keels or rebedding or bolts or ... similar words.

For your hatches, Do a search using the words -Lewmar roll stop-.
Lewmar very likely still sells a rebuild kit for the hinges, and Select Plastics on the right coast can put in a new lens, AFAIK.
There are past threads about "Bomar" also, just plug that into the Search box...
Using "lewmar roll stop" I got several good threads, including this one:
http://www.ericsonyachts.org/infoexchange/showthread.php?t=2342&highlight=lewmar+roll+stop

I believe that you will come to enjoy using the powerful and fast Search function on this site. Lots of happy E-35-3 owners here will be adding info, also.

Cheers,
Loren

 

[Cory B]

Stuff

Bryan,

Be very careful trying to figure out which ports you have if they are Bomars. We have Bomars on our '84 35-3, but unfortunately not the same ones as Laura above... we can't find parts for ours. If you do have Bomars, do a search on this site and you'll see lots of variations.

As to the deck hatches, assuming they're Lewmars, I think someone already pointed you to select plastics. We considered having them refurbishing ours, but by the time they do everything (new lense, new hinges, etc.), you can pretty much buy new ones - they're an off the shelf part.

As far as the keel goes, you can see our saga here, so my suggestion is for anyone who has any doubts to just drop it, rebed it and sleep well.

Good luck, this website is a huge resource for Ericson owners.

- Cory
'84 35-3

 

[Steve]

Cory is right, it's clear the Ericson buying-agent got a lot of free lunch's, seems they changed items like this yearly or even mid production. I've visited Bomar here in NH and got a bit of a run-around myself in person. They aren't set-up for walk-ins and not very good at keeping an inventory of older materials. The fellow said, perhaps in the warehouse he might have what I was looking for but... the time it would take to look wasn't worth finding it... I came back by chance a week later while in the area and hit it up with another clerk type and he was able to find 7 lexan smoked blanks for my opening ports, we negotiated a $10/per settlement. Now all I have to do is bottom tap and rout for the dogs.

As for the stanchions.. your right -there is no easy way other then a few to re-bed. I've done the easy ones already, and need to do the others such as the one in the head (behind the mirror) and the aft sets.

The Lewmar super hatches they used aren't made anymore. If you study the specs, few if any will cleanly fit the same opening without major modifications. With that said, you may have no choice but to have them rebuilt. Ours are about at that point also.

We had a small keel smile line too, four years ago I ground out around the line with a grinder, glassed about a foot on both sides of the line with four layers, faired, and barrier coated x 4. We had scrapped the bottom down to gelcoat anyways. No more hard bottom paint for this boat. So far to-date, no smile.

Welcome & Good luck,
Steve 35-3 1984

 

[Cory B]

Steve,

Firstly, congratulations on the $10 lenses... I'm very jealous.

As to the hatches, its been a while since I looked but I thought the Lewmar Flat Ocean 40 (or 44?) would work pretty well on our boat. Since theres not a flange on it I thought a smidge smaller or larger wouldn't hurt anything. But since I haven't done it yet I'm not quite an authoritative source.

- Cory

 

[Tom Metzger]

Cory is right. If the Super Hatch has a flat base as on an E-34 the current Ocean hatches fit very well.

And the good news on the series 60 that I put in was that the old holes did not interfere with the new ones.

 

[Steve]

Super Hatch

Back in 06 I received this note from Select Plastics:

Steve

22 by 22 hatches as in your pictures are Lewmar Super hatches.

Cost for repair is 399.00 plus tax and freight.

Current lead time is approximately two weeks.

Repair includes a new lens, upper seal, lower gasket, and handle seals. The
Super hatches sometime need frame straightening (no charge) or a frame weld
under the back strap hinge. This weld will cost 45.00 additional if
required.

Understand that new model hatches will not fit into hole of the old
Super hatch due to changes in corner radi.

Let us know how we can help.

Thanks Tony

-----Original Message-----
Sent: Thursday, September 07, 2006 9:33 AM
To: info@selectplastics.com
Subject: Hatch repair question

I have two Lewmar Super Hatches (boat built in 1984), each measure 22 x 22
OD outer hatch frame. Attached are two pics.

Thanks... Steve

 

[Bryan Watts]

My many thanks to all [Cory, Tom, Steve, Loren and Laura]for the responces. This is so neat to find others with all of this experience to draw upon. Steve, I would like to ask you an additional question or two.
1. How did you know that your keel bolts were not corroded away, before you glassed the joint "fair" with the hull.? When I bought my boat three years ago, the surveyor [whom is a very reputable one in San Diego] said this is a very common problem with these types of boats, and not to worry about it. "The keel/hull joint flexes" due to the design. It seems to me that if the joint is not sealed, the keel bolts are totaly exposed to the salt water. Then if you do seal it with glass/ resin, the bolts would go away in no time. So what gives?
2. How did you prevent the keel/hull joint from flexing and cracking your "new" joint "fairing"?
3. Question to everyone out there, If my bilge is always dry, can I assume all is well, or?
4. After reading all of the "keel threads", I saw a lot of $#$#. Bottom line, what could one expect to have to pay a yard to drop the keel, sleeve any bad bolts and properly rebed/refair the keel? This scares me as I am retired and on a semi-fixed income. When I bought the boat, I thought all was well and "not to worry" [per the surveyer].

