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1988 E34 - Ericson or Pacific Seacraft?

chipotledoggie

Junior Member
Greetings,

We've been in partnership of a 1988 Ericson 34 (hull #262) since 1993. When bought, the boat came with a couple of original E34 brochures stating the boat was made by Pacific Seacraft - it's the same brochure found on this website in the 'downloads' section. Our boat is the sister ship to the details and photos in that brochure in every way EXCEPT that the cabinet doors on our boat have cane inserts, not solid teak.

Now that we're selling it, several people have questioned our statement that the boat was made by Pacific Seacraft. I've been doing some digging online, including on this site, and find that I really can't answer the question!

It seems that Ericson filed for bancruptcy in 1987. One of the original owners then went to work for Pac. Sea., taking with him some hull molds. Pacific Seacraft later bought Ericson, but not until...1990? Our HIN number is ERY34262L788.

Is this information correct? Have any of you E34 owners ever determined where and by whom your boat was manufactured? Thanks for any light you can cast on the subjct!

Cheers, Carla and Wade
 

Tom Metzger

Sustaining Partner
1988 was Ericson. I'm sorry I can't offer documentation, but I believe PS closed the deal in 1990 based on a quick Google search.
 

chipotledoggie

Junior Member
I did see the wiki entry on Ericson, and was confused by this one on Pacific Seacraft, which lists the E34 as one of the models they produced, in 1988: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pacific_Seacraft

As you said, you can't always believe everything on wiki. Has anyone ever seen an Ericson brochure for the E34? I've only seen the Pacific Seacraft one. Also, I thought when PS started making the E34s, they started calling them something different...
 

treilley

Sustaining Partner
I would say Ericson as your boat was manufactured in July of 1987 based on the HIN. I would also think that the HIN prefix would be PCS if built by Pacific Seacraft.

The PSC model was the 350.
 
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Loren Beach

O34 - Portland, OR
Senior Moderator
Blogs Author
Limited Customization

FWIW, there was said to be some overlap in production between the two companies, but that was in 1990.
Best guess is that, along with keel depth, rig height, and other layout tweeks, the factory was amenable to doing relatively simple cabinet upgrades/alternatives to please the paying customer.
Ericsons did not insist on selling their boats as one-version-only "production" boats like the mass producers (example - Catalina).

Until some ex factory guys check in here, that's my guess....

Loren

ps: Tim, did you mean 'July 1988' ? Interesting-- they built our Olson in August. It was a very good year! :)
 
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chipotledoggie

Junior Member
Thanks for the replies.

I find it curious that most 1988 E34 owners that I've found have said that the brochures and owner's manuals they have are branded pacific Seacraft. Also, Ericson information I've found listing models, dates of manufactures, and hull numbers, list NO hull numbers for the E34s. On the other hand, Pacific Seacraft info I've read states that the E34s were made by PS starting in 1988: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pacific_Seacraft

I know that one shouldn't believe everything they read. I'm wondering if there is anyone out there who has a owners manual and/or brochure for the E34 (really, the E34-2, I believe, for boats built in 1988) which is branded 'Ericson,' with no mention of Pacific Seacraft?

Finally, if my HIN ends in 788, doesn't that indicate year of manufacture to be 1988? Or am I getting something wrong?

Thanks again, Carla
 
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Loren Beach

O34 - Portland, OR
Senior Moderator
Blogs Author
"The Truth is Out There..."

Thanks for the replies.

I find it curious that most 1988 E34 owners that I've found have said that the brochures and owner's manuals they have are branded pacific Seacraft. Also, Ericson information I've found listing models, dates of manufactures, and hull numbers, list NO hull numbers for the E34s. On the other hand, Pacific Seacraft info I've read states that the E34s were made by PS starting in 1988: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pacific_Seacraft

I know that one shouldn't believe everything they read. I'm wondering if there is anyone out there who has a owners manual and/or brochure for the E34 (really, the E34-2, I believe, for boats built in 1988) which is branded 'Ericson,' with no mention of Pacific Seacraft?

Finally, if my HIN ends in 788, doesn't that indicate year of manufacture to be 1988? Or am I getting something wrong?

Thanks again, Carla

Here, most info entries are from owners with real names. Wiki stuff is way less reliable, especially for niche interests like ours .
And again, yes, 88 means 1988. As I said, the changeover to PSC was somewhat gradual. Your model became the "PSC E-350" but only seems to be called that later, in the 90's.
Like the location of the Holy Grail, some things may always be a bit mysterious! :rolleyes:
 

treilley

Sustaining Partner
Actually the L7 is the manufacture date and 88 is the model year. The L is July based on the following chart.

A aug
B sep
C oct
D nov
E dec
F Jan
G feb
H mar
I apr
J may
K jun
L jul

The 7 is for 1987. It is assumed that the decade(8) is the same as the model year.
 
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Roger

Member II
If your 34 is a '88 model, it was definitely built by Ericson in Irvine. Ericson filed for bankruptcy in May '90, and Pacific Seacraft began building some models later in '90 or '91.
 

chipotledoggie

Junior Member
Thanks, everybody! FWIW, before I put any weight on anything I read in wiki, I check their footnotes and sources. In this case, they are just reprinting sources buried in numerous other places online, which is why I found the absence of E34 hull ID numbers for the year 1988 to be interesting, as was the PS listing that 1988 E34 models were made by PS.

