New Construction of Ericson 32-200, E34 & E38
- Thread starter EEK
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- construction e34 e38
Interesting notion.....
I see that you are a boatbuilder... Does that mean that you are in the mgmt team at PSC? They still have the tooling for these, last we heard on this list. Rumor is that they might even build one if someone wanders in with enough money....
And then they recently bought this fine web site...
Speaking only for myself, and presuming a sudden inrush of money into my life from a winning Lotto ticket, my wife would then make us buy a new E-38...
That dark blue-hulled one in the splash screen rotation is quite sexy!
On a more serious note, the folks that would know, if you could get them to talk about it would be the gang at Tartan...... they are now trying to build and sell boats in this "traditional fast-but-with-quality cruiser" market nowadays -- epoxy hulls, even.
Ericson is certainly as well thought-of as Tartan... if they can do it, perhaps you could, too.
One thing hasn't changed since the 80's however, the lowest-buck lower-quality end of the "sailing RV" market is still totally owned by H__ter and C__alina....
Frankly, I just do not have the answer you seek....
Slightly Related subject -- do you know the guy in the Tahoe area that bought the tooling for the E-35-3? Or what happened to the tooling for the Olson 34 and 911s, after it went to Port Townsend, WA?
Best,
Loren
Olson 34, Portland, OR
I see that you are a boatbuilder... Does that mean that you are in the mgmt team at PSC? They still have the tooling for these, last we heard on this list. Rumor is that they might even build one if someone wanders in with enough money....
And then they recently bought this fine web site...
Speaking only for myself, and presuming a sudden inrush of money into my life from a winning Lotto ticket, my wife would then make us buy a new E-38...
That dark blue-hulled one in the splash screen rotation is quite sexy!
On a more serious note, the folks that would know, if you could get them to talk about it would be the gang at Tartan...... they are now trying to build and sell boats in this "traditional fast-but-with-quality cruiser" market nowadays -- epoxy hulls, even.
Ericson is certainly as well thought-of as Tartan... if they can do it, perhaps you could, too.
One thing hasn't changed since the 80's however, the lowest-buck lower-quality end of the "sailing RV" market is still totally owned by H__ter and C__alina....
Frankly, I just do not have the answer you seek....
Slightly Related subject -- do you know the guy in the Tahoe area that bought the tooling for the E-35-3? Or what happened to the tooling for the Olson 34 and 911s, after it went to Port Townsend, WA?
Best,
Loren
Olson 34, Portland, OR
Last edited:
andy beach
Member I
I would like to echo Loren's comments. I have never been impressed with the performance and RV quality of sailboat of the H's and the C's. When searching for our boat I was particulary impressed with the quality of the PSC built Ericsons and of the Tartans.The layout of the Ericson worked better for our sailing style. We finally found and purchased one of the later E-34's a 1990.Anyways that's my 2 cents worthy.Smooth Sailing.
Geoff Johnson
Fellow Ericson Owner
It depends on the price. When PSC was making the newer version of my boat (the 333) the asking price was $150k, so PSC basically priced itself out of the market. I've seen a very recent 333 languishing on the market for $98k. So the problem is, assuming people still want to buy what most new boat buyers would consider an outdated design (e.g. small interior volume), how do you build a boat of traditional Ericson quality for Catalina prices?
