Advice on installing air conditioning in 1994 Ericson 380

[Leslie Newman]

Hello. I am a new owner of a 1994 Ericson 380. At some point I will install air conditioning and was wondering what others have done regarding A/C in an Ericson 38 (380)?
In searching this forum I only found one older thread regarding air conditioning. Was hoping there might be more information available now regarding best location of the unit, routing of the ducts, where to mount the water pump and such.
Any advice appreciated.

Also, this sailboat is totally new to me and my wife. Any pointers regarding this model are greatly appreciated. Our previous boats over the past 30 years have been a Catalina 22, Catalina 27, O'Day 34 and last boat was a CAL 33-2.

Thanks,
Leslie Newman
Doswell, VA

[Geoff43]

Hello. I am a new owner of a 1994 Ericson 380. At some point I will install air conditioning and was wondering what others have done regarding A/C in an Ericson 38 (380)?
In searching this forum I only found one older thread regarding air conditioning. Was hoping there might be more information available now regarding best location of the unit, routing of the ducts, where to mount the water pump and such.
Any advice appreciated.

Also, this sailboat is totally new to me and my wife. Any pointers regarding this model are greatly appreciated. Our previous boats over the past 30 years have been a Catalina 22, Catalina 27, O'Day 34 and last boat was a CAL 33-2.

Thanks,
Leslie Newman
Doswell, VA

I have an '89 38-200 series that had a/c when I purchased it in Maryland. I and the boat moved to the Northwest where ac is worthless, so i removed it. The unit was installed in the locker under the forward berth and that is where the pump and through hull were located. The venting was down the port side, behind the salon back cushions. Hope this helps a little bit.

Geoff Giffin
Water Rat

[Christian Williams]

>>>Any pointers regarding this model

Welcome, Leslie. I can't think of anything specific to the 38 that you don't already know--which is probably good .

One thing I have found, moving up from a 32, is that Spectra lazy jacks are a big help. I was a disbeliever, but the 38 main is fairly large and the new low-profile lazy jacks work well and in gray are almost invisible. I had the sail cover cut to accommodate them, which I wouldn't do again. I'd stick with a standard cover and run the lines forward when dousing at the dock.

Maybe you have them already. Congrats on the new boat.

[Leslie Newman]

>>>Any pointers regarding this model

Welcome, Leslie. I can't think of anything specific to the 38 that you don't already know--which is probably good .

One thing I have found, moving up from a 32, is that Spectra lazy jacks are a big help. I was a disbeliever, but the 38 main is fairly large and the new low-profile lazy jacks work well and in gray are almost invisible. I had the sail cover cut to accommodate them, which I wouldn't do again. I'd stick with a standard cover and run the lines forward when dousing at the dock.

Maybe you have them already. Congrats on the new boat.

Thank you for the suggestions and thanks, we love the boat. Our CAL had lazy jacks and we liked having them. I agree regarding not having the cover cut for the lazy jacks. We made our cover and did cut the cover for the lines (as the previous cover had) and later wished we had not cut for them. I am thinking about a 'stack pack' type sail cover in the near future for our Ericson, once we get the boat home. That was on my list of wants for our last boat. Seems it would be nice to just zip up the sail cover and walk away. We have never been racers (well, we're always racing, but...), except we have entered into a friendly charity race the past few years. Hospice Turkey Shoot Regatta on the Rappahannock. Old boats racing for charity. So any performance loss, if any, from a stack pack I think I can deal with.

Once I dig into installing the air conditioning I will share with this thread. Someone on this site was kind enough to send me pictures of their E35-3 A/C installation. I've been going over their pictures and once 'Osprey' is home I'll be able to compare and see what works on the E38.
Regards.

[Navman]

Welcome to the site Leslie and congrats on the boat. Another Ericson on the Chesapeake! Hope to see you out there. We are above the bay bridge on Worton Creek but go South early in the season for a 2 week trip. When are you bringing her down?

[Leslie Newman]

Welcome to the site Leslie and congrats on the boat. Another Ericson on the Chesapeake! Hope to see you out there. We are above the bay bridge on Worton Creek but go South early in the season for a 2 week trip. When are you bringing her down?

Thanks. Hello. We are really excited to be Ericson owners. I am reading everything I can about the brand and this boat. We are coming down from South Dartmouth, leaving May 26th and taking a two week vacation. Probably late in the season, but it was recommended that up there the weather is best starting late May. We typically put in much earlier at home. Wife and I are pretty excited about the trip. We've always sailed the Chesapeake these past thirty years, so very excited to be getting into new waters. Not sure timing, as we have never sailed those waters. But would be good to stay in touch and maybe we could stop by.