ericson or no ericson

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marto

Member I
I being looking to the ericson 27. and I wanted to see how good it could be compared to an contessa 26 or albin vega 27?
I know the cramped the contessa is , thats not what I want to discuss here.
I wanted to know How confortable the ericson is on the ocean.
the contessa is proven circumnavigator like the vega, I believe both designs coming from the folkboat.
I know the contessa cuts the waves pretty good,and also goes up wint very well, I dont know about the vega on this, I think she is a bit too slow on calm winds.
I wanted to know how much the ericson "pounds" on heavy seas.
My perspective is on a small boat, cheap! on maintenance cost that can take you anyware.
if the ericson is as good as every body talks, it will be good to enjoy all taht room below.
thanks very much
 
N

Nick Reynolds

Member II
Ericson 27 ocean experience

Marto,

I recently sold my Ericson 27. During the five years I owned it, I sailed it in a race from Astoria, OR to Victoria, BC. I sailed it throughout Puget Sound, and then a couple of years ago I sailed it back down the coast.

It is pretty clear that in this size range of boat there is a lot of motion when the conditions are ugly. However, this boat is high sided, very full volume, and strongly built. As a result, it inspired confidence as the boat rose to any waves, and always felt stable under foot.

The attached picture was the boat under two reefs and working jib, going to windward in wind that I measured across the deck at 25 knots, and corresponding seas. This ability to go to windward was my major concern with buying a boat that I intended to push pretty hard. The E27 was awesome. I had a boat with an outboard, although some people believe that is a weakness because of the idea that the outboard can come out of the water. Indeed, I did have that problem, but only when trying to make progress to windward under motor alone. But this is a sailboat first, and if you sail it the boat performs fine, without the engine. Under sail you can add the engine and make better faster progress to windward without the engine coming out of the water.

As far as "pounding" goes, I never experienced any, other than the odd slap of a wave in confused seas, or a stray wake.

I wholeheartedly recommend this boat. My experience is that the boat will take care of you, and that you will be scared long before you get to the limits of the boat's capabilities. :egrin:

Good luck.
 

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M

marto

Member I
thanks nick.
I think I have read of someone sailing to to bermuda, I wander if was seth.
that said it was a rough ride.
I know 27's are strong, I dont know how they compared to a contessa.
that have circumnavigate few times. I wonder why nobody does it on an ericson 27.
I know also the story of the 27 sailing to japan and back, and then the same guy made a circumnavigation on a e30.
It would be nice to compile similar experiences.
I think it could be a good candidate for low budget long range cruising.
it is awesome to see how albin vega and contessa have alot of information about this,
thanks again
M
 
M

Morgan Stinemetz

Moderator
Marto,

I sailed my 27 to Cuba and back in 2004. Total of about 700+ miles. It may have been me that you were thinking about, because I said it was a rough ride. It was not because of the boat but because of sea conditions. The boat did fine. But we had big waves, some breaking, and 25 gusting to 30 out in the Straits of Florida on the way down. The crew did less well than the boat. If I were to do it again--which is not likely--I'd think seriously about installing a hood for the hatch cover. And make damn sure that every place the boat could acquire a deck leak was plugged.

Morgan Stinemetz
 
M

marto

Member I
Morgan,
yes it was you ho I was recalling.
I have heard about the water going trough the hatch in big waves.
thats why the contessa have a doorwy instead of a hatch.
what was your experience in thet trip?
did you guys were tossed about by crossing waves?
I'm reading Bersek right now, it is hard to get along with your crew and have it tight and working. all at the same time.
did you had any help at the helm or did you have to ride it all yourself?
did your crew was experienced.
 
S

Seth

Sustaining Partner
GO Morgan

Just to add a bit:

The E 27 in my mind is the better chouce simply because it is faster than the Contessa or Albin-both of those boats are extremely poor light air peformers, and if planning a long voyage you will need to carry even more provisions-which will slow you down further. The Ericson will leave the Contessa chewing seaweed when going upwind-so that should not be a concern.

Because of the bigger cabin volume and higher freeboard, the Ercison will get knocked around a bit more in waves than the Contessa, but not to point of being a problem-look at the voyages which have been made-and I am pretty sure more than 1 has made it around the world-this is a capable boat-very capable if the standard of comparison is the Contessa 27 or Albin.

On the subject of hatches-the door/hatch on the Contessa is no solution. With either of these boats you have to build a hatch which will keep the sea out in a storm-and neither of the stock design hatches will do it.

It is fairly simple-reinforce the hatch runners with some heavy wood or aluminum, and build a solid one-piece hatch (and a spare) which can be secured from the inside..

Anyway, there is an opinion. Happy hunting!

S
 
M

marto

Member I
thanks seth.
I hear that the contessa performs very good upwind, maybe in right in between the albin and the e27, it is also 7.5 feet beam.
 
S

Seth

Sustaining Partner
Depends

..........on what the definition of "very good" is. It should be better than the Albin-but that is not saying much.
You are comparing a full keel, very heavy displacement boat, with wide sheeting angles to a relatively modern, lighter design with more contemporary sheeting angles, and it is not fair to either of them-In light to moderate upwind conditions you could easily be talking more than 30-40 miles per day advantage to the Ericson-For a weekend cruise that may not be much, but for passagemaking it is HUGE.

Anyway, we are talking apples and oranges-and no-one would ever accuse a Contessa 26 of being a good performer in today's terms, while the Ericson is widely considered a very good performing cruiser-good enough to be a competitive racer in local fleets..

There is no doubt which I would choose if the choice were between these 2. Either one will need some modifcations to be truly suitable for offshore passagemaking, but both have done it succesfully, so the major question comes down to comfort and performance-but we already know which boat wins that competition..

Good luck!
S
 
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