Hi Carl,
I grew up by Lake Ontario, so know what it's like to sail that lake, though I don't know the other Great Lakes well. I now live on Vancouver Island where we have owned our 1984 Ericson 30+ for the past ten years, sailing the Gulf Islands, San Juan Islands, Desolation Sound and Sunshine Coast areas. We owned two other boats before we bought our E30+.
I sail our boat year round, single-handing it about 70% of the time as my wife doesn't like sailing from October through April, and I often go out on my own in the summer time as well, often for a few days at a time to anchor out in the various bays here. The E30+ is an ideal boat for this purpose as it is strong enough to handle winds (I've sailed in 35 knot winds and six foot waves here, though not always by choice!), yet is small and light enough to sail well in light winds and to manoevre in tight marinas. She is very responsive and forgiving--can you tell I love our boat?
I just had ours surveyed for insurance purposes, and both this survey and the one I had done five years ago had no findings/recommendations for repair, which I think is almost unheard of in the marine industry. The surveyor couldn't say enough positives about this boat and strongly advised that I never sell her--"she's so beautiful, such a honey" he said!
As with any older boat, you should get her surveyed and check everything carefully, as any boat that has not been maintained well will show problems. Areas to look for on this boat are the mast step/compression post--in ours a boatyard had previously installed a metal reinforcing plate inside the boat under the mast step to support and spread the load a bit better; chainplates and related bulkheads should be checked for leaks and resulting rot; the ports eventually leak allowing water to seep in behind the teak which surrounds the ports; the anchor locker bedding can leak, allowing water in the bow area to seep along the V-berth and behind the vinyl eventually showing up in the holding tank area or the head--easy fix, but nevertheless a potential problem; the cabin top traveller (depending on which year E30+ you're considering) can leak and run down across the headliner.
From a functional perspective, my only criticism is that there is a bit of a shortage in storage, even though there are lockers under all the seats, but some Ericsons have more shelving and drawers. The quarterberth takes up the space of the starboard cockpit locker, so although the port locker is very large, there is nevertheless only one large cockpit locker and a couple small stern lockers.
I have never regretted buying our boat. I love how she sails, and our guests and others often comment on her beauty.
If you have any other specific questions, let us know. Others will likely also comment on these boats.
Frank
