Sea trial for 1990 Ericson 34-2 next week

[Phr3d]

Good morning all,

JohnW's thread on the 32-3 was a great read. All of the posts were very helpful.

I'm also currently on the buying-my-first-keel-boat pilgrimage, having first started with the boat thing last year with my CA boat card, learning about how much I need to learn in so far taking 5 classes, having a perception adjustment while sailing in one class during a recent gale warning ("we reef now"), and made some great acquaintances with wisdom on hull, rigging and engines. I almost made an offer last year on a very nice 32-200, but its gone now...

So - I'm all over the place thinking about the sea trial. And, I can't help wondering about the anchor without a windlass. My wife does like the cushions.

Any feedback is welcome. https://www.yachtworld.com/yacht/1990-ericson-34-9244926/

Paul

 

[Dave G.]

Congrats & welcome Paul, Looks like a nice specimen in the pics. Did you already have a survey or is that happening with the sea trial ? Is the current owner involved in the sea trial ? If so ask questions and take notes as he/she will be your best resource for all things related to this boat. Have a good sail and let us know how it goes please.

 

[Phr3d]

Hi Dave, it seems bertboyer mentions this one in one of his posts. Sails and electronics details. Owner's info is being relayed through broker. I saw the boat with two others some weeks ago and some of the details are a little hazy. For whatever it's worth, "Bodil" is Scandinavian for "remedy".

Rigging is being inspected Tuesday or Wednesday before the sea trial. I asked for receipts as I can't tell if the shrouds were replaced with the other parts of the rigging in '21. Surveyor and mechanic will attend the extravaganza on Thursday. Insurance appears to be under $1,000 a year.

I may make an extra trip to get some pictures this weekend. Overall the boat shows pretty well, but I can't remember what the engine looks like...

 

[bertboyer]

Hi Guys,

I didn't look at the E34 in San Diego, but I did call the broker about it. I thought it looked nice from the pictures.

The E34 I visited was in Portland (Pink Panther thread). I'm still looking...

Best,

Bert

 

[G Kiba]

Looks like a nice boat. I might try to open some of those zippers in the headliner just to see it they are stuck. I periodically lubricate them to keep them unstuck. Not a deal breaker if they don't open. Just might tell you how well the boat was cared for? I have that same tank level indicator on my waste tank. It is obsolete by the manufacture but seems to works great! One of my favorite things on the boat. Few things worse than having a full waste tank spewing out the vent on a nice sailing day. Wish I had one on the fresh water tank.

 

[Phr3d]

Zippers on the headliner....

Huh, I had no idea. Will definitely try them. Thanks!


Also, I remembered some moisture under the cabin floor pull-up thingy around the mast step (term?). Is that maybe a leaky mast boot were it goes through the deck that needs replacing?

Paul

 

[Pete the Cat]

Zippers on the headliner....

Huh, I had no idea. Will definitely try them. Thanks!


Also, I remembered some moisture under the cabin floor pull-up thingy around the mast step (term?). Is that maybe a leaky mast boot were it goes through the deck that needs replacing?

Paul

Maybe, but don't get distracted by this. Focus on the big stuff. Water down the mast can be managed, but some is likely to come no matter what you do.

 

[Phr3d]

Today was a fun day. Boat sailed nice, 7 knots in San Diego Bay. There are clearly some recent parts, the headsail and furler are awesome.

A little too much slack in steering gear (I think) but no lumpy/clunky feel. Instruments are ST4000. Garmin in the cabin would not power up. Shrouds need to be replaced as does the exhaust elbow and hose.

The anchor hatch does have some dry rot but could be repaired with some kind of foam stuff. The alternator works great, but the pulley is clearly too narrow. The engine speed cable was touching the exhaust (albeit, sporting an excellent electrical tape/aluminum foil "heat shield" that would have made Rube Goldberg proud had it not started smoking) and the throttle control arm would not stay in any position other than idle. To combat this tendency, there was a really cool velcro cruise control strap (I found this difficult to use but probably just need some training on this feature). Raw water pump belt had to be adjusted as it was slack, and no water could be convinced to come out of exhaust.

Engine cold started immediately. Some rattling / vibration while it warmed up. It belched smoke immediately at full throttle while motoring, but it diminished within a minute. 2 blade propeller looked small, but pushed the boat around fine.

The bottom will need paint and has some evidence of blisters being repaired in the gel coat. The depth gauge was quite distressed while the boat was on the keel in the boat yard.

The only other obvious Frankensteining was a battery in the lazarette that appeared to do nothing while connected to wires..

General consensus of rigger and hull and engine surveyors (who were really cool to hang out with - I learned a lot) was it would be a great boat with "those" things taken care of.

 

[Phr3d]

Well, estimates are starting to come in.

$2,000 for bottom paint

$11,000 for un-stepping the mast and replacing shrouds

$7,000 to put the engine right.

 

[Frank Langer]

Well, estimates are starting to come in.

