Ericson 30-1 prop alignment

[Deborah Klaus]

When I first got my Ericson last month I wrote asking about the underbody of the boat ( I haven't seen mine out of the water and I know it has rudder damage) and was given some very good information--to contact Bruce King for the line drawings. This I did and received them. My question is has anyone changed the prop from behind the rudder to in front of it? If the prop was left as is how does the boat handle? I have never seen this before and it seems not to be a practical design. Information and opinions, please....

[Morgan Stinemetz]

My guess is that if Bruce King designed it that way, he had a pretty good reason for it.
Morgan Stinemetz

[Deborah Klaus]

drag the way it is designed--do you have a 30-1---do you know from personal experience how it handles? If this is a problem area on the boat--while I am restoring--I would rather address the issue now than take her sailing only to be disappointed in performance and have to haul out and correct.

[Seth]

You are correct that this is a very unusual confirguration for a prop, but as Morgan sez: "If BK designed it that way....."

I can't really see a handling problem at all-in fact, I think the dreaded "prop-walk" problem could be greatly minimized by this configuration-may be completely-since outboard driven sailboats do not suffer from this problem.

The only negatives I see are that the prop is not as well protected as it might be between the rudder and keel, and maybe it could cavitate when motoring into a big sea-But since this has not been an issue of much discussion, my guess it that it has proven a functional, if unusual setup.

As has been suggested already-there is no reason to change it-at least until you find a real reason to. Handling should be fine-maybe improved in reverse (compared the 27,29,32,25 models).

Put the boat together and GO SAILING!

Oh, yeah: but keep us posted!

Cheers

[Deborah Klaus]

someone who has this design....seems there was a post about this right after I started reading, but I can't remember where I saw it....also, what I remember about the post--it was a negative on the location of the prop.... Designers try new things all the time that aren't functional and there was another 30' designed that year with an outboard rudder and different prop alignment....

[Martin King]

Yeah it's a little unusual but I sailed many times on a buddy's
old 30-1 and it handled fine. Trying to make major design
changes like what you are contemplating usually aren't worth
the time or money and in the end may end up hurting performance
and the resale value of the boat. I would suggest you use the boat
as is for a time and give it some more consideration.

Martin

[Deborah Klaus]

I haven't said anything about changing the prop position--I asked how the boat handled. Someone on this forum posted something about it being a problem but I can't find the post. So far I haven't gotten an answer to my question. However, I have contacted Bruce King--so once I hear from him, I will understand why he designed the prop this way. Also, I am not changing anything because the rudder and skeg are broken, bent back under the transom, and the prop is gone with the shaft hole plugged ... the hull sealed where it was. I am putting an engine, prop and shaft back in the boat and replacing the rudder...so right now it is easy to put whatever--after I replace it, if it doesn't work right--then I have a problem. There is nothing there now. I guess I didn't frame my question clearly enough. This boat is a hurricane victim and before that she was abused. I am restoring the boat. I want her to be right--I plan to go cruising and am trying to make sure the problems are taken care of in advance. Thank you for all your comments. I know you think I am changing the boat--but I am not--why I asked about the underbody--right now I have only a fin keel....

[Deborah Klaus]

I got a reply from Bruce King regarding the prop placement in my Ericson 30-1 and it is what a surmised--the prop was placed above and behind the rudder/skeg to avoid prop drag while undersail. So that takes care of that....thanks to those of you who responded....