E38 / E381 / E38-200 iterations (?)

can someone tell me if this is the same boat

If you are looking at "Phoenix" then the answer is yes. I believe that Ericson only made the 38-200 in 1988. She is a nice boat. Her owner bought a new Beneteau. The boat was originally from Falmouth, Maine but I think she was moved south for better exposure. She has been for sale a couple of years now and I bet the owner is ready to sell her. She was originally offered at a price tens of thousands more than she is listed at now.

I have seen the "Mk 1" interior layout on an '86, and also on an '87 that is/was for sale. By '88 they may have decided to limit production to the 200-series "tri cabin" interior plan with the head alft...
And, then, somewhere by late '88 or early '89, they were starting to share/move production over to their future partner/buyer, PSC, and PSC only wanted to acquire the "tri cabin interior" Ericsons (32-200, late model 34, and 38-200).

Both layouts have their distinct advantages.

Opinions rendered on the hour, while U wait.

Loren

I'm no expert but mine is a 86, 38-200 and I believe the extra 200 means the engine is under the gally sink. Earlier models have the opposing seats starboard and the engine under the steps. There were a few years when either was an option. Then later the engines were all under the steps with a more modern cabin layout. All are wonderful sailing boats the difference is mostly cabin layout and the way YOU really want the cabin.

The "classic" E-38 came out in about 1979 - it had a dinette to port and an entertainment center (a table with opposing seats) to starboard, plus a forward head. A variation on the 38, the 381, was also produced - it used the same hull and deck, but had port & starboard settees and a shorter rig. A few other permutations were also built: 38 short rig, 381 tall rig, settee plus dinette ... It could get pretty confusing!

The 38-200 Series came out in the mid 80's. It used the same hull, keel and rudder as the 38, but had a different deck and interior. It had an aft head and a large aft cabin. IIRC, the first few 38-200's had the engine under the galley, but on later boats the engine was moved aft under the companionway steps and the galley was modified. The 38-200 can be identified on the exterior by an additional opening port aft of the large fixed ports on each side.

The 38-200 with the "Euro-style" interior was popular when it was introduced and probably out-sold the classic 38, but there was some overlap when both models were offered.
-Roger

E38 vs. E381

Has anyone seen Ericson marketing or design philosophy material explaining the differences between the E38 and the E381. I know there is a difference of about three feet in mast height, but what drove that adjustment? Any other differences?

E-38 variations...

And, while we are at it, when was the interior change done on the "mark one" version where the enclosure around the aft berth entry was eliminated. Also the wood stove went away and a larger hanging locker appears in photos in that forward starboard area.
Since I much prefer the nav desk in the earlier interior, this is interesting.

From looking at boats for sale on YW, I note that the very first interior version was being built thru '86 or '87.

Thanks,
Loren

There was a thread a few months ago regarding the differences between the 38 & 38-200, with some mention of the 381: www.ericsonyachts.org/infoexchange/showthread.php?t=6882

Thanks Roger.
I combined the threads and made the title more inclusive to save searching.
Loren

WBurgner said:

Has anyone seen Ericson marketing or design philosophy material explaining the differences between the E38 and the E381. I know there is a difference of about three feet in mast height, but what drove that adjustment? Any other differences?

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There were many iterations of the 38. To here my father tell it,
some of the mods to Ericsons were done with a gun to his head.
The 381 had a simplified interior to get the price point down. Another
variable in the mix was Ericson's amenability to customer requests
which accounts for some of the unique features that are seen
on particular boats, often leaving us to puzzle over the differences
some 20 years later.

Martin

E38 / e381

Thanks Martin,

Can anyone comment on the performance differences that would accrue from the difference in mast height? Boom length remained the same, so the loss of sail area is mostly aloft. I am no expert on sail dynamics, but I would think that would make the rig less tender with a minimum of power loss by lowering the center of effort.

Is the upper portion of a sail, with it's reduced area, a high contributor to the overall power of a given rig?

Bill,
You are correct, the c.e. is a bit lower and the boat will be a little
less tender, but you give up some light air performance.

38-200 Accomodations

Looking for anyone with a 38-200 to comment.. I have a 35-3 which I really love, but besides racing we cruise alot with friends (who have floating RV's). My wifes biggest complaint is the sleeping accomodations on the 35 (V berth too small).. Is the V-berth in the 38-200 considered the "captains quarters" or does the aft state room normally serve in that capacity. Do you consider it adequate? Would it be equivalent to a double or queen size ? If I do step up to a larger boat, I want it to be an Ericson..

Thanks,
joe

I can't comment on the -200 model but I can on the 381. The V-berth is the captains quarters and its plenty large. I'm 6ft, 225 and fit fit with my wife next to me. Lots more legroom too, I'm guessing a 6'6" person would be fine. We recently had 6 people on board overnight. Not private but plenty comfortable, I actually got comments stating how surprised they were with the comfort. Thumbs up to an old design that works. RT

V Berth

One of the reasons we bought the Ericson 38 was the size of the Vee berth. It's too small on many boats including the similarly sized Morgan 38. We have a custom HCM mattress on ours, very comfortable for 2 of us, plenty of leg-room. Last season I was 6ft 220 and the wife 5'3" 145. This year we have even more room as I'm down to 175 and the wife is a svelte 120. Just braggin' ... (diet tips available on request.)

Also we have entertained another couple on board for up to a month when cruising the Bahamas. When we have that situation we often give our guests the vee berth and we use the quarter berth. That gives our guests the privacy door and besides we're early risers and so can get the cofee going and tune in to the SSB weather, Cruise-Hiemers, local nets and get to the electrical panel, etc without rousing our guests. Anyway, we find that berth to be quite comfortable for the two of us although engine heat can be an issue back there. We just try to get the battery charging done before noon.

Also on our 381, we have a shower stall that's separated from the head. A key feature for keeping the TP dry. A feature not avalable on the Morgan or any number of similar boats.

I should note that we cruise with our 11lb dog as well. She sleeps with the wife and knows not to intrude on my side of the bed.

e38 differences

I believe there are a few other differences which have not been mentioned. Look at the 38 transom vs the 38-200. The 38-200 has a smaller transom and the angle of the reverse transom is less severe on the 200 vs the 38. The cabin top has been extended a bit for the aft head resulting in a smaller cockpit...also I heard that the rudder position is further aft on the 38-200 compared to the 38.

Don Taugher
Running Free

V-Berths

The 38-200's are great boats, but the 35-3s have slightly larger V-Berths... but smaller everything else.

The large V-berth was one of the main reasons we chose our boat.

joerun26 said:

Looking for anyone with a 38-200 to comment.. I have a 35-3 which I really love, but besides racing we cruise alot with friends (who have floating RV's). My wifes biggest complaint is the sleeping accomodations on the 35 (V berth too small).. Is the V-berth in the 38-200 considered the "captains quarters" or does the aft state room normally serve in that capacity. Do you consider it adequate? Would it be equivalent to a double or queen size ? If I do step up to a larger boat, I want it to be an Ericson..

Thanks,
joe

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