Hello, I'm considering buying a used Ericson 25 and was just wondering if anyone has any advice on common problems to watch out for when I go look at her.It's a circa 1974 (or so) model 25 with retractable centerboard. Comes with a 9hp outboard, and has spent it's entire life on a freshwater lake. She's out of the water, sitting on a trailer so I should be able to check her over pretty well.Would love to hear from anyone that has some thoughts on special things to watch out for. Especially on the centerboard system. And thoughts on Price.This would be my first boat.
Rob Hessenius
Inactive Member
E25 Cb
Dayjon- Congradulations on your boat purchase. The 25's are fine boats and hopefully you will enjoy yours as much as I do mine. You came to the right place here. you will find many threads that pertain to that model.
The centerboard on this boat is pretty simple in itself. First of all check to see if it even there. To really inspect it all you are going to have to take the board off. To do this you will have to lift the boat off the trailer enough to let it drop out. If you cant lift it off the trailer to drop the board down for inspectionits, your really going to have to take a chance. Other areas of concern, like on all boats check the chainplates and bulkheads. Look for signs of water leaks. Walk around on the deck to feel for soft spots. Check the areas that have bolted thru hardware, cleats, handrails, the mast plate. Leaky windows can be a pain too. Run the motor if possible. What you need to make sure of is its structural integrity, Cosmetic things are always fixable.
If the boat looks well maintained, most likely you wont have many issues. Take someone along that knows what there looking for. Do you have pictures of the boat? Where are you located maybe someone here is close and could help you out? Best of Luck. Rob Hessenius
Dayjon- Congradulations on your boat purchase. The 25's are fine boats and hopefully you will enjoy yours as much as I do mine. You came to the right place here. you will find many threads that pertain to that model.
The centerboard on this boat is pretty simple in itself. First of all check to see if it even there. To really inspect it all you are going to have to take the board off. To do this you will have to lift the boat off the trailer enough to let it drop out. If you cant lift it off the trailer to drop the board down for inspectionits, your really going to have to take a chance. Other areas of concern, like on all boats check the chainplates and bulkheads. Look for signs of water leaks. Walk around on the deck to feel for soft spots. Check the areas that have bolted thru hardware, cleats, handrails, the mast plate. Leaky windows can be a pain too. Run the motor if possible. What you need to make sure of is its structural integrity, Cosmetic things are always fixable.
If the boat looks well maintained, most likely you wont have many issues. Take someone along that knows what there looking for. Do you have pictures of the boat? Where are you located maybe someone here is close and could help you out? Best of Luck. Rob Hessenius
Steve Swann
Member III
What to check on an E25
Here are a few more things to look for and to consider:
Check around the centerboard pin and the fwd section of the c/b trunk for obvious cracks and stresses from groundings and abuse by a history of dropping the centerboard too hard. If you find damage here, I would hesitate buying the boat.
Also, check around the mast tabernacle for deck softness. Repairing this is a bit of a project, but doable. Another area that gets water intrusion is the bow at the very front of the "V". But this is an area that is relatively easy to dry out and fix.
Check the gudgeons and the leading edge of the rudder for groundings and abuse. This will be very obvious.
You might want to do a moisture meter test on the inside of the centerboard and the rudder for water intrusion. These might be fixable depending upon the extend of damage. Better yet, replace these altogether as these are the most common problem areas on the boats. I can give you the name of a marine company that does a nice job for both a new centerboard and a new kick-up rudder made out of HDPE, just ask if interested.
Check inside your interior lockers to see if the fiberglass tabbing has delaminated from the hull. If so, these grind and remove pretty easily and you can retab with new. Not a big deal to fix and they aren't really structural, but they do come apart here commonly on the original.
Check your bulkheads for water damage, delamination, stress, and overtightening of the bolts where the chainplates come thru the deck and attach into the wood. Also, really look closely at the chain plate attachments bolted thru the wood. They can look fine - until you unbold one and find the wood underneath crumbles in you hand. Check along the seat benches for where standing water has rotted the bottom of the bulkhead. It is a big job to replace these bulkheads. No room is the biggest problem.
The ports will likely have to be removed, cleaned and rebedded. Also needing to be replaced will be the piece between the glass and the aluminum. These are probably leaking. This is an easy job.
It goes without saying (I hope!) that if this boat is on a trailer, replace the wheel bearings before towing this boat your first time. I no longer repack the bearings; at $18.00 each, I put on new ones each year instead of repacking something that may be going to fail someday soon. It just isn't worth having problems by taking shortcuts on trailer maintenance. If your trailer tires are over 5 years old - REPLACE THEM ALL! I don't care if they still look brand new, they are at the fail point. Your new boat weighs nearly 3 tons plus the trailer. It isn't worth the risk. You're saving big bucks by not having a marina slip so put some of that money into your trailer.
