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Cradle specs for E23 Fixed Keel

hudsonhacker

New Member
Hi

First post as I just bought an Ericson 23 2 days ago! Nice little boat from 1970. The problemI have is that the boat does not come with a trailer or a cradle. I do have access to a crane at my local Marina, and they can move cradles around the yard, but I need to build the cradle first.

Does anyone know the size /specs for a cradle for an E23 Fixed Keel version?
I have looked around for a used cradle, but there simply aren't any where I live (Montreal, Canada).

Thanks in advance

Paul
 

tenders

Innocent Bystander
The easist way to go about this would be to purchase a folding, adjustable cradle from Jowi:

http://www.jowi.com/cradles_line.html

You could probably get away with a model .5 but if I were you I'd call the proprietor and ask whether a model 1.0 would work with your boat. A larger cradle is more versatile for larger boats - so a higher resale value if you get rid of it, and usable if you someday upgrade to a bigger boat.

You might be able to find somebody to build you a custom cradle out of wood or steel, perhaps using someone else's as a template, but it's going to take time and a hassle and won't be as well-built as a Jowi.
 

Brian K

Member III
Tenders (TP) used to have a real nice Jowi 1.5, but he sold it to some sucker :) in upstate NY. There is really no sure way to know whether or not the cradle will actually work until you go to drop the boat in. You can't always believe the manufacturer, in this case Jowi. I called the factory 2 times and they insisted my E32-200 with a 6' draft would fit just fine in the Jowi 1.5 I bought from TP. The Jowi website even talks about a 7' draft boat fitting on the 1.5. They were wrong! So now I'm having some extensions made for the uprights and I'm replacing 4 of the 6 upright braces. Fortunately I have a friend who is a steel fabricator. I need to be clear, TP made no claim that this cradle would fit my boat, so it's certainly not his fault. The point I'm trying to make is to be careful what you buy,,,, or at least make sure you have a friend who is a steel fabrication guy.

TP, I'll have to send you some pictures of before and after (with the extensions). It really is a nice cradle, just 18" - 24" short (vertical).
 

tenders

Innocent Bystander
Oh, man, I am sorry to hear that Brian. But The Price Was Right and by the time you get those extensions on there you are going to have one hell of a cradle that will hold your boat through Armageddon. You have some serious friends in high places. So you're extending the support tubes and using longer angle-iron braces? That's easier than swapping longer threaded rods on to the "poppits"? I would like to see pictures just for my engineering edification.
 

hudsonhacker

New Member
Found one

I have found a folding cradle in Montreal. SUpposedly it is adjustable for boats from 24 to 28 feet. I haven't seen it yet, but worst case all I have to do is add some extra blocks under the keel to make it fit. The price was right, so I will be far happier with that than making something out of wood.
 
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