After another round of