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Can anyone tell me what year this E38 is?

ofshore74

Member III
Each morning at 6am I jog by a boat not far from my front door. I have been silently eyeballing it for four months now. It has no "Ericson" emblem just a name "Quartet" with "Vancouver" and a tiny "Marina Del Ray" under it. It's canvas is sun-bleached and tattered, the saltwater has aged the gelcoat and it's a 7 out of 10. It has many of the same windows, colors, curves and heavy rigging that I saw on a 32-2 that I inspected a few months ago, and the equipment and construction are very much the same. And I like this boat.

My failed attempts of walking by casually and praising Bruce King design to the owner (who never seems to be at the boat) have failed. No one is ever there. So I gave up and figured I'd snap a few photos and post them on here for clarity from the experts. At this point I'm thinking it certainly IS an Ericson 38. But can anyone tell me what year? If it is the one with the booth seating to starboard, I'm not a fan. But if it is the mid to late 80s model I might just send a paper airplane with my number on it sailing into the cockpit, asking the owner if he/she is interested in selling it to me. Can anyone enlighten me?

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markvone

Sustaining Member
It MAY be your lucky day.

I'm pretty sure by the little hatch just forward of the mast under the stainless guard and (mostly) by the small port furthest aft that she is a 1986 or newer 38-200 with the aft head and cabin.

I'd wait for the sharp eyed E38 experts to confirm or burst your bubble before flying into controlled airspace. :)

If you can get close enough to see the upper stbd corner of the transom where the HIN is stamped it will confirm the model and year: ERYxx000yyyy. Where xx is the model and yyyy is the year code per the link below.

http://boatsafe.com/nauticalknowhow/hin.htm

Good Luck!

Mark
 
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Christian Williams

E381 - Los Angeles
Senior Moderator
Blogs Author
The E381 (early '80s) has a dorade box with two vents before the mast, and the companionway is flush with the cockpit, rather than indented as on this boat.

To me that suggests 38-200.
 

ofshore74

Member III
I'm pretty sure by the little hatch just forward of the mast under the stainless guard and (mostly) by the small port furthest aft that she is a 1986 or newer 38-200 with the aft head and cabin.

I'd wait for the sharp eyed E38 experts to confirm or burst your bubble before flying into controlled airspace. :)

If you can get close enough to see the upper stbd corner of the transom where the HIN is stamped it will confirm the model and year: ERYxx000yyyy. Where xx is the model and yyyy is the year code per the link below.

http://boatsafe.com/nauticalknowhow/hin.htm

Good Luck!

Mark

Thanks Mark. Will bring my camera with zoom next time I'm near the dock to see if I can get a shot of the HIN. Dug up a couple of photos with the described forward hatch of 38-2s and it appears they are 88 - 91 when they started the aft head. The second photo is of a 1982 38-2.

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ofshore74

Member III
The E381 (early '80s) has a dorade box with two vents before the mast, and the companionway is flush with the cockpit, rather than indented as on this boat.

To me that suggests 38-200.

Thanks, I wonder why they changed the layout/design later on, I guess people preferred an aft head and hatch versus dorades? Interesting. Still a nice boat.
 
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ofshore74

Member III
I just went by the Marina to ask about recreational moorage, while there I mentioned the boat and asked about contacting the owner. Got their name and number. Just called. Asked if she would ever consider selling it? Her answer "NEVER!" oh well, I tried.
 

markvone

Sustaining Member
offshore74,

They added the 38-200 in 1986 to match the then new aft head/aft cabin "Euro" designs. They did still offer the original design as well, which is what trenton must have. It would be interesting to see what the percentage of each model ordered was. You won't be able to tell which model E38 it is from the HIN but I'm pretty sure the recessed companionway that Christian noticed and the little aft ports indicate the aft cabin/aft head E38-200 model.

Mark
 

trenton

Member I
To beat the old horse some more. Ours is the 38-200 with aft head etc. It has the dorade box and vents just forward of the mast. It is an 87 model. go go figure
trenton
 

Christian Williams

E381 - Los Angeles
Senior Moderator
Blogs Author
As we ponder model differences, how popular were halyard winches on the deck in this position?

Wait a minute. Check out the split grab rail with molded winch mount (?), the portlights, the dorade box guard.

Are we sure this is an Ericson?

1982 Ericson 38.jpg
 
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markvone

Sustaining Member
trenton,

Good info. I think the little hatch or dorade vent forward of the mast must have been an option at some point on the E38s and not a model change along the way.

Christian,

I've seen a few E36RHs and older E37/39s with the winches located around the mast. I think this was specified by folks looking to race their Ericsons. It gets the halyards and mast/pit man out of the small cockpit. They had a winch (and usually a cleat) for each line prior to the invention/acceptance of line clutches. Very racy in the '70-80s. I have the aft-led version of this winch farm still on my aft cabin top, six little Barient #18s and six cleats behind them. I still need to install the two ST winches I have and more clutches.

Those ports are Bomars. I have one in my quarter berth. My forward ports a cast aluminum Goiots which closely match my cast aluminum Atkins Hoyle hatches. It must be an early 80s boat. Already has Lewmar hatches, unless they were replaced.

I think the split in the hand rail is actually not a winch pad but for the chimney for the wood stove that the early E38s had as an option. All the little details of the non-skid, the gelcoat areas, hand rails, etc look exactly like the deck on my 1981 E36RH.

I've been looking for a E38 layout picture to markup to show how Ericson modified the deck and cabin top on the E38-200 to get head room below to stand in the aft cabin and aft head. Because the engine and companionway ladder did not move on the E38-200, but the cabin top was extended aft on both sides to increase the standing area below in the aft qtr cabin and aft head, there is the recess. I think the fwd end of the cockpit lost some space as a result unless Ericson stretched it aft to compensate. Anyway, the recessed entry and little aft ports are the real indicator of the -200 model E38.
 
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Roger

Member II
I just came across this thread. You’re definitely looking at a 38-200, as evidenced by the small aft opening portlights, inset companionway and newer style deck a la E-34 and E-32-3 (note the recessed handrails). The 38-200 shared the same hull, rudder and keel as the 38/381, but had an entirely new deck and interior. If I ever sell my 32-3, this model would be at the top on my list as a replacement!

Your other photo is of a standard E-38. The “winch base” you noted is indeed a deck fitting for a Charlie Noble vent for a small heater (Dickinson Marine, I believe) that, IIRC, was standard.

On the 38/381, halyards led aft to the cockpit was an option. It all got quite complicated, taking the various options (boom vang, reefing, spinnaker gear, …) into account. We had a document showing something like 16 different deck layout permutations. We eventually realized that most customers were ordering the halyards led aft option, and made it standard on the 38-200 (it has molded-in winch bases on the cabin top), including 4 winches. Made things much simpler. The cost of an extra winch or two was probably more than offset by the reduced complexity and elimination of errors.:egrin:
 

ofshore74

Member III

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Roger

Member II
Roger, do you know if the inset companionway reduces the size of the cockpit (vs. the prior design)?

I'm not at all certain, but I think the cockpit lengths are about the same. The interior of the 38-200 was pushed forward (the mast is in the middle of the dinette table) relative to the 38. The companionway steps moved forward, with the inset making up the difference.
 
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