Possibly wrong boat, but dreaming.

[sv_regulus]

I'm sure this is going to unleash a flurry of comments about me being foolish, but nonetheless, I need some answers.
I recently purchased the only boat in my price range that had the features I was looking for and wasn't also a complete mess, only partially one.
A 1988 Ericson 26 mark IV, or 26-2 whatever you would like to call it.

Besides her good looks, I was attracted by her features for a smaller boat, and people bragging about the construction and capabilities. I was also limited by the ability to tow it with a midsize truck, so this is the biggest I could go, as I am not a rich person.

I know she's not an ocean crossing vessel by definition, but I was wondering how feasible it would be? If it's a pipe dream, I guess I'm back to square 1, but acquiring something larger would be difficult to say the least.

What changes should I make? Besides keel bolts and through holes, what else should I upgrade? Does anyone have information on her AVS? I plan to do the refit a bit at a time over two years while learning and studying as much as I can. Then I want to go to Hawaii.

Thanks!

 

[kappykaplan]

Welcome to the forum!
Here's a link to what Sailboatdata says about your new-to-you boat:

ERICSON 26-2 - sailboatdata

Wing Keel = 3′ 11″ Shoal Draft = 3′ 11″ Deep = 4′ 11″ Entirely different from the earlier ERICSON 26 (1966).

sailboatdata.com

Two things jump out at me: 1) not much fuel; and, 2) not much water

 

[sv_regulus]

Welcome to the forum!
Here's a link to what Sailboatdata says about your new-to-you boat:

ERICSON 26-2 - sailboatdata

Wing Keel = 3′ 11″ Shoal Draft = 3′ 11″ Deep = 4′ 11″ Entirely different from the earlier ERICSON 26 (1966).

sailboatdata.com

Two things jump out at me: 1) not much fuel; and, 2) not much water

So more tankage? There seems to be a lot of unused space under the cockpit that would be handy for diesel. I also wanted to replace the head with a composting one , so that frees up the area with the blackwater tank. What would you say the minimum for fuel and water is?

 

[john6206]

You are certainly not foolish - or we all are! (you could make a strong case for either).
I recently upgraded to a 32‘ boat after sailing 16’, 17’, and 18’ boats for 30 years. I’ve been pretty overwhelmed all summer by how big and complicated and expensive my new toy is. Folks on this forum have been super helpful.

How much sailing experience do you have?

 

[sv_regulus]

You are certainly not foolish - or we all are! (you could make a strong case for either).
I recently upgraded to a 32‘ boat after sailing 16’, 17’, and 18’ boats for 30 years. I’ve been pretty overwhelmed all summer by how big and complicated and expensive my new toy is. Folks on this forum have been super helpful.

How much sailing experience do you have?

As of right now, less than a year..
I had always wanted to for years but never had the money, finally just decided to jump and here we are!

 

[kappykaplan]

So more tankage? There seems to be a lot of unused space under the cockpit that would be handy for diesel. I also wanted to replace the head with a composting one , so that frees up the area with the blackwater tank. What would you say the minimum for fuel and water is?

Are you sailing solo to Hawaii?

 

[sv_regulus]

Are you sailing solo to Hawaii?

That's the plan as of now! Trying to convince a friend to do it with me on their own boat. I set a deadline of two years to make it happen.

 

[kappykaplan]

It took me three years to finally go solo on my boat. You've set a quite ambitious goal for so little sailing experience.

 

[shemandr]

Dreams keep us going. You may or not get there but it's the beginning of a journey that will enhance your life. Don't judge the success by if you sail Hawaii or not. Success is in the experiences you have along the way.

 

[dLj]

So more tankage? There seems to be a lot of unused space under the cockpit that would be handy for diesel. I also wanted to replace the head with a composting one , so that frees up the area with the blackwater tank. What would you say the minimum for fuel and water is?

I'm a fan of composting heads - especially on a small sailboat. I use OGO composting heads - they have a nice small foot print. But you can put in any composter that you may prefer. You are going to want all that extra space you'll gain...

How many hours on the engine? Have you still got the original 10 hp diesel? Just a rough guess that engine probably uses about 0.4 gallons per hour running at cruise speed. Maybe less. You may want to know before going. Specs say that boat has about 15 gallons of fuel. So that would be about 37 hours of running time. If you carry two 5 gallon jerry cans, you'd extend that time by about 25 hours, or about 62 hours of motoring, or about 2 1/2 days of non-stop motoring. If you added four 5 gallon jerry cans, you'd then have about 3 1/2 days of non-stop motoring. I'd just keep those kinds of numbers in mind. Knowing what your boat uses is a very good thing to know... You also want to make sure your fuel tank is nice and clean. If it has sludge in it and you clog your filter - doesn't matter how much fuel you have...

