Mike Swift
'76 E-25 "Gulliver"
Sadly, I lost the swing keel on my 1976 E25 as a result of lending the vessel to a friend who failed to raise the keel at the end of his voyage. Long story short, the low tides and resultant rocking action did the trick. When I returned from up north, and took her for a sail, I discovered the keel "swimming" to starboard, held only by the cable.
Sadly, before I could beach her, the keel went to Davy Jones' locker.
On the plus side, despite this egregious insult to an otherwise happy vessel, no real harm resulted! This speaks well of the stout design and construction of Ericson boats!
Nevertheless, I hope to sail upwind again sometime, and consequently, must manufacture a new swing keel.
Any help regarding original design, weight, etc would be GREATLY appreciated!
Also, any thoughts regarding potential improvements over the original spec's would be awesome too--I hope to parlay this misfortune into a chance to create a better boat.
I sail her (still--sans keel) in Charlotte Harbor Florida, which makes the Chesapeake look like the Mariana Trench (only with more sharks) so a deep design is undesirable in principle.
Thanks in advance.
Sadly, before I could beach her, the keel went to Davy Jones' locker.
On the plus side, despite this egregious insult to an otherwise happy vessel, no real harm resulted! This speaks well of the stout design and construction of Ericson boats!
Nevertheless, I hope to sail upwind again sometime, and consequently, must manufacture a new swing keel.
Any help regarding original design, weight, etc would be GREATLY appreciated!
Also, any thoughts regarding potential improvements over the original spec's would be awesome too--I hope to parlay this misfortune into a chance to create a better boat.
I sail her (still--sans keel) in Charlotte Harbor Florida, which makes the Chesapeake look like the Mariana Trench (only with more sharks) so a deep design is undesirable in principle.
Thanks in advance.