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Newb looking at an E35-2 for liveaboard cruising; input please!

K2sail

New Member
Newb here.

Preparing to retire & go ''liveaboard cruising'' ...minimalist & solo.

Sailed on & off over the years & owned sport boats such as Mistral 410, Tornado, Super Cat 19', Mega 30 & others ...but this, on lakes only.

Single hand sailing critaria had me going no more than 32' (Endeavor 32 to be precise) but found a late 70's E35-2 to my liking & budget; it's no spring chicken but quality built & was freshwater daysailed for the last 12 years, at least.

The E35-2 is on the hard in the Toronto area, I'm in Québec & just about to have it surveyed to determine if worth pursuing any further &, if so, fork out a conditional deposit till driving down for the ''in water' part of the Survey in April & the buy.
It has an atomic 4 that the seller describes a well taken care of & reliable ...but it's most likely original & hasn't been rebuilt to his 12 years owning it.

Also,
Come late May, I plan to sail it solo across lake Ontario, unstep the mast once in Oswego then motor the intracoastal canals to Lake Champlain south, step the mast & sail up to Quebec.

Got one more year to go before retirement; perfect time opportunity to prep the boat & acquire enough knowledge & experience to start the real journey next year.

Here goes:

- Anything to look out for on the E35-2? (known weak points, deal breakers etc ...)

- Feasible to single hand an E35-2 on this route with little experience depending on an old atomic 4 engine even if the Survey results indicate that it's seems to be good to go?

- Allowing 4 weeks to do so, is it enough starting mid-may or early june?

- Any idea of fuel costs for this journey? (Gas engine)

Your input would be much appreciated!
 
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Afrakes

Sustaining Member
The long route

Are you taking the long route as a shake down cruise. Why not across northern Lake Ontario to the St. Lawrence and on up to Quebec. Can't sail from Lake Champlain up the river and canal to the St. Lawrence above Montreal. You have to drop the mast again.
 

K2sail

New Member
Are you taking the long route as a shake down cruise. Why not across northern Lake Ontario to the St. Lawrence and on up to Quebec. Can't sail from Lake Champlain up the river and canal to the St. Lawrence above Montreal. You have to drop the mast again.

The St-Laurence was my first choice as it looked simpler at first glance
but...
the combination of easterly winds, risks of bad weather in strong currents (even going with the flow) & commercially busy waterway & locks of the St-Laurence route seems much more of a challenge than the Erie canal alternative; ...more so for an inexperieced single handed sailor on a ''new'' old sailboat aiming to anchor out nights as much as possible.

This is based on my interpretation of bits of info found while lurking on the net & it's all I've had to go by till now; please correct me if wrong.
 

toddster

Curator of Broken Parts
Blogs Author
Before setting out on a shakedown, there is probably a significant amount of maintenance that should be done on even a well-cared for atomic4 that has been idle for a while. Change impellers, belts, hoses, filters, ignition components, etc. Old rubber bits will get you away from the dock, then fail spectacularly just when you really need engine power. If you get that far in the process, you can probably get a good checklist over on the forums at moyermarine.com.
 

Afrakes

Sustaining Member
Locks, locks and more locks

Navigating all of those locks single handed and having to unstep and step the mast a number of times gives disaster plenty of chances to happen. If you give yourself 4 weeks for the move I'm sure that you'll be able to move on days where the winds are favorable. That and you'll have the current helping as well. Ditto on the pre journey maintenance.
 

celtic sea

Member III
Hi. the E35-2 is a great boat! I have the same plan, going to retire next summer 2018, working this year for boat funds, live aboard and taking her south through the ICW to Florida and we'll see (beyond). Currently working and have sold everything already and living on the cheap I'm putting all the funds into the boat to refit the last items needed, ie: electronics, dinghy, new anchor, some misc. items. The prior owner had completed a refit of the major items! ie: chainplates, rigging, new Yanmar, shaft & rudder log.etc. I will also be living aboard an E35-2, I don't see any issues.... Good luck!

John
1975 E35-2
#413
DIJAN
 

EGregerson

Member III
the locks

You can't single hand thru the locks;they require 3 on board. (in canada). I got stopped at St Jean sur Richelieu at the entry to the Chambly canal. My understanding is the same for the other 2 lock systems. You might consider getting a captain and Mate to accompany u to Quebec thru the seaway. You wouldn't have to drop the mast; which would offset the cost of the crew to some extent. I suspect it is quite daunting transitting locks with ships like those on the st Lawrence. A professional crew would calm those waters. I don't know the mast height of your boat; but my 34 is 51'; probably close to yours. so it hangs over each end by 8'. I left the mast at a marina when doing the erie canal; didn't see any boats carrying a mast that long except 1 other Ericson; he said he had no difficulties. But when a breeze pipes up as ur releasing the line, the wind can turn u sideways in the lock. I had this happen once; in 100+ lock transits. But if I had the mast on deck, I might have picked up a dent or scrape. Good luck in ur venture. U'll love the boat.

ps; i get 10 mpg with a 28 hp diesel

ps 2: that time of year the mohawk river can have a lots of (rushing muddy) water (depending on snow melt etc); My experience found the erie canal closed for a month; check the NY canal system web site for status updates!
 
