Looking for Ericson 29 Advice

[Mark Corson]

I am a first time boat buyer. I am considering a 1973 Ericson 29. Can anyone give me answers to these questions?1. What is the general reputation of the Ericson 29?2. Does the E29 seem an appropriate match to my intended use?The specs of this boat are as follows.- LOA 29'- LWL 22'- Beam 9'3"- Displacement 8,500 lbs- Ballast 3,900- Draft 4'4"- Gas Atomic Four 1973- Sail area unknown- 6 winches- Headsail furler- All lines do not lead to cockpit- Tiller- Cockpit 88"- No bridgedeck- Ice box- Two burner stove- SS sink- No hot water- 2 dbl berths, 2 singles- Head- Dinette- Adequate instrumentation and electronicsBefore I make an offer I intend to get a professional survey, including engine check.My intend use is primarly daysailing/evening sailing with 4 to 6 adults. A few times I intend to weekend with my wife and maybe 2 close friends. I'm 54 years old. I would prefer to be able to have a boat that I would be comfortable sailing even if the wind picks up to 25 knots and waves go as high as 6 foot. Naturally I would reef and furl as needed. I would need to learn how to handle the boat over time. My area of sailing will be around Lake Erie. I would like to go across to the Canadian side without too much of a concern. From Cleveland it is roughly 70 miles. I also would like to go to the Lake Erie islands area, roughly 50 miles. I want to learn to sail single handed.I intend to sail from April to late November.I also intend to apply for membership in the Edgewater Yacht Club in Cleveland. It is has a large number of sailing boats and I think I could learn a lot from the members.Any advice or counsel will be appreciated.My phone is 216-685-6118, office. 216-378-1212, home.Email mark.corson@ey.com.

 

[Jeff]

E29 thoughts

I do not have much direct experience with the E29, but I did own an E27 for a number of years ... and it's of the same general design. These are solid boats with a lot of room for the size. You just have to accept that they aren't the shiney penny new style boats with lots of yuppie do-dads, but they are solid, good sailing boats.With good sails it should be a decent performer My 27 would keep with up and usually outrun Catalina 30's and a good number of new Hunters. They handle heavy wind marvelously, and that big cockpit will carry the 4-6 adults you mentioned.Condition of the systems and sails will make the difference, but it should be a lot of boat for a modest price.JeffE30+ Adrenaline

 

[Barrie McDonald]

Ericson 29 A Great Boat for its Size

Hi Mark,I owned an Ericson 29 for 9 years. its a great boat. Well made and very easy to sail. You get a lot of boat for its 29 foot length. It also had the atomic 4 gas engine and it was more or less reliable but I did have to get towed home a couple of times. my engine was raw water cooled but it worked just fine. It did sometimes overheat. Atomic 4 engines were made for about 30 or so years and were the main standard pleasure boat engine until disels made headway.I do consider an inboard gas engine to be a bit of a fire hazard whereas with disel, no problem. You might be able to negoiate a good deal by complaining about this engine as disel refits are readily avaiable installed for about $8000.00 us currency.No matter what, Ericson is a fine boat and the 29 is especially so. it was one of their most popular models. Although I now sail a Hunter Legend 37 I still miss my Ericson 29 as it was very cheap to maintain and fun to sail.Good Luck,Barrie

 

[Joe Ford]

Ericson 29

It's a pretty solid boat with a good reputation. Out here you can pick one up for about 15-20 K, depending on condition. Check out "Practical-Sailor.com" where you can order a full report/evaluation on that and many other boats.