Thanks again for your thoughtful responses,

Bryan

 

[Steve]

Bryan --

I really can't be sure about the bolts, other then I have no leaks. I guess my thought was the smile was only a line with no large gap to speak of and it was only 12" running back. Also in the Ericson OEM manual, it states that the joint will need fairing occasionally and this is normal . I think at the time I thought if I tried the glass and it didn't work after a season then perhaps we should look at dropping the keel. Well so far it's held... That is always a plan B.

 

[Tom Metzger]

Select Plastics

I wouldn't consider Select Plastics for a rebuild. Their price is out of line with reality. By the time they replace the lens and hinge parts plus shipping you have spent about as much as a new hatch from Pyacht.com, a very reliable distributor with real people and a large inventory. Other vendors I found were a little higher, but still better than a rebuild.

Also, with a new hatch it is a half day job. A rebuild will take at least a month.

I have no interest in Pyacht.com other than being a frequent satisfied customer.

 

[treilley]

I am confused. Lewmar(and Tom) say the Ocean hatch is a replacement for the Superhatch except for the screw holes being in a different location which is actually a good thing. Select plastics says they are not a replacement because of corner radii. Who is correct? Has anyone here actually replaced their Superhatches on a 35-3 with the flat base Ocean hatches?

 

[Loren Beach]

Hatch notes

In the mid-90's we replaced both the size 70 fore hatch and the size 20 vent hatch on our Olson. I found that I had to fill all the old bolt/screw holes with thickened epoxy and redrill. Some were only a little bit different, but that was the least-arduous part of the job.
(Prying the old hatch frame up was the worst part.)

We used the Lewmar with the spigot, so that the inside looks "finished."

Here's another thread with a picture of the spigot from inside:
http://www.ericsonyachts.org/infoexchange/showthread.php?t=4690&highlight=hatch+spigot

Note that the newer (and still current design) has an adjustable friction hinge -- the old "roll stop" hinge was much inferior, IMO.

Loren
'88 Olson 34

 

[Tom Metzger]

What does Lewmar know?

I replaced my forward hatch last spring. You can find pics in this thread:

http://www.ericsonyachts.org/infoexchange/showthread.php?t=4767

You have to use the Ocean series hatches with a flat base. If you have a spigot base then you have a problem, but on the E-34 they have flat bases.

As I said, I wouldn't let Select Plastics touch my hatches.

 

[Cory B]

Hatches

I am confused. Lewmar(and Tom) say the Ocean hatch is a replacement for the Superhatch except for the screw holes being in a different location which is actually a good thing. Select plastics says they are not a replacement because of corner radii. Who is correct? Has anyone here actually replaced their Superhatches on a 35-3 with the flat base Ocean hatches?

My hunch is that it is not a good replacement if you have a flange fitting (because then the radius of the corners might matter since you have a cutout for the hatch with close tolerances on the corners). I just can't imagine why there would be a significant problem with the flat base hatches.

If anyone wants to buy me one I'll be happy to try it out and let them know how it goes.

- Cory

 

[Cory B]

Keel bolts

Bryan,

Back to your questions, and away from the sidetrack of deck hatches which I'm partially responsible for...

If you're confident that no water is getting in from the keel joint, and you don't see anything more than a little bit of surface rust on the skimpy washers for the keel bolts, you are probably OK. There is a lot of gray area, and probably a lot of keels that are dropped that probably don't need it (and a few which need to be dropped but haven't). But every once in a while there is one like ours where there was the possibility of catastrophic failure in "more than mild" offshore conditions.

The (experienced and highly recommended) surveryor didn't indicate to us that he thought the keel should be rebedded, and it did pass the "Kick test" when it was on slings. It wasn't until after it was trucked up here and on stands that I noticed a slight line of moisture around the joint that we decided to drop it "just in case".

The $$$ spent in our case would have been signficantly less if there was no problem... they would have just raised the boat off the keel an inch or two, cleaned up the joint, slapped in some bedding, and dropped the boat back down.

As to the durability of the various fixes, time will tell how using epoxy bedding will work for us. So far so good. A lot of people have used 5200 with success as well. The important thing is to not have hour-glassed shaped keel bolts.

Good Luck,
Cory

 

[JMCronan]

Just to add to the already numerous options.....

I had my keel dropped in October. I had water coming in around the keel bolts and a few of the SS washers were eaten up a pitted. Needless to say I was worried. When the yard dropped the keel all of the bolts were in near perfect condition. We concluded that the washers were not of as high quality SS as the keel bolts. The yard rebedded with 5200 and then glassed over the seam. That just seems like one of those areas where you want to be overly cautious.

Anyway, I don't think that I said anything you didn't know already, but thought I would pass along my experiences