One more thing I'm still not clear on is the date of manufacture. If "L" indicates July, and the following "7" indicates the last digit of the year of manufacture (because it assumes 8 is the decade?), then what do the finall two 8s indicate?

We are laughing at ourselves because all these years, we've never cared to know one way or the other about dates, PS vs Ericson, etc. But now we're selling the boat, buyers ask these questions and give us the raised eyebrows when we can't answer a simple question like: "Who made the boat" and "what year was it manufacture?" The only real thing that's important is that the E34 is an outstanding boat, performance and construction-wise. Still, I'd like to understand...
Perpetually puzzled, Carla and Wade
 

Loren Beach

O34 - Portland, OR
Senior Moderator
Blogs Author
The HIN's and out's of numbering

While shedding no light on construction practice at Ericson Yachts, I can report that several boat boatbuilders in the NW over the decades have told me that the HIN, being molded into the transom when the hull is laid up, always will reflect the month and year that the lay up was done. This is then the year of build for the record, even if the hull in question is finished out and initially sold weeks, months, or longer ... later.

While I seldom would doubt anything that Tim sez, in this case I admit to some slight skepticism on his numbering info.

One other bit of HIN trivia is that all builders were required to put a month/year into their stamp, but were free to put any other hull sequence ystem in the middle numbers where one might expect to find a record of model length and individual hull number. For instance, Ranger Fiberglass Boats in Kent WA, decided (at the dawn of the HIN requirement years) to just number all of their hulls sequentially, whether an 8 foot dinghy or one of the later hundreds of R-20 sloops.

I was active in the one design assoc later and the class had to decide on an OD numbering scheme where the true OD number was later etched into the transom under the molded-in HIN.
So, no matter which of the many sailing models you have from that company, the only real way to know your own OD number is to write down the sail number on your main sail and keep track of it! :rolleyes:

The company founders, three WW2 B-17 Bomber crew buddies, had made up their minds, and complied with the federal numbering rule, and that was that! They started their company in the late 40's.
:cool:

Cheers,
Loren
:egrin:
 
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tenders

Innocent Bystander
I wonder if perhaps the hull was built by Ericson and then finished (years later; it happens) by PS after the acquisition?
 

treilley

Sustaining Partner
Actually Loren, I am not correct. The letter codes after 1984 start with "A" in january. So L7 is Dec 1987.
 

Loren Beach

O34 - Portland, OR
Senior Moderator
Blogs Author
I wonder if perhaps the hull was built by Ericson and then finished (years later; it happens) by PS after the acquisition?

Very doubtful. In any case, the molded-in HIN is all there, complete as you will always see it, when the hull pops out of the mold.

Having said that, I know of home-finished Cascade's from the old Yacht Constructors plant in Portland that were finished out and initially registered a decade and more after the hull was molded out. The HIN never changes, of course. This leads to some interesting age descriptions for ads of boats re-sold much later on.

Production boats like ours probably left the factory to the dealer within xx number of weeks after the hull was laid up. Once they took the payment to start, the wood shop and rigging shops were busy simultaneous with the layup of the hull and, in the case of our Olson, the interior moldings. All this stuff had to join together in a reasonable time in order to get the finished boat out and all the money banked.
I used to drive up and see various Ranger sailboats in all sizes under construction. Admittedly that was a much smaller factory.
In an odd coincidence considering our unknown future with the Olson, in about 1981 I watched the deck plug being finished for the Ranger 8.5, a Schumacher (!) designed CF-27 hull mold that Ranger built a new cruising deck and interior for, after buying up the tooling.

Loren
 
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TKBLACK

Member II
Greetings,

We've been in partnership of a 1988 Ericson 34 (hull #262) since 1993. When bought, the boat came with a couple of original E34 brochures stating the boat was made by Pacific Seacraft - it's the same brochure found on this website in the 'downloads' section. Our boat is the sister ship to the details and photos in that brochure in every way EXCEPT that the cabinet doors on our boat have cane inserts, not solid teak.

Now that we're selling it, several people have questioned our statement that the boat was made by Pacific Seacraft. I've been doing some digging online, including on this site, and find that I really can't answer the question!

It seems that Ericson filed for bancruptcy in 1987. One of the original owners then went to work for Pac. Sea., taking with him some hull molds. Pacific Seacraft later bought Ericson, but not until...1990? Our HIN number is ERY34262L788.

Is this information correct? Have any of you E34 owners ever determined where and by whom your boat was manufactured? Thanks for any light you can cast on the subjct!

Cheers, Carla and Wade
Our PSE Ericson 34’ Model yr 1993 was built in Fullerton,CA in 1992 from the hull inventory of 1991. Excellent vessel getting ready for a race in 2021
 

TKBLACK

Member II
Our PSE Ericson 34’ Model yr 1993 was built in Fullerton,CA in 1992 from the hull inventory of 1991. Excellent vessel getting ready for a race in 2021
However I’m frustrated with the PHRF rating form to determine if we are an Ericson 34-2, or a PSE 350, or an Ericson MK ll?
Sail maker lists us as Ericson MK ll.
HIN: PSE340061293
 

HerbertFriedman

Member III
I am curious, I thought all the Pac Seacraft boats came with Volvo engines and those made by Ericson with Universal diesels. Is that correct? My 87 E34 was definitely made by Ericson and does have a Universal engine.
 

TKBLACK

Member II
Our was built (assembled in 1992) by Pacific Seacraft in Fullerton, CA with a Volvo Penta installed in1993 just prior to launching. After much research ...have found that it is a 34-2.
 
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