I'd be a lot more concerned with your water tankage. It's listed as 18 gallons. Running tight on fresh water usage, you plan on 1 gallon of water per person per day. So sailing alone, you've got 18 days of fresh water. What's the expected sailing time to Hawaii? I think it's about 2300 nm from California to Hawaii. So with good sailing you may be in the 100 nm per 24 hour day or roughly 23 days. I like to plan on at least double the time to a destination for my water supply. Meaning you'd want about 46 gallons or 2 and a half times more water capacity than you currently carry. And that's if you are going solo. I would plan the trip for two people on board - that would make my water capacity requirement about 80 gallons. That would be a much better number to get for fresh water storage. You could think about a water maker, but on a boat that size, I'd probably get two small survival water makers that you run by hand just for energy and storage limitations. Dying from dehydration only takes about 3 days. And it's said to be a pretty unpleasant way to die although I have no first hand knowledge of that..

I'm not sure the concern about the keep bolts. I'd check them for sure, but if they look good I would not just go change them.

Thru-hulls are a definite replace along with the hoses. There shouldn't be very many on that boat and if you go to a composting head, you can get rid of the current thru-hull used for that head.

Standing rigging needs to be changed if it's more than about 10 years old. You need to inspect your chain plates, replace if needed.

Then there are a lot of things to look at, depends upon condition of the boat...

dj

 

[Don S/V ILLusion]

Your expectations might not meet the reality.
Storage space is limited, not just fuel and water but general stores, food, propane, batteries, tools, engine parts,….. We had an E27 many years ago. Good day sailor but offshore passages not so much. A +/- 10 HP engine with the generic 2 blade prop against a wind or current will also be challenging. Winches if original are undersize. Traveler?

 

[dLj]

Your expectations might not meet the reality.
Storage space is limited, not just fuel and water but general stores, food, propane, batteries, tools, engine parts,….. We had an E27 many years ago. Good day sailor but offshore passages not so much. A +/- 10 HP engine with the generic 2 blade prop against a wind or current will also be challenging. Winches if original are undersize. Traveler?

Storage space is a major problem. But 26 feet isn't that small. I have a friend that sailed around the world in a 23 foot boat of a design that has much less space than that Ericson... Tons of folk are crossing oceans in way smaller vessels...

dj

 

[Don S/V ILLusion]

Storage space is a major problem. But 26 feet isn't that small. I have a friend that sailed around the world in a 23 foot boat of a design that has much less space than that Ericson... Tons of folk are crossing oceans in way smaller vessels...

dj

i crossed the U.S. one summer in an MGB but I knew it was an MGB before we started.

 

[sv_regulus]

It took me three years to finally go solo on my boat. You've set a quite ambitious goal for so little sailing experience.

I agree, but I still have two years to gain a little. I didn't really have the advantage of being close to the ocean or coming from a family that sails, so I'm trying to make due with my local sailing club when I have time and reading/watching as much as I can.

 

[sv_regulus]

Dreams keep us going. You may or not get there but it's the beginning of a journey that will enhance your life. Don't judge the success by if you sail Hawaii or not. Success is in the experiences you have along the way.

Thank you! I know it's kinda a lofty goal, but it's keeping me motivated on my overtime days. You're right though! I am going to try to enjoy every bit of the refit and learning process!

 

[sv_regulus]

I'm a fan of composting heads - especially on a small sailboat. I use OGO composting heads - they have a nice small foot print. But you can put in any composter that you may prefer. You are going to want all that extra space you'll gain...

How many hours on the engine? Have you still got the original 10 hp diesel? Just a rough guess that engine probably uses about 0.4 gallons per hour running at cruise speed. Maybe less. You may want to know before going. Specs say that boat has about 15 gallons of fuel. So that would be about 37 hours of running time. If you carry two 5 gallon jerry cans, you'd extend that time by about 25 hours, or about 62 hours of motoring, or about 2 1/2 days of non-stop motoring. If you added four 5 gallon jerry cans, you'd then have about 3 1/2 days of non-stop motoring. I'd just keep those kinds of numbers in mind. Knowing what your boat uses is a very good thing to know... You also want to make sure your fuel tank is nice and clean. If it has sludge in it and you clog your filter - doesn't matter how much fuel you have...

I'd be a lot more concerned with your water tankage. It's listed as 18 gallons. Running tight on fresh water usage, you plan on 1 gallon of water per person per day. So sailing alone, you've got 18 days of fresh water. What's the expected sailing time to Hawaii? I think it's about 2300 nm from California to Hawaii. So with good sailing you may be in the 100 nm per 24 hour day or roughly 23 days. I like to plan on at least double the time to a destination for my water supply. Meaning you'd want about 46 gallons or 2 and a half times more water capacity than you currently carry. And that's if you are going solo. I would plan the trip for two people on board - that would make my water capacity requirement about 80 gallons. That would be a much better number to get for fresh water storage. You could think about a water maker, but on a boat that size, I'd probably get two small survival water makers that you run by hand just for energy and storage limitations. Dying from dehydration only takes about 3 days. And it's said to be a pretty unpleasant way to die although I have no first hand knowledge of that..

I'm not sure the concern about the keep bolts. I'd check them for sure, but if they look good I would not just go change them.

Thru-hulls are a definite replace along with the hoses. There shouldn't be very many on that boat and if you go to a composting head, you can get rid of the current thru-hull used for that head.

