Ericson 30 Plus Advice

I am closing in on buying a 1980 Ericson 30 Plus. The boat looks good other than some cosmetic issues and suits my needs well. Of course I will get a survey but would love to hear from owners about the boat in general and any trouble spots to look out for before buying.
Thanks,
Rhicke

We have a 1984 E30+ and have been very happy with our boat. These boats are well built and sail very well for coastal cruising. The only criticism we have is that there is relatively little storage space compared with other boats of similar size, especially when cruising for a week or more with more than one couple. Otherwise, we love our boat.

Areas to watch for as potential problems include the mast support (ours has been reinforced), the Hurth transmission, lack of ventilation in the forepeak, leaks at stanchions, deck fittings and ports as on any older boat, delamination or cracks in the rudder (ours was rebuilt), engine hours/maintenance (though these unversal engines have a good reputation for reliability if maintained).

As any boat of this size is complex (plumbing, electrical, rigging, lifelines, engine, transmission, etc.) a record of maintenance may be a good indication of what has been replaced and what still needs to be done. And of course, a survey can be helpful, though I have also heard of cases where the surveyor missed important things that cost the owner later.

Good luck!

Frank

Our E1985 30+ sails really well, reef early and do not over power the boat. The main sail is large so she goes quite well in light air. When the wind is truly blowing keep her on her feet and she still sails very well. The only problem we have had was old hoses below decks. We replaced all the engine cooling hose and cockpit drain hoses and all problems were solved. Below deck storage is an issue as Frank pointed out, we are considering removing the stove/oven combo, installing cabinets and a stove to improve the storage.
Ours is a simple boat, tiller steering, no shore power, no pressure or hot water which we like, fewer problems and less systems to maintain. I have sent all the build information that came with Regulus II to Sean and he has it all pretty much scanned to the website.

Greg

When you mention that the mast support is a problem area, what problem did you have? Was it the compression post or the base on which the post sits? How did you solve the problem and what kind of costs did you encounter? I am curious to know what the compression post actually sits on...

Hi Mark,

The compression post was fixed professionally by a previous owner, so I don't have much information on this. I know that they added a steel plate from the inside of the boat on top of the compression post to spread the load of the mast across the deck with a steel underpinning. I'm not sure what prompted this repair, as there is no cracking in the deck itself and the bottom around the mast area looks fine.

I have heard of this kind of problem (often with sinking and cracking around the bottom of the mast) on other boats, not only Ericsons, so I think it's an area that one should keep an eye on.

I think a possible sign of problems, in addition to any cracking/sinking around the mast, is a change in how the head door closes/binds which may indicate a shifting in that area.

Hope that helps a bit.

Frank