Steve Swann
Seahorse
Boise, ID
Here are a few more things to look for and to consider:
Check around the centerboard pin and the fwd section of the c/b trunk for obvious cracks and stresses from groundings and abuse by a history of dropping the centerboard too hard. If you find damage here, I would hesitate buying the boat.
Also, check around the mast tabernacle for deck softness. Repairing this is a bit of a project, but doable. Another area that gets water intrusion is the bow at the very front of the "V". But this is an area that is relatively easy to dry out and fix.
Check the gudgeons and the leading edge of the rudder for groundings and abuse. This will be very obvious.
You might want to do a moisture meter test on the inside of the centerboard and the rudder for water intrusion. These might be fixable depending upon the extend of damage. Better yet, replace these altogether as these are the most common problem areas on the boats. I can give you the name of a marine company that does a nice job for both a new centerboard and a new kick-up rudder made out of HDPE, just ask if interested.
Check inside your interior lockers to see if the fiberglass tabbing has delaminated from the hull. If so, these grind and remove pretty easily and you can retab with new. Not a big deal to fix and they aren't really structural, but they do come apart here commonly on the original.
Check your bulkheads for water damage, delamination, stress, and overtightening of the bolts where the chainplates come thru the deck and attach into the wood. Also, really look closely at the chain plate attachments bolted thru the wood. They can look fine - until you unbold one and find the wood underneath crumbles in you hand. Check along the seat benches for where standing water has rotted the bottom of the bulkhead. It is a big job to replace these bulkheads. No room is the biggest problem.
The ports will likely have to be removed, cleaned and rebedded. Also needing to be replaced will be the piece between the glass and the aluminum. These are probably leaking. This is an easy job.
It goes without saying (I hope!) that if this boat is on a trailer, replace the wheel bearings before towing this boat your first time. I no longer repack the bearings; at $18.00 each, I put on new ones each year instead of repacking something that may be going to fail someday soon. It just isn't worth having problems by taking shortcuts on trailer maintenance. If your trailer tires are over 5 years old - REPLACE THEM ALL! I don't care if they still look brand new, they are at the fail point. Your new boat weighs nearly 3 tons plus the trailer. It isn't worth the risk. You're saving big bucks by not having a marina slip so put some of that money into your trailer.
Steve Swann
Seahorse
Boise, ID
Steve Swann
Member III
Scared Off, Dayjon?
Dayjon,
I hope I didn't scare you off from buying a 25. You asked what to look for and I gave you most of the possibilities. They are really not that tough to work on - especially if they are on a trailer and can be parked at home!
There is a lot of helpful advice on this forum and we CARE about our Ericsons.
Hey, buy the boat - and give us a chance!
Steve Swann
Boise, ID
Dayjon,
I hope I didn't scare you off from buying a 25. You asked what to look for and I gave you most of the possibilities. They are really not that tough to work on - especially if they are on a trailer and can be parked at home!
There is a lot of helpful advice on this forum and we CARE about our Ericsons.
Hey, buy the boat - and give us a chance!
Steve Swann
Boise, ID
Leaking Windows
<TABLE id=HB_Mail_Container height="100%" cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0 UNSELECTABLE="on"><TBODY><TR height="100%" UNSELECTABLE="on" width="100%"><TD id=HB_Focus_Element vAlign=top width="100%" background="" height=250 UNSELECTABLE="off">Steve,
I am getting some leaking around the windows of my 1974 Ericson 25 c/b, so am looking at a rebedding project in the spring. It sounds like you have tackled this job before - can you offer me any advice or tips? From everything I read, I am expecting the worst.
Thanks, Dave
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<TABLE id=HB_Mail_Container height="100%" cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0 UNSELECTABLE="on"><TBODY><TR height="100%" UNSELECTABLE="on" width="100%"><TD id=HB_Focus_Element vAlign=top width="100%" background="" height=250 UNSELECTABLE="off">Steve,
I am getting some leaking around the windows of my 1974 Ericson 25 c/b, so am looking at a rebedding project in the spring. It sounds like you have tackled this job before - can you offer me any advice or tips? From everything I read, I am expecting the worst.
Thanks, Dave
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Steve Swann
Member III
Window Rebedding
Dave,
Don't worry too much about this project; it is surprsingly easy. You can do the job in a weekend with plenty of time and do it by yourself and have time for tea. You won't have to go out and buy anything except some marine grade silicone for recaulking and perhaps some new replacement stainless screws. If your windows are cracked, make sure you buy safety glass replacements.
The worst of it for me was backing all the screws out without jimmying up the heads. Take the time to do it by hand - do not use an electric screw driver. I ended up replacing a bunch of mine because of this. Once the window screws from the inside are removed, take a wide putty knife and carefully work it into and along the outside aluminum window casing without scratching your gelcoat. Mine came apart easily with a little bit of pushing, jostling, and tugging. Be careful not to bend your window casings is the biggest thing here. You will notice when you take them apart that you have a hull liner and the outer hull. The cutouts I discovered ain't all that purty; they were sloppily cut at the factory. I ground a couple of high places to ensure the windows would go in a little better than they came out. You will likely use a putty knife to pop them back in here and there. Completely clean or replace your glass. I would not use plexi here, but then, this is just me.
