Ericson 32-2 Survey results

[ChrisS]

Hello Ericson Sailors--

We just surveyed a boat today, and it came back great--except that the surveyor's moisture meter sensed moisture underneath the mast step. There's also a crack in the headliner between the salon and the passageway going forward.

Is this a deal breaker? There's no cracking in the deck. Has anyone fixed the deck core here>

Thanks in advance for any advice/insight.

--Chris

 

[Cory B]

Chris,
I'd guess a very large percentage of E32-II's show some kind of stress crack in the headliner below the mast step. If you download the E32-2 manual in the specs&docs section and go to page 37-38 you'll see a possible solution to alleive the problem. Not seeing how large the crack is I can't say whether it is an issue or not, but I wouldn't worry too much as long as it is pretty small.

As far as the moisture goes, on my boat there are four long woodscrews holding the mast step in place, and a hole cut through for wires. Chances are water is wicking down of these. I would suggest that if you buy the boat, to take the mast off and reseal everything to prevent it from becoming a bigger problem.

If you noticed any dimpling of the mast-step on deck it would be indicative that one of the above issues may actually be a problem.

Cory Bolton
1975 E32

 

[windjunkee]

Chris,

We don't have any cracking around the mast step but we found water intrusion around some of the stanchions and around the port-side rope clutch. What we ended up doing was drying out the area completely and then injecting "Git-Rot" into the affected area, which is an epoxy-type product that soaks into the surrounding area and hardens. It has worked great so far.

As for the mast area, we added an aluminum compression post in the doorway between the main salon and the v-berth. We saw some warpage around the door frame and when we added a hydraulic backstay tensioner, we added the compression post to buttress the area against the increased pressure on the cabin top. In order to do that, we measured precisely, then put aluminum "feet" on the top and bottom of the pole. Then we used a jack to lift up the door frame and positioned the pole right immediately adjacent to the frame (which acts as the compression post in the initial production). We then bolted the feet to the cabinsole and the top of the door frame. We had to cut out areas of the door to accommodate the "feet" but otherwise the door closes and latches just fine and we have had no problems with the door or frame when we crank down on the backstay.

Jim McCone
Voice of Reason E-32-2 hull #134

 

[ChrisS]

Jim and Cory--

Thanks for the insight. I am currently talking to yards to check into options for fixing the moist deck area. So I am thinking about one of the easier fixes (the epoxy fix), or cutting out and recoring the deck. If I run my hand over this part of the deck, for to aft, I can feel a slight ridge , so maybe a more thorough fix is called for.

Jim, if you have any photos/or specs on that aluminum butress, I would be extremely greatful to learn more about how you did this!

I have to decide by the 29th if I want to procede with the sale, and the seller won't budge on his price of $18K. It's a clean looking boat with new sails, and he hasn't had it on the market long, so I think he knows he's got me! If I pass, it's back to looking at beat-up boats that have some other issue to deal with, so I think I'm going to bite the bullet and go ahead with the purchase.

Best,
Chris