Outboard Motor and Ericson 32

I have an Ericson 32, 1970 with a gas engine that is not working and it might never work. I want to move her from Sausalito, CA to the Sacramento Delta with a Honda 20 hp outboard I had on another boat. I can sail for a good portion of the trip, but I don't feel safe without secondary power. Will it work?
Thanks.
Mario.

It depends on weather, wind, and other boating traffic. For starting out, the middle part, and docking safely at the destination.

If all is in your favor you could use a dinghy with a 5 hp OB for a tow or push boat. Maybe.
I know a guy that used a smaller OB than that to move his 17K cutter over a hundred miles from southern Alaska to Puget Sound when the torque plate on his engine fell apart. He often had to anchor until the tide changed direction.

Around here, I would call our local TowBoatUS (formerly known as Vessel Assist for BoatUS) and he would tow us the whole distance or just meet us outside the new marina and tow us in.

Hope you find a workable solution.

Chiming in just to welcome you aboard.

Thank you much.

Christian Williams said:

Chiming in just to welcome you aboard.

Click to expand...

mario said:

I have an Ericson 32, 1970 with a gas engine that is not working and it might never work. I want to move her from Sausalito, CA to the Sacramento Delta with a Honda 20 hp outboard I had on another boat. I can sail for a good portion of the trip, but I don't feel safe without secondary power. Will it work?
Thanks.
Mario.

Click to expand...

As the long time owner of an E32, a dingy can indeed move/tow you along nicely as stated. THAT being said, I’ve learned over the years that “Murphy’s Law” is superseded by “O’Toole’s Law” - especially in maritime circumstances/situations!

(...Murphy’s Law of whatever will/can go wrong WILL - at THE worst possible time while O’Toole correctly stated that Murphy was an overwhelming OPTIMIST!!!!)

Just be as ready as you can for THE worst to happen! The 32 is NOT easily adaptable to outboard power given her stern’s design and height. Towing with your tender is really the only real option other than fixing your inboard power source, which I would highly recommend.

Safe Travels!
-kerry

A 20hp outboard would require a pretty strong mount and reinforcing the stern. I had a temporary mount come apart with the outboard running in my younger, less experienced days. You don't want that happening!

I have found that 8hp on my rubber dingy will give me almost 5 knots in calm water. It will push my 34 around a marina with the dink tied bow and stern to the rear quarter of my 34 footer. It would not work bucking a heavy head sea but the run you are talking about is down wind to beam reach. My 34 is awesomely fast in light air and I think the 32-3 would be as it is a slightly smaller version of mine. I don't have experience with the earlier versions. Perhaps some of the guys that own one can chime in. The secret will to be sure you have some qualified crew aboard and someone qualified that can follow your instructions in the dink. A little practice around a plastic mooring buoy doesn't hurt either. Big fenders are a plus.

Hey Mario, welcome to the forum.
I am guessing you have an Atomic 4 engine. 40,000 of them were put in boats. When all is done if you want to get it running look here: http://www.moyermarineforum.com/forums/index.php.
If that is the engine you have- they really are easy to keep running reliably.

hen it would requier

One important thing I've found with carbureted engines is don't use the ethanol laced gas that you buy at the local gas station. The ethanol messes up the carburetor in these engines. If the pump at the marina has ethanol, don't use it. It will plug up the little carburetor. Ethanol laced fuel also has a short shelf life compared to straight gasoline. Three months max before separation. I use the ethanol free gas in all my yard equipment, my outboard and my classic cars. My engine problems with this equipment disappeared after changing fuel.

There is really no reason to put ethanol in gasoline. It has to be shipped by truck or rail from the Midwest. It does substitute for some gas but you get less fuel economy and it costs a lot of people cash for repairs. It does, however, make corn farmers deliriously happy and the Senators in those states pleased that they catered to a powerful lobby.

We have ethanol free gas at our marina but the marina only switched to it last year so ask the attendant. We also have two sources in town and we are a small town. Ask around. Your small engines will love you for it.

The first step in checking for your problem would be to check the compression. This will determine if the engine is sound or not. An oil sample sent for analysis is very helpful in reading engine condition. Assuming the engine is sound, the likely culprits are ignition and carburation. Change the points, condenser, rotor, wires and plugs. Look at the plugs. See if the electrodes have damage. excessive oil, etc.
Set the points to the factory setting. If it still doesn't start, pull a plug and sniff it. If it is flooding, the electrode will be sopped in gasoline. A new float will solve the problem. If fuel is not getting to the cylinders, there will be no gas smell. The problem could be as simple as a stuck float or there could be plugged passages caused by ethanol fuel. Then it would require a carb boil out and rebuild. Even if the engine needs a rebuild, the Atomic 4's are a simple engine to rebuild.

Good luck with the troubleshooting.

Can't see why you would need so much Hp. 9.8 is overkill on my E27. Long shaft is a good idea. I have made the trip several times from SF to Antioch. Leave on a flood. Once you are past Pinole and prevailing winds make it a downwind trip. You can ride the incoming almost all the way to Stockton if you time it right. Good luck. Hope to see you on the delta.

I already have the motor and a bracket I took off a Catalina 25, so it's also convenient to use it. I know the design of the boat would make it angle funny, but I think I can figure out ho to make it vertical. I had a 9.5hp(?) Honda on the C25 that got stolen and it was enough. I wonder how the weight of the 20 hp will affect the displacement of the boat.

G Kiba said:

Can't see why you would need so much Hp. 9.8 is overkill on my E27. Long shaft is a good idea. I have made the trip several times from SF to Antioch. Leave on a flood. Once you are past Pinole and prevailing winds make it a downwind trip. You can ride the incoming almost all the way to Stockton if you time it right. Good luck. Hope to see you on the delta.

Click to expand...

I'm with Christian here...don't put a 20HP engine on an E32, convenient or otherwise. The transom isn't built for that kind of weight, it'll put the boat way off her lines, it's an absurd amount of HP, and the Atomic Four is eminently repairable. Tow with a dinghy alongside until you get the engine sorted out.

You had that on a Catalina 25? Could you post a picture of that?