St. Pete/Tampa area Ericson owners

I'm relatively new to sailing and currently looking for a sailboat in the 25 to 28 foot range. Two near the top of my wish list are the Ericson 25+ and the Ericson 27. None are available for sale locally and my search has largely involved reading about each online, and looking at listings, few of which are in driving distance. Unfortunately, I've never been onboard either boat and I'm hoping someone nearby might be able to fix that. I would be happy to buy lunch, dinner, or drinks for anyone willing to show me their boat so I can get a better feel for it, and talk to me about what they like/don't like about the model. Anyone willing to help me out?

Scott Burnett

Welcome

Hi Scott,
Welcome to the Ericson site. You should be able to get a few responses. I know of at least one Ericson in your size range kept in the Treasure Island area. Tony frequents this site as Sea Rogue.

I keep an E38 in the Broadwater area, but live in Orlando so I am not always around. The members of the forum that have these boats are very happy with them and like to share tips. This particular portion of the forum does not get as much action as the technical portions. I suggest that you repeat your post in the For Sale/Wanted portion. It might get more eyes.

Thank you for the response and tip Bill. I will certainly do that.
As it happens, I just moved to Broadwater last May. We have been sailing a small ketch a friend has been keeping at our dock. Otherwise I've been dreaming of a bigger boat, particularly after seeing some of the beauties in the neighborhood.

Broadwater

There are a lot of nice people in Broadwater. We met many at the picnic at Desoto Park. There are a couple of of clubs in St Pete that might be an affordable alternative to get you into larger boats. A friend in California joined a club and sails a great deal more than I do. No maintenance and little cleanup.

There sure are. We met more people in Broadwater in our first two weeks than we had in our prior neighborhood in two years. Unfortunately, we weren't able to make it to the Fort DeSoto picnic but hope to make it to one of the neighborhood functions soon.
Good idea about the larger boats, though I'm sure a 25-27 foot Ericson will keep me plenty busy and happy.

stop by any time

Scott,

I have a 1985 Ericson 32-3 at my home in Treasure Island. You are welcome to stop by any time that I am there and I will show you the boat. I actually live in Orlando and I am usually in Treasure Islando on the weekends.

My boat is under maintenance at the moment. I bought it a couple of months ago and I am replacing sails, rigging, etc now. I plan to be there this coming weekend. If you send me a message here I will provide you with my phone number and address in TI.

Tony Johnson

Ericson 30+ Tampa Bay area

Scott:

I have a 1980 Ericson 30+ in complete overhual. You can get a good idea of how the boat was made at that time. I'm in Apollo Beach if you are interested in seeing the boat. send me an email at bahlgren@verizon.net

Brad