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JamesC

Junior Member
Looking at the same E35-2

I'm new at this so please accept my apologies if I breach proper etiquette here. I looked at the same E35-2 yesterday. The owner said he didn't have any offers. Can you tell me why your sale didn't go through? Are there problems with that boat that I didn't see? Has a survey on the hard been done? I am interested in the boat, but I see that a lot of things would have to be added by a new owner and the price doesn't reflect that. I'm hoping you can help if you are no longer interested in buying.
Thanks,
JamesC
 

Loren Beach

O34 - Portland, OR
Senior Moderator
Blogs Author
The person that started this thread has not checked in since.

You might click on his screen name and just send your questions to him directly at his email or "direct contact" address.

Is the boat listed with a broker?

Good luck,
Loren
 

JamesC

Junior Member
Looking at the same boat

The person that started this thread has not checked in since.

You might click on his screen name and just send your questions to him directly at his email or "direct contact" address.

Is the boat listed with a broker?

Good luck,
Loren

Thanks. I've sent a private message. The boat isn't listed with a broker. The owner says the broker would charge him $2,500.
JamesC
 

Christian Williams

E381 - Los Angeles
Senior Moderator
Blogs Author
Is it on eBay or Craig's List? Forum comments on listings are often useful.

And yes, most brokers charge about 10 percent of the sale price, with a minimum--apparently in this case of $2500 (our local minimum is higher than that).
 

JamesC

Junior Member
Looking at the same boat

Is it on eBay or Craig's List? Forum comments on listings are often useful.

And yes, most brokers charge about 10 percent of the sale price, with a minimum--apparently in this case of $2500 (our local minimum is higher than that).


It is only on Kijiji for Ontario.
JamesC
 

Christian Williams

E381 - Los Angeles
Senior Moderator
Blogs Author
James,

The asking price describes a very old Ericson (1972). That's a low price for a big boat.

A 35-foot boat is a handful all around, slip fees, haul-outs, gear replacement--everything is more than it would be with a 23-footer.

However, if as the ad says the engine works and the sails are really pretty good and the owner has actually been sailing it, the boat may have its charms.

It might be a potentially worthy project for a person longing to spend every nickel and all his time on it, and with a personal history of similar illogical but oddly rewarding commitments.

After spending five years and about 20 grand more, not counting your own labor, you can always sell it for $18,995.

http://www.kijiji.ca/v-sailboat/cit...at/1240820916?enableSearchNavigationFlag=true
 
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JamesC

Junior Member
Ericson 29

I appreciate the advice. Any thoughts about an Ericson 29 1973? I'm going to look at it today. (kijiji Barrie Ontario)



A 35-foot boat is a handful all around, slip fees, haul-outs, gear replacement--everything is more than it would be with a 23-footer.

However, if as the ad says the engine works and the sails are really pretty good and the owner has actually been sailing it, the boat may have its charms.

It might be a potentially worthy project for a person longing to spend every nickel and all his time on it, and with a personal history of similar illogical but oddly rewarding commitments.

After spending five years and about 20 grand more, not counting your own labor, you can always sell it for $18,995.

http://www.kijiji.ca/v-sailboat/cit...at/1240820916?enableSearchNavigationFlag=true[/QUOTE]


I appreciate the advice.I'mstillthinkingaboutitbecauseitissuchabeautifulba
 

toddster

Curator of Broken Parts
Blogs Author
The 29 is just under the magic 30-foot measurement, allowing you to sneak into smaller slips, buy smaller hardware, manhandle it around when needed, and in a pinch you can trailer it down the highway. It does bob around a bit more than larger boats and can be kind of squirrelly with following seas.

The accommodations are surprisingly spacious for its size, which may be a function of the big open double quarter berth. There are two different interior layouts and two different cockpits. Those pics aren't very explicit, but it looks like a Mk I layout (good, I've decided) with a divided cockpit and wheel steering (bad, I've decided).

As discussed in other threads, it's "faults" for cruising include lack of tankage, a too large and poorly drained cockpit, lack of storage, and the spade rudder. Most of which can be addressed. We know of at least one that has crossed the Pacific.

I always thought that I would move up to a 40-ish footer for livaboard retirement cruising, but lately the idea of sticking with the E29 had been growing on me. The one thing that seems hard to reconcile is finding a good place to put a scuba compressor. But that is even a problem on many larger boats.
 
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