A word to the wise - I owned an 1987 Ericson 34 for 22 years, sold it several years ago to go sailing in the Caribbean and am now looking to purchase a smaller Ericson to use seasonally in Maine.
I had a 1984 Ericson 30 under contract with the knowledge that there was a small area of foredeck problems. Any 30+ year old boat will be somewhat imperfect
What the surveyor found was that water had gotten in through the anchor locker hinges, anchor locker latch and bow pulpit base which was not tight to the deck (as some point in its history the bow pulpit was removed and the rear backing plates were not re-installed). Also the boat was not covered over the winter.
The report found that the foredeck core was wet and had significant core deterioration. Water had also gotten into the side decks, which were also suffering from water intrusion around the stanchion bases. While the boat was deemed adequate for coastal cruising, it is hard to get water out of the core once it is inside and with water present my concern was that deterioration would continue.
I rejected the boat, but am out travel, survey and yard haul costs.
The seller has now reportedly has reduced the asking price by $7,000.
An expensive exercise for a problem that never should have arisen with a modest amount of care.
I had a 1984 Ericson 30 under contract with the knowledge that there was a small area of foredeck problems. Any 30+ year old boat will be somewhat imperfect
What the surveyor found was that water had gotten in through the anchor locker hinges, anchor locker latch and bow pulpit base which was not tight to the deck (as some point in its history the bow pulpit was removed and the rear backing plates were not re-installed). Also the boat was not covered over the winter.
The report found that the foredeck core was wet and had significant core deterioration. Water had also gotten into the side decks, which were also suffering from water intrusion around the stanchion bases. While the boat was deemed adequate for coastal cruising, it is hard to get water out of the core once it is inside and with water present my concern was that deterioration would continue.
I rejected the boat, but am out travel, survey and yard haul costs.
The seller has now reportedly has reduced the asking price by $7,000.
An expensive exercise for a problem that never should have arisen with a modest amount of care.
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