Clean everything with a solvent really, really well before putting anything back into place. I took everything apart, cleaned the aluminum parts, and followed the directions on how to rebed windows on boats. Lots has been written about how to do this so go do some reading. Don't get any gelcoat restorer, or anything silcone based (other than your new caulk line) near the edges where you will need to get a good seal. Don't overuse caulk. When fully assembled, let the bead set for a while then slightly tighten the screws (about 1/4 turn) to smash the silicone bead a bit and give a pressure gasketed effect.
Make sure that IF you replace any of the screws that they are the same size as you took out. DON'T enlarge the holes and DO NOT over-tighten! Also, make sure the screws follow exaclty into the old holes because sometimes they will like to wander into new territory. I wouldn't use an electric drill at all.
Whatever you do DO NOT USE 3M 5200 on anything in this project!
Dave,
Don't worry too much about this project; it is surprsingly easy. You can do the job in a weekend with plenty of time and do it by yourself and have time for tea. You won't have to go out and buy anything except some marine grade silicone for recaulking and perhaps some new replacement stainless screws. If your windows are cracked, make sure you buy safety glass replacements.
The worst of it for me was backing all the screws out without jimmying up the heads. Take the time to do it by hand - do not use an electric screw driver. I ended up replacing a bunch of mine because of this. Once the window screws from the inside are removed, take a wide putty knife and carefully work it into and along the outside aluminum window casing without scratching your gelcoat. Mine came apart easily with a little bit of pushing, jostling, and tugging. Be careful not to bend your window casings is the biggest thing here. You will notice when you take them apart that you have a hull liner and the outer hull. The cutouts I discovered ain't all that purty; they were sloppily cut at the factory. I ground a couple of high places to ensure the windows would go in a little better than they came out. You will likely use a putty knife to pop them back in here and there. Completely clean or replace your glass. I would not use plexi here, but then, this is just me.
Clean everything with a solvent really, really well before putting anything back into place. I took everything apart, cleaned the aluminum parts, and followed the directions on how to rebed windows on boats. Lots has been written about how to do this so go do some reading. Don't get any gelcoat restorer, or anything silcone based (other than your new caulk line) near the edges where you will need to get a good seal. Don't overuse caulk. When fully assembled, let the bead set for a while then slightly tighten the screws (about 1/4 turn) to smash the silicone bead a bit and give a pressure gasketed effect.
Make sure that IF you replace any of the screws that they are the same size as you took out. DON'T enlarge the holes and DO NOT over-tighten! Also, make sure the screws follow exaclty into the old holes because sometimes they will like to wander into new territory. I wouldn't use an electric drill at all.
Whatever you do DO NOT USE 3M 5200 on anything in this project!
Rob Hessenius
Inactive Member
One thing to add
Dave- A trick that really worked for me was before I did anything I took a pencil and traced around the still in place windows. Then I pretty much did just what Steve did.
What this pencil line did for me was it allowed me to put down a line of blue 3M painters tape so when I pushed in on the outer frame and the sealant squished out, it when on the tape. I let it cure and took a artist knife and cut around the frames and then pulled the tape. This made it look nice and professional.
As Steve said, there are lots of post relating to this subject. You will find one of the most stressed point is to not ruin the exterior trim. And don't use 3M 5200 or 4200. I used 3M 4000. I will not let any silicone on my boat, except for implants (.)(.)
Take your time,
Rob Hessenius
Dave- A trick that really worked for me was before I did anything I took a pencil and traced around the still in place windows. Then I pretty much did just what Steve did.
What this pencil line did for me was it allowed me to put down a line of blue 3M painters tape so when I pushed in on the outer frame and the sealant squished out, it when on the tape. I let it cure and took a artist knife and cut around the frames and then pulled the tape. This made it look nice and professional.
As Steve said, there are lots of post relating to this subject. You will find one of the most stressed point is to not ruin the exterior trim. And don't use 3M 5200 or 4200. I used 3M 4000. I will not let any silicone on my boat, except for implants (.)(.)
Take your time,
Rob Hessenius
Thanks
Steve & Rob,
Thanks for the info - it's good to hear a couple of success stories. From what I had read about this project, I was anticipating the aluminum threads in the old frame will turn to powder, etc. Sounds like this didn't happen to either of you.
Good advice not to over-torque upon reassembly - I'll be careful with that.
I'll let you know how it goes.
Dave
Steve & Rob,
Thanks for the info - it's good to hear a couple of success stories. From what I had read about this project, I was anticipating the aluminum threads in the old frame will turn to powder, etc. Sounds like this didn't happen to either of you.
Good advice not to over-torque upon reassembly - I'll be careful with that.
I'll let you know how it goes.
Dave