Second Wind
Junior Member
I am sure that mine is this bad- I just can't see it yet....
Wow, thanks for the response. I happen to be vacationing in Montana with my sort-of sister-in-law and her husband, so I am on the computer limitedly this week. Next week I'll be back to normal. Since I bought both my E25 and E23 this year and have yet to put either one in the water, I have questions on theory but not practical experience. We have been sailing an M22 which is very light and tender and based on the many comments of how well the Ericsons sail, we cannot wait to get them in the water. At Lake Mead, our racing season is October through May, stopping for the extreme heat. We have the advantage of being able to trailer to the coast when the racing season ends in May, but this is all hypothetical. The PHRF rating of the M22 is 264, so it is not much of a contender (read- pretty slow).
I looked at E23 swing keel issues and I will have to address those before launching, but the E25 is ready to go. I will do a trial mast-stepping when I get back to make sure that when the time comes at the launch ramp, I will have no problems. It looks like I will need to build or at least repair the E23 keel, and someone's ideas about building an entirely new one out of stainless and UHMW (plastic) laminated to it may be a great solution. This one looks like having it fall off might be in the not-too-distant future, so the time is now.
That said- I just now looked at the pics of your new keel. I was thinking along the lines of a stainless keel center, welded pivot bushing with reinforcement surrounding it, probably also in stainless as a starting point. When you look at my keel from the bow-end of it, it looks to be warped to the starboard side. it may actually be stuck in the up position, as when I loosen the winch to lower it, not much happens. I believe I can adjust the hull upwards away from the trailer to have enough room to remove the keel, so I will take a look when I figure that part out.
Thanks very much, everyone, for those of you who have written. It was this web site and review response to Practical Sailor (I think) by Bob in Va that convinced me to buy the E23. I just had to wait for one to come up for sale. That doesn't seem to happen very often as 1.) There aren't many around, and 2.) Those that have them know they are gems, probably not easily replaced. That speaks volumes in my book.
Thank you for that.
Wow, thanks for the response. I happen to be vacationing in Montana with my sort-of sister-in-law and her husband, so I am on the computer limitedly this week. Next week I'll be back to normal. Since I bought both my E25 and E23 this year and have yet to put either one in the water, I have questions on theory but not practical experience. We have been sailing an M22 which is very light and tender and based on the many comments of how well the Ericsons sail, we cannot wait to get them in the water. At Lake Mead, our racing season is October through May, stopping for the extreme heat. We have the advantage of being able to trailer to the coast when the racing season ends in May, but this is all hypothetical. The PHRF rating of the M22 is 264, so it is not much of a contender (read- pretty slow).
I looked at E23 swing keel issues and I will have to address those before launching, but the E25 is ready to go. I will do a trial mast-stepping when I get back to make sure that when the time comes at the launch ramp, I will have no problems. It looks like I will need to build or at least repair the E23 keel, and someone's ideas about building an entirely new one out of stainless and UHMW (plastic) laminated to it may be a great solution. This one looks like having it fall off might be in the not-too-distant future, so the time is now.
That said- I just now looked at the pics of your new keel. I was thinking along the lines of a stainless keel center, welded pivot bushing with reinforcement surrounding it, probably also in stainless as a starting point. When you look at my keel from the bow-end of it, it looks to be warped to the starboard side. it may actually be stuck in the up position, as when I loosen the winch to lower it, not much happens. I believe I can adjust the hull upwards away from the trailer to have enough room to remove the keel, so I will take a look when I figure that part out.
Thanks very much, everyone, for those of you who have written. It was this web site and review response to Practical Sailor (I think) by Bob in Va that convinced me to buy the E23. I just had to wait for one to come up for sale. That doesn't seem to happen very often as 1.) There aren't many around, and 2.) Those that have them know they are gems, probably not easily replaced. That speaks volumes in my book.
Thank you for that.