Waiting on survey

[Afrakes]

Name

Name her what you wish. The sea gods don't mind as long as you pay tribute to what has gone before. When we re-christened out 28 we did it with a proper ceremony, attended by other sailors and plenty of libation. Once you take custody you get to call her what you want.

 

[Loren Beach]

Helmets and Speeches

See reply 11 for a picture of the naming ceremony done at a rendezvous....
http://www.ericsonyachts.org/infoex...005-NW-Gathering-of-the-Vikings&referrerid=28

We DID have a good time that day! Yes indeed.



Loren

 

[bgary]

This is EXCELLENT advice

I think you should look at 10 more boats before you buy one.

Five boats on, you'll breath a sigh of relief that you didn't buy the first one.

The search should be fun, and the more knowledge you gain the more fun it will become.

I've looked at probably 15-20 boats so far, plus dozens (hundreds?) of brokerage listings, in my own quest. Some have been lovely but more than I wanted to spend. Some have been reasonable prospects, and they've whispered lovingly in my ear, but thoughtful reflection helped me understand that there were enough reasons to make "walking away" the right thing to do. Hardest one, so far, was the perfectly lovely fresh-water 32-3 I found on a lake in Montana. Would have written a check that day, but it would have cost more than 25% over the cost of the boat to get it to my waters. VERY hard to walk away, but... it didn't "make sense" to do it.

We all have different priorities, some want a project, some want a deal, I mainly want to get back on the water, in a boat that sails well and makes me smile. And I want to not have boat payments or big-ticket issues hanging over my head and diluting my enjoyment. That helps me clarify my thinking when (for example) checking a boat for delamination or wondering how soon I will have to replace a motor, or facing the prospect of significant structural repairs.

I'll know the right boat when I meet her. Seeing a variety of boats - and really thinking through the pros and cons of each is what gives me confidence in that.

$.02

Edited to add, after reading the survey doc I'd concur with others, there's nothing there that I wouldn't expect to find in a 30-year-old boat. It if is an accurate and complete depiction, and assuming the engine/mechanical is sound, it doesn't look like there are huge "projects" looming... just all the normal projects involved in rehabbing, upgrading and maintaining a boat. There will unquestionably be work to do (cleaning, debugging/refurbishing systems, re-rigging, wood care, sails, etc, plus all the pleasures of tweaking things so she's set up the way you like), but.... it doesn't "appear" to be a boat that needs major repair.

Of the items in the survey, I'd probably pay a little extra attention to the water incursion at the portlights. rebedding the portlights is a common need, and not a huge job, but if enough water has come in that interior wood has been compromised, that can be a bigger deal.

Next steps to consider might include paying to have a rigger do an aloft inpection, and a good diesel mechanic to inspect and evaluate the engine. In my own quest, if I found a boat that I was seriously interested in - but had some questions about - I'd rather write a [relatively] small check and get an education, rather than write the big check and find out I bought a headache. YMMV

 

[Lorih]

I do hope you find your girl. And I hope we have found ours.
1 of the difficulties we ran into is that there are very few in our area. We are not in a position to travel around all ends of the US to view boats. We were also looking in areas that would have access to the Inland river system.
I am.sure just like anything, the more care and thought is put into the process the better outcome.
I hope you find that dream boat.

 

[bgary]

Amazing coincidence

1 of the difficulties we ran into is that there are very few in our area.

Same here. There was an Ericson 34-2 on the market here in Seattle over the summer, but I missed it. There is a 34-2 up on Vancouver Island that really sounds lovely but is ...uh... more than I can afford. There are a couple of 38s around, including a gorgeous specimen listed by someone here on the forums, but.... I have a 36-foot slip and a finite budget, so I can't look at those pretty, shiny things. The nearest 1980s-era 35 is in California, the next nearest one is the one in Wisconsin that you're looking at. There's a Ron Holland 36 on the market which might be really cool, but it's in Michigan. And I (personally) can't wrap my head around the thought of spending 20-25% of my boat budget on "getting the boat to Washington".

I worked through that with the 32-3 I saw.... loved the boat, but by the time I figured out the cost of hauling it at the lake, pulling the rig, emptying everything and getting it ready for the road, crane-time to get it on a truck, the move itself, plus getting it off the truck, putting it all back together and in the water out here.... it added up to more than $10k. One boat-mover told me that he "might" be able to cut $3k off the trucking bill if *I* could find him a load headed that way so he didn't have to go empty on the outbound run, but... that didn't seem like it helped the deal make sense. So even though it was a lovely boat, it was smaller than I wanted, it was "geographically undesireable, and in the end I couldn't make it "make sense" - it just felt like wasting 10k that I could have spent on sails and upgrades on a similar boat that's already here.

Maybe my thinking will change, don't know. In the meantime, though, my quest continues. One thing that hasn't changed is my love for Ericsons. I actually came back from that trip to Montana thinking "gosh, with what I might have spent for that 32-3 plus moving it, i could get a....." So, I [briefly] considered other options, such as one of the many Catalina-34s on the market around here, but I'm in accord with a previous poster, a BeneCataHunt just won't do. I also considered a number of other options, such as one of the handful of Schock-35s and J-35s on the market right now. And I looked at several C&Cs, ranging from a number of well-appointed 32-IIIs to a "project" 36, but....bottom line, none of them were right for me.

If nothing else this journey has really helped cement for me that I don't want a mobile-home that floats, and I don't want a boat I have to rebuild before I can enjoy it. I want a boat that *sails*. I want an Ericson.

 

[Lorih]

Boats

Yes we did research and ruled out all the brands we did not want . We were having a very hard time finding a hand laid solid fiberglass hull, that would be able to accommodate all our grand girls and my husband and i, and that would be nice for just a couple when it's time. I wanted some space and feeling safe and husband wants a good sailing boat and something with some speed that can handle rough weather. Oh dear God, lol
Freia has the ability to be all of this and more. And you like never find a 35 ft boat with a.separate shower area.plus being right on the mississippi. We are planning our first adventure, prep time in wisconsin then 2 weeks of rivers to get her home. Hurry up April

Ericsons don't seem Esp ez to find. I see a few 26 ft boats in Tennessee. Mostly hunters. I think buying a boat is like having kids. There is no perfect time.

 

[bgary]

awesome

We are planning our first adventure, prep time in wisconsin then 2 weeks of rivers to get her home. Hurry up April

That sounds awesome. I have thought (seriously) about buying a boat in California and bringing it up on the water. I have the time, and in the right time of year for the right boat I might just do it. but this is not the right time of year to be off Point Conception or the Astoria Bar (let alone any of the stretches of coastline with no safe harbor, in between), in a new-to-me boat.

But if we get around to next year's weather windows and I haven't found something locally, it's on the list of possible "plan B" options....