$2,000 for bottom paint

$11,000 for un-stepping the mast and replacing shrouds

$7,000 to put the engine right.

Unless there are blisters to repair, or very thick coats of old epoxy paint to remove, you may be able to put a tarp around the boat, sand it to remove any peeling paint or rough surface, then paint a couple coats of bottom paint, for much less than $2000.
Frank

 

[bgary]

$11,000 for un-stepping the mast and replacing shrouds

Seems VERY high.

Couple hundred bucks at the nearest boatyard to have the mast unstepped and put on sawhorses.

From there, you can order new shrouds and stays to match the old and do most (if not all) of the install work yourself.

And then a couple hundred bucks to have the yard put the rig back in.

Someone around here posted a receipt for recent rigging replacement. IIRC, it was something like $3k including the parts. I may be mis-remembering that, but it was for-sure less than 10k.

 

[Loren Beach]

Well, estimates are starting to come in.

$2,000 for bottom paint

$11,000 for un-stepping the mast and replacing shrouds

$7,000 to put the engine right.

I am curious as to what yard quoted 11K for that work. As for putting an engine "right", a few years ago I replaced our original M25XP with a new Betamarine25 for about 15K total, parts and outside labor. The engine/trans/panel package was just under 10K in a crate.

 

[Phr3d]

The rigging price was a bit of a shock - but does include new jib sheets and servicing all the winches, hmm - but not lifelines. The amount of labor makes measuring/ordering from a rigger pretty attractive, he did mention dyneema (thoughts?) as an alternative, and asked me if I'd seen the boat at the link below.

The engine has enough rust/corrosion, seals, motor mounts, realign, hoses, pumps, heat exchanger, etc. pulling it, cleaning/repainting at the same time was suggested.

I saw the Pink Panther listing up in Portland at the same price as Bodil. The purchase price on this deal is $33,000 and while I don't have the survey back with a valuation, he did say it was probably ok at that price. I think (hope?) the only immediate things to do are the propane leaks and the exhaust elbow and hose.

https://www.boats.com/sailing-boats/1971-ericson-39-flush-deck-9293338/

 

[bsangs]

...and the throttle control arm would not stay in any position other than idle. To combat this tendency, there was a really cool velcro cruise control strap (I found this difficult to use but probably just need some training on this feature).

I'll have to look into this "velcro cruise control strap." I use one of these: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00SHBN2OK/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1 when I need to keep the throttle at full. For whatever reason, she likes to slowly drop back into the 2800-3000 RPM range without the twist tie, and I'd rather not have to keep the lever pushed forward when I want to stay at max.

 

[peaman]

but not lifelines.

One year ago, I paid $1,410 for all new lifelines of 316 1x19, made to my dimensions and installed by me, 32 ft boat.

 

[Pete the Cat]

Well, estimates are starting to come in.

$2,000 for bottom paint

$11,000 for un-stepping the mast and replacing shrouds

$7,000 to put the engine right.

OK. Maybe I am missing something but the $11K for unstepping the mast and replacing the shrouds is ridiculous. And so is the $7K for the engine. Half that or much less at a reputable boatyard here in SF Bay. Maybe San Diego is different. From what you explained, I would recommend you do the engine work yourself if you have basic mechanical skills. It is not complicated and you will learn a lot. The bottom paint might be $2K. Was this bid from the surveyors or from an actual boatyard?

 

[Dave G.]

20k is a lot to "add" to your purchase price and still be at an honest value IMHO. As others have stated you could do a lot of this provided you have the expertise, time, & have a place that will let you do your own the work. The thing that stands out to me is the 7k "to put engine right". Are they going to rebuild the whole engine ? If you are going to pursue further hopefully what you found will allow some monetary concession by the seller to make it all a little more palatable.

 

[HerbertFriedman]

Just a comment about the observation of some water intrusion on the cabin sole at the mast. On my 87 E34, I saw the same water mark, checked the mast boot and it was fine. The leak was from the lower section of the mast below the gooseneck and above the cabin top. There is an aluminum bar stock placed in the rear of the mast essentially to fill up the sail track which is, of course, empty below the gooseneck. That aluminum bar stock was not sealed and rain water leaked into the cabin from that point. A little sealant stopped that leak completely. But the E34 is a great boat.

 

[Christian Williams]

no water could be convinced to come out of exhaust.

But it did, right? You can't run an engine without water in the exhaust.

Is it necessary to pull the mast to replace shrouds? My riggers have replaced several with mast up.

Yanking a mast (in California, where we don't haul for winter) can mean a lot of other gear replacement too, lights and shields and sheaves, not to mention the option to repaint.

 

[Phr3d]

Hi Christian,

Yes, there was general celebrating all around once we got the proper amount of water out of the exhaust. It seemed the raw water pump was "clogged" at first and needed some persuasion as there was a limited amount of water coming out. It did eventually start working as expected, I think as the mechanic yelled at it actually.

Once I get the boat moved up from SD to Cabrillo, I will probably need the contact info for your riggers.

Paul