E27 Split Cockpit

[leonard young]

split cockpit

I'm looking at a 27' ericson with a split cockpit, and am wondering if there is any drawback to this configuation.

 

[Sean Engle]

E27s With Split Cockpits

Leonard -

I was unaware that they did that on the E27s too (my knowledge is limited to the E35s). I know the 27 is an extremely versatile boat - very hearty, and it came with the option of either wheel or tiller steering. Morgan Stinemetz is probably the person who should weigh in on this...Morgan??

Also – you can contact some of the other E27 owners directly by going to the EY.c Owner’s Registry (EY.c\Owners&Projects\Owners&BoatRegistry) – I’m sure they’ll be happy to give you more info.

Oh, and - I moved your thread to this forum from the "For Sale & Wanted" section - as it seemed more appropriate, as you're asking about design, etc.


Thanks and Good Luck!

//sse

 

[leonard young]

Thanx Sean, for your reply. I can go back into my search mode better equipted.

 

[Loren Beach]

I have not owned an E-27... but I know that a former member of our yc had a "late model" version with the split cockpit. This had a family resemblence to the larger Ericson cockpit layouts, with an aft "steering cockpit", a narrow divider which could incorporate a traveler (but I remember it as still being on the housetop), and the rest of the cockpit forward. As dim memory serves, this was in the last or next-to-last year of production. For marketing purposes, a steering wheel was the option du jour for even small sailboats in the late 70's, and on into the eighties. Pearson was putting wheels on their 27 and 28 footers, also. Quite silly, but sailing newbies with checkbooks liked the automotive similarity... (obviously this is only IMHO!)
On the plus side, a cockpit designed from the git-go for a wheel option usually works lots better than a retrofit that leaves the owner with the curse of a puny little wheel trapped narrowly between the seats, which is why you saw designers putting in so many T-shaped cockpits from the eighties onwards.
BTW, I used to crew occasionally on an older (tiller) E-27... great fun to sail, stable, and oodles of room inside as well. Helm was way heavy for my taste, but she went to weather with real authority...
Loren in PDX

 

[Allen K Roberts]

wheel steering

i have just replaced both cables in the wheel steering . After spending the weekend tryind to assemble it back together again I am having difficulty with the clutch cable assembly. Can you tell me the correct way of how the clutch cable is assembled to the pedestal?When I disassembled it , I removed it from an aluminum post . I cant remember how it assembles back together again. Any info concerning the replacement of wheel steering cables would be very much appreciated. Thank you. Allen K Roberts owner ericon 27 model # 831

 

[Walter Pearson]

By 'clutch cable', are you referring to the wheel brake assembly or the cable system going to the transmission shift lever? I had difficulty getting my pedestal back together also. The illustration in the Yacht Specialties manual was helpful. This website has the manual in the specs and documents section. Let me know if I'm not understanding this.
(Maybe this should be in a new thread?)

For Leonard: My E27 has the split cockpit with wheel steering. The biggest drawback was the construction of the divider was not very good and most of the tabbing was loose and allowed water to get into the balsa coring. The additional scupper drains result in some plumbing headaches and the coring around those also was saturated. I had to rebuild about 2/3 of the cockpit sole. A pedestal guard helps as a hand-hold when going back and forth to the helm. Let me know if you need more info.

 

[Ian]

I have an E27 with split cockpit, and have no problems with it.
There is enough space for everything, although the only drawback that I have is that the floor is less easy to clean, with the confined space in the after section.