"30-2 Fin w/transom hung rudder

"30-2 Fin w/transom hung rudder

I'm looking at buying this 30-2 fin w transom hung rudder E boat and I don't know much about Ericson's, I had an Islander in the past. Anyway The guy who owns her now said he doesn't trust the original diesel gas tank so he attached a plastic one. Does anyone know of a way to check for leaks without pulling the whole engine out to get to the tank? Also he said that the Main sail is a strange shape and he had a hard time finding one. Is this normal for Ericsons? The sail is new so I guess it doesn't really matter but I was just wondering because like I said I don't know much about Ericson's. Any help on this would be much appreciated.
Hopefully soon I will be a proud E owner like so many of you on this site are!"
by Cookie

I wonder how a main sail can be said to have a "strange shape"? Perhaps the present owner is not all that knowledgable about sailboats in general? (Not trying to be sarcastic, but we have a few sailboat owners in our little YC that know amazingly little about their own boat after ten or twenty years!)

As for "trusting" the factory diesel tank, either it leaks or it doesn't. Given the age, though, it might be good to inspect it thoroughly. Often, these original tanks are indeed removable, but only with some ingenuity and difficulty. A friend of ours with an E-33RH, replaced the old water heater tank by having the cockpit seat hatch opening cut away by about 3 strategic inches... and then the section was beautifully replaced and the work is near invisible... and it could still be removed easily for any future access.
A bit of head-scratching went into planning that project.

Transom rudders are a LOT less complex to maintain over the years. I once reinforced the gudgeon mountings on the inside of our prior boat with its transom rudder.
Gotta say that it was much easier than any sort of project would be on our present boat with its rudder tube, stuffing box, quadrant and cables and sheaves.
Tiller steering is more reliable and has a fraction of the parts to go wrong over the decades. Adding an autopilot is less expensive as well.

(Not like I have an opinion or anything, though)


Regards,
Loren

Don't buy anything without a professional survey.

It will help to add your location to the profile. Nearby owners may know boats for sale and can make other valuable local recommendations.

Christian Williams said:

Don't buy anything without a professional survey.

It will help to add your location to the profile. Nearby owners may know boats for sale and can make other valuable local recommendations.

Click to expand...

Excellent advice.
For instance, if the referenced boat was the one for sale in PDX, the long time former owner is a member of my YC and knows a Lot about his former boat's equipment, history, and capabilities.
http://www.yachtworld.com/core/list...&&hosturl=passion-yachts&&ywo=passion-yachts&

Loren

Thanks

Going to update my profile.
Thanks for all the advice!!!!!

I have 30-2 #25.
We love it, have cruised extensively and raced her quite successfully.
The strange shape comment may refer to the fact that the main is a very high-aspect sail. The boom is only 11' long, the power in the rig comes from the foresail, and a 150 is too much most of the time. We sail with a suite of several 140s, a blade (about 100%) and a very small storm sail. The Main has two reefs.
She handles like a dream and the outboard rudder spins her on a dime.