Ericson 32 Capabilities

dlochner · May 27, 2020

Erikson's have a good reputation. While it is not a 32, Christian Williams has sailed to Hawaii on his Ericson 38.

Christian Williams

Christian Williams' videos span his sailing experience from childhood, through early multihull Bermuda races to singlehanded voyages to Hawaii in his 70s. A ...

www.youtube.com

dLj · May 27, 2020

Ya kinda have to know the year... See article in Practical Sailor:

Ericson 32 - Practical Sailor

Since 1974, Practical Sailor’s independent testing has taken the guesswork out of boat and gear buying.

www.practical-sailor.com

dj

Alan Gomes · May 27, 2020

You'll find very excellent and specific information on this boat (and on all things Ericson) on the ericsonyachts.org site.

JK_Boston_Catalina310 · May 27, 2020

It's not the boat, it's the crew. Most boats can withstand more than the crew.

With any used boat the condition she is kept in is more important than the stickers on the side. Use this forum to learn how to maintain the boat. Read about heavy weather sailing and take the boat out in good conditions and practice.

shemandr · May 27, 2020

The keel shape of the early Ericsons was kind of a blend of a fin keel and a full keel. It looks like they just cut away the aft section of a full keel. The result some have said is that it doesn't get the ballast down low and it isn't a foil. So two of the important criteria for a keel weren't met. The PS article says something similar in the 9th paragraph. On the other hand some of the comments praise the boats upwind performance. One even saying it sails faster upwind the downwind. Is that praise? I'm not sure.
Webb Chiles made an ocean passage in a production Ericson 37 - a major understatement. He sailed around the world passing the 3 great capes. The boat was falling apart by Australia but he completed the voyage. He was way overtaxing the boat. It wasn't built for that. You don't want a boat to oil can far from shore. It's a coastal cruiser at heart.

dlochner · May 27, 2020

shemandr said:
Webb Chiles made an ocean passage in a production Ericson 37 - a major understatement. He sailed around the world passing the 3 great capes. The boat was falling apart by Australia but he completed the voyage. He was way overtaxing the boat. It wasn't built for that. You don't want a boat to oil can far from shore. It's a coastal cruiser at heart.

Webb Chiles also tried to circumnavigate in Drascombe Luger, an open ~20' yawl and just recently completed a circumnavigation in a Merit 25.

shemandr · May 27, 2020

Look for his interview in Small Craft Advisor issue 122. It's very revealing. Interesting man.

rgranger · May 27, 2020

Here are some calculations related to your boat

And here is what they mean...

So your boat is reasonably canvased and should perform well under sail... i.e. faster than some boat in the 32 range...but her S# is less than 2 so that says just the opposite... YMMV. Her ballast ratio is above 40 so stiff (stiff is good). Displacement to length ratio is high so also good. Comfort ratio puts her in the coastal cruiser range... which means you could cross an ocean but you would be less comfortable than in some other boats. Her capsize screening ratio is below 2 so a relatively safe boat in harsh conditions.

All in all, I'd say you have a safe heavy cruiser that will sail as well as the next boat.
Enjoy

Stu Jackson · May 27, 2020

Alan Gomes said:
ericsonyachts.org site

I agree.

Very nice skippers there, as well as here. There works best for "boat-specific" questions. Here works great for systemic questions and all the rest of fun boating.

Congratulations, welcome and enjoy.

dlochner · May 28, 2020

Mike Smothers said:
Excuse my very amateur questions but, do you think the S# is under two because of the atomic 4 engine? It’s a gas engine which tells me it wouldn’t have as much power as a diesel motor.

The Sail # does not deal with the engine.

When under power sailboats need lots of torque to turn the prop, so torque is more important than horsepower. The Atomic 4, which is probably the gas engine in the boat has more horsepower than most diesels in the 30-35 range. However, diesels have more torque so a lower HP engine is needed. My 30 ft Sabre had a Volvo MD7A Diesel with 13 HP, it was more than enough power.

rgranger · May 28, 2020

Mike Smothers said:
Excuse my very amateur questions but, do you think the S# is under two because of the atomic 4 engine? It’s a gas engine which tells me it wouldn’t have as much power as a diesel motor.

I got those numbers from sailboatdata.com

Here is the direct link to your boat

https://sailboatdata.com/sailboat/ericson-32-2

and here is what sailboadata.com says about the S#
S#:
S# first appeared (that we know of) in TellTales, April 1988, “On a Scale of One to Ten” by A.P. Brooks . The equation incorporates SA/Disp (100% fore triangle) and Disp/length ratios to create a guide to probable boat performance vs. other boats of comparable size. For boats of the same length, generally the higher the S#, the lower the PHRF.

So it has more to do with sail area and overall mass of the boat than horsepower. You have a heavy boat so it will take time to get up to full speed. But that same inertia will make the boat a lot more comfortable in chop and waves. Not a great choice if you are racing around the buoys and changing tacks every 20 minutes but not a problem (and a plus IMHO) on longer cruises where you stay on a set bearing for hours... YMMV

rgranger · May 28, 2020

Mike Smothers said:
Excuse my very amateur questions but, do you think the S# is under two because of the atomic 4 engine? It’s a gas engine which tells me it wouldn’t have as much power as a diesel motor.

And by the way... everyone on this forum is an amateur (some of us more than others

), even those who do this for a living...

jssailem · May 31, 2020

JK_Boston_Catalina310 said:
It's not the boat, it's the crew. Most boats can withstand more than the crew.

Mike, Welcome to the forum. Congrats for being on the receiving end of a new to you boat. Also condolences. Old boats are character revealers. She will go as long and as far as you have the patience and the skill to sail her. She will require some initial inspection and maintenance of those things that previous owners did not attend.

You will have fun in the bay as San Diego is a great place to learn to sail. Once you have spent some time with the boat you'll discover the limits you will find together. You will not likely find a neighborhood party of 30 comfortable on the boat. A party of 2 is perfect. A gathering of 4 fun. Or a solo sailor can find a boat like the Erickson able to take him/her to many adventures both near and far.

My recommendations are to find a sailing friend (if any of this feels - well beyond your comfort zone seek professional help) and explore the boat together. Learn how to operator the various systems (sails, steerage, lines, engine, pumps, head etc). Fix what is not working. Check the hull for soundness. Inspect the anchoring system for function. Then take her out into the bay and sail.

By the end of the first day you will have an idea if you want to take her out on the ocean or turn her into a live aboard gathering barnacles in a marina.

Ericson 32 Capabilities

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