Lew Decker
Member III
two cents more
Hi - Thanks for the interesting post - I was involved with the Peterson 44 and Kelly-Peterson 46 projects back in the early 80's - The 44 was a terrific cruising boat that still commands high prices in the used boat market, very near or above the new sticker of 110K - I believe 100 or so were sold over the years - The ownership decided to upgrade to a 46, but the target price of 180K put the boat in some lofty company, and I don't think they sold more than ten before they were out of business - The new boats weren't much of an improvement over the old 44's, just more refined - The killer was that the owner went to Taiwan and destroyed the tooling for the 44 - Made me sick (Didn't we all read something about a goose and some golden eggs when we were kids?) - Having said that, I have always felt there was a market for good and solid cruising boats that are not overpriced - Seaworthiness sells regardless of rating rules or resemblance to Hyatt-Regency hotel suites and I don't think the H's and C's out there qualify in that respect - If any of you have ever been aboard a "new" production boat, it is hard to imagine being at sea aboard one in 50 knots of wind and 25' seas - Give me solidity and strength and cramped quarters any day - As for re-introducing some of the Ericson boats, I think it could work with a good ad program targeting those who feel that wide beam and skating rink cabin soles don't equate to offshore performance - Thanks again for the great post -
Hi - Thanks for the interesting post - I was involved with the Peterson 44 and Kelly-Peterson 46 projects back in the early 80's - The 44 was a terrific cruising boat that still commands high prices in the used boat market, very near or above the new sticker of 110K - I believe 100 or so were sold over the years - The ownership decided to upgrade to a 46, but the target price of 180K put the boat in some lofty company, and I don't think they sold more than ten before they were out of business - The new boats weren't much of an improvement over the old 44's, just more refined - The killer was that the owner went to Taiwan and destroyed the tooling for the 44 - Made me sick (Didn't we all read something about a goose and some golden eggs when we were kids?) - Having said that, I have always felt there was a market for good and solid cruising boats that are not overpriced - Seaworthiness sells regardless of rating rules or resemblance to Hyatt-Regency hotel suites and I don't think the H's and C's out there qualify in that respect - If any of you have ever been aboard a "new" production boat, it is hard to imagine being at sea aboard one in 50 knots of wind and 25' seas - Give me solidity and strength and cramped quarters any day - As for re-introducing some of the Ericson boats, I think it could work with a good ad program targeting those who feel that wide beam and skating rink cabin soles don't equate to offshore performance - Thanks again for the great post -
Geoff Johnson
Fellow Ericson Owner
I can't speak for the 35 and the 38, but there is one feature of the 32-3 which is not found in today's market - it is designed for a couple. Every 32 foot on the market today (like the 32-200 and the 333) tries to squeeze in two cabins, which just doesn't work because you end up with a main cabin under the the cockpit with about 2 feet of headroom and no air.
u079721
Contributing Partner
I would love to see them back in production. But as noted above, this type of boat appeals to a certain type of buyer. One who is well enough educated in boat design to not be put off by the fact that an Ericson cabin does not have room for a superbowl party, or that there is no walk through transom.
The below deck volume of Hunters and Catalinas is just so huge that most newer boaters would opt for them rather than an E-38, especially at the type of price that Pacific Seacraft was asking back in the mid 90's.
The below deck volume of Hunters and Catalinas is just so huge that most newer boaters would opt for them rather than an E-38, especially at the type of price that Pacific Seacraft was asking back in the mid 90's.
Interesting question-you've got to be with PSC and wondering
about those E-molds laying around. Maybe if you moved
production offshore or down to Mexico like the old days (80's)
you could be competitive. PSC (Ericson) builds a nice boat
but I'm not sure if your market particularly in the lower
size ranges knows or cares about the differences enough to pay
what you need to charge. Anyway, these designs are how old?
20-25 years perhaps? Good designs to be sure (particularly
the layout on the 38) but still.... isn't it time for something
new? How about tooling up that 43 that was never produced
or the pocket yacht stuff? Give the market something new,
for gods sake! How about ...dare I say it...and Ericson
powerboat!...something like the Hinckley runabout. Speaking
of Hinckley, nobody thought that there was much of a market
for a 400K, 36ft, jet drive toy, yet once it was introduced
they couldn't build 'em fast enough. You see where I'm
going with this? That's the end of my rant. I feel better now...
Martin
about those E-molds laying around. Maybe if you moved
production offshore or down to Mexico like the old days (80's)
you could be competitive. PSC (Ericson) builds a nice boat
but I'm not sure if your market particularly in the lower
size ranges knows or cares about the differences enough to pay
what you need to charge. Anyway, these designs are how old?
20-25 years perhaps? Good designs to be sure (particularly
the layout on the 38) but still.... isn't it time for something
new? How about tooling up that 43 that was never produced
or the pocket yacht stuff? Give the market something new,
for gods sake! How about ...dare I say it...and Ericson
powerboat!...something like the Hinckley runabout. Speaking
of Hinckley, nobody thought that there was much of a market
for a 400K, 36ft, jet drive toy, yet once it was introduced
they couldn't build 'em fast enough. You see where I'm
going with this? That's the end of my rant. I feel better now...
Martin
Steve
Member III
YES
In Kiss principle terms, YES, I would love to see a return to simple straight forward boats. Marketing folks have besieged the industry with gizmos and comfort smoke and mirrors that hide the real adverse sailing and safety quality of very expensive boats. I fear a future industry safety problem is looming, -while more and more folks venture further from shore. …..But in the builder’s defense, the buyer has a responsibility to research and be aware of the limitations of what they purchased!
Steve E35-3 #159
In Kiss principle terms, YES, I would love to see a return to simple straight forward boats. Marketing folks have besieged the industry with gizmos and comfort smoke and mirrors that hide the real adverse sailing and safety quality of very expensive boats. I fear a future industry safety problem is looming, -while more and more folks venture further from shore. …..But in the builder’s defense, the buyer has a responsibility to research and be aware of the limitations of what they purchased!
Steve E35-3 #159