wannbe Ericson owner

[Dave Wilkins]

My family and I are fair weather sailors cruising along the coast of Maine for some 15 years now. My wife and I were both raised sailing and it is an important part of our families togetherness. Our present boat (Nonsuch 30) has been great. Standing headroom thoughout for me (6'3") and good sailing performance mostly. She is a very comfortable easily sailed boat with room seen in few 35 footers. She is not unfortunately a safe offshore vessel (in my opinion). She is unstayed cat rigged w/ wishbone, a huge cockpit and flat wide transom. She won't heave to and is difficult to keep into the wind during a good blow. This leaves my stern facing the seas..and that huge cockpit.
That all said there is discussion lately of cruising for some extended period...and we have always loved Ericsons.

My question....what models of Ericson will give my 6'3" high head clearance? Sleeping 3 comfortably is essential with 5 occasionally. Any insights are appreciated.

Thanks all in advance.

Dave Wilkins
NS30C "Baloo"
Round Pond, ME

 

[ccorcoran]

Headroom/Offshore Capabilities

Hi Dave,

I've owned three Ericsons -- an E28, an E38 and an E34 (our current boat). The late 80s E34s have approx. 6.2 of headroom. I'm 6.1 and it's very comfortable for me; my olderst son is 6.8 and he seems to be able to get around easily. I suppose any of the late 80s 34s, 35s and 38s will yield about the same relative headroom. As for sea kindliness, the 34 is an all-around sweet boat to sail - fast up wind, stable downwind, heaves to easily and they carry a double spreader tapered rig that's pretty beefy. Below decks, you'll find that a three cabin layout (34, optional 38, the 35 is a traditional 2-cabin layout) that is rich in teak and well-finished, comfortably sleeping three, four or five (two stateroom configuration). The design is functional, elegant and durable. As with anything that's 14+ years old, do your homework and make sure you have everything surveyed. We bought our 34 two years ago and it was in very nice shape. Since then, we've replaced the standing rigging, updated with hydraulic backstay adjuster, new Harken Big Boat Traveler, new running rigging, redone all hatches and ports, refinished the sole and generally crawled around everyhting to make sure its working (too many other things to mention). As for offshore capabilities, if you check the latest stats, there are three or four Ericson bound for Hawaii in the Transpac and West Marine singles to Hawaii; I've run up and down the West coast in Ericsons, I've not taken one to Hawaii or beyond. IMHO, with the right prep, I'd be willing to head out on our boat. I hope that helps and that some others offer even more food for thought!

 

[Loren Beach]

a few more to look at...

Having owned a Hinterhoeller-built boat for a decade, I would be inclined to keep your present boat and add drain capability to the cockpit.

As noted, there are several fine Ericson designs that would do what you want.I especially like the earlier E-38 with the large nav table.

I would add to your list the Ericson Independance 36 cutter, the Holland-designed E-36 (which has an interior layout totally designed for offshore sailing), and even a boat like ours, the Olson 34. The later would be on the small side as far as tankage and storage, but is designed and constructed for open ocean use.

Happy shopping,

Loren in PDX

 

[boatboy]

Our Ericson 39B has 6'5" headroom. You can sleep one couple in the v-berth, one couple in the aft cabin and 3 in single berths in the salon. Most importantly she sails wonderfully well in the ocean. Reasonably fast, steady on her feet and it takes some pretty extreme conditions to get her to pound. The difficulty will be in finding one, as there were only 20 made.