Queequeg said..
Hi folks

We are looking at keel boats and have recently sat on an Ericson 35 Mk ll, feels great and I think is perfect for our coastal cruising ambitions.

Does anyone know anything about them, good, bad or ugly? There is a fantastic US forum of owners, not unlike the S&S fans!

Cheers
Gordon

The 30 to 35 foot length range size of yacht is a sweet spot for those seeking a comfortable performance cruising yacht that will not break the bank.

Not that I am biased of course but my Lotus 9.2 is a prime example of that concept.

Here is a review of the Ericson 35. Looks like a very smart yacht to me.

http://www.boatus.com/boatreviews/sail/Ericson35.asp

By the way, welcome to the forum. Something happened to Julius Caesar on his way here but I just can't remember what it was.

Apparently not all Ericsons are the same ....the following taken from Cisco's link .........

This month we are going to take a look at the Ericson 35 LOA 34' 8" circa 1969-1982, not to be confused with the Ericson 35, LOA 34' 9" circa 1965; or the Ericson 35, LOA 35' 6" circa 1983-1990; or the Ericson 36, LOA 35' 7" circa 1982-1986; or the Ericson 34, LOA 34' 10" circa 1987-1996. Are you beginning to see where I'm coming from on this?

Queequeg said..

Being our first keelboat (we've sailed everything from dinghys up) we want a sea kindly boat that is not going to break the bank.

Hopefully there are other owners past or present with an opinion.

The only "seakindly" boats are 1,000 foot long or more. Anything shorter than that is uncomfortable and "un-seakindly".

So within any particular budget, one can buy a slow boat (I don't want a racing yacht, I just want a "comfortable cruising yacht") or one can buy a fast yacht.

Being in the anchorage with the pick down before sun down, cracking a coldie and searing the steak is a lot more comfortable than being out there at 10 pm still trying to bash your way into the anchorage.

No matter which yacht you buy, invariably the first thing you need to do is de-junk it, unload it and only put back on board the essentials.

The best designed yacht will sail like a dog if it is overloaded.

I have no experience of Ericson yachts but they appear to have a good reputation.

Re:- Opinions. They are like arseholes. Everybody has got one and the above is mine.

My advice:- Buy a fast fin keel sloop. Most of them balance really well and are easy to control......and will get you into the anchorage when you want to be there.

Ramona said..

Queequeg said..
Thanks for the welcome,

The Ericson www.ericsonyachts.org/ chaps are very much aware of the "variety" in the cohort. I'm looking at the '82 model which was the last of the production prior to a change of the ownership. The vessel was sailed out from the US so speaks to its sea going ability.

Being our first keelboat (we've sailed everything from dinghys up) we want a sea kindly boat that is not going to break the bank.

Hopefully there are other owners past or present with an opinion.

There are a lot of American boats in Australia. They do the easy sail out but the owners sell them to avoid the uphill sail home.

If it was sailed out from the US is the Import duty and GST paid?

Queequeg said..

Yara said..

If it was sailed out from the US is the Import duty and GST paid?

It's been here through 3 owners so I guess the Guvment has got its pound of flesh already.

Depending on when it was brought to Australia, being a US built boat there would be no duty payable, only the GST component of the cost of getting it to Australia.