Standing rigging needs to be changed if it's more than about 10 years old. You need to inspect your chain plates, replace if needed.

Then there are a lot of things to look at, depends upon condition of the boat...

dj

Thank you! I'm not sure about the hours on the engine unfortunately, as the previous owner didn't connect the hours meter. Either way I'm planning on rebuilding the diesel as that's one thing I do know how to do. As for tankage, I think I can squeeze a larger tank into the space for diesel in the same spot made out of aluminum 2024-T3.
As far as the overall condition of the boat, the deck is solid in all respects, but I've already decided to add backing plates to all critical areas. The chain plates are in good shape, but the standing rigging is showing it's age. I've already begun redoing the electrical systems, plumping, and plan to use bolt time through holes instead of the ones that came with the boat. The rudder looks good, but I plan to drop it and inspect the bearings as a good measure. There is one keel bolt on the very aft of the bilge that appears to be rusted quite severely, so I may investigate that, by the forward 4 bolts are looking good. Keel joint is visible, but the bolts are as tight as I can get them without worrying about breaking something. We'll see come summer if my local yard can help me. Also going to look into barrier coat from west marine to keep the hull nice as it's currently pretty good as far as blisters go.

 

[sv_regulus]

Your expectations might not meet the reality.
Storage space is limited, not just fuel and water but general stores, food, propane, batteries, tools, engine parts,….. We had an E27 many years ago. Good day sailor but offshore passages not so much. A +/- 10 HP engine with the generic 2 blade prop against a wind or current will also be challenging. Winches if original are undersize. Traveler?

I agree she's not an offshore boat, but I don't really have the option of purchasing a larger boat as I am about 6 hours away from the nearest coast. Even if I did, I'm not sure I would be able to make it down there often enough to actually do the refit with the hours I work. I'm already at 70 just to try to get enough money to make this happen. Winches are two Lewmar 16 self tailing winches port and starboard for the headsail, two more standard for halyards and furler. Traveler is a harken. Most of the blocks are lewmar or schaefer. Some of the lines and sheets are dacron braid, quite a few need replaced though.

 

[jssailem]

I agree she's not an offshore boat, but I don't really have the option of purchasing a larger boa

Size is not a determining requirement. There are couples who have crossed oceans in boats 15ft to 20 ft.

Look at the risk of capsizing. A boat is better suited for ocean passages (vs coastal cruising) if the result of the calculation is 2.0 or less. The lower the better.

The Ericsson has a Capsize Screening Formula: 2.13

Comfort ratio talks about what it would be like onboard in a storm disturbed sea.
Comfort Ratio: 18.17
Numbers below 20 indicate a lightweight racing boat, small dinghy and such;
20 to 30 indicates a coastal cruiser;
30 to 40 indicates a moderate bluewater cruising boat;
40 to 50 indicates a heavy bluewater boat;
over 50 indicates an extremely heavy bluewater boat.
Comfort ratio = D ÷ (.65 x (.7 LWL + .3 LOA) x Beam^1.33),

Age is the number. Are you healthy enough to survive the experience. If not are you ready to die? The ocean doesn’t care about you. Your dreams. Or the size of your boat.

 

[sv_regulus]

Size is not a determining requirement. There are couples who have crossed oceans in boats 15ft to 20 ft.

Look at the risk of capsizing. A boat is better suited for ocean passages (vs coastal cruising) if the result of the calculation is 2.0 or less. The lower the better.

The Ericsson has a Capsize Screening Formula: 2.13

Comfort ratio talks about what it would be like onboard in a storm disturbed sea.
Comfort Ratio: 18.17
Numbers below 20 indicate a lightweight racing boat, small dinghy and such;
20 to 30 indicates a coastal cruiser;
30 to 40 indicates a moderate bluewater cruising boat;
40 to 50 indicates a heavy bluewater boat;
over 50 indicates an extremely heavy bluewater boat.
Comfort ratio = D ÷ (.65 x (.7 LWL + .3 LOA) x Beam^1.33),

Age is the number. Are you healthy enough to survive the experience. If not are you ready to die? The ocean doesn’t care about you. Your dreams. Or the size of your boat.

Not to sound dark, but yes I am. No kids, family, but distant. Nothing really to leave behind, so I don't fear it.

 

[jssailem]

I know she's not an ocean crossing vessel by definition, but I was wondering how feasible it would be?

I’m surprised that you elected to write about being dark and “no fear”.

It seems you missed the salient first statement, “it is not about size nor money for a brand new boat”. It is about preparation. The ocean is not about fear it is about respect. If you set out to sea into a storm the ocean will chew you up without regard for the size of your boat.

If you prepare your boat for a journey across open water, you select good weather and sea conditions there are great odds in your favor that you will make a successful passage. A seaworthy boat designed for open water is likely to get you safely to your destination.

In some ways it is much like flying. If your plane is properly prepared and you have the skills/training, and don’t take off into a thunderstorm there is a reasonable expectation that your journey will be a success. If you choose an ultralight plane and try to fly across Alaska in winter you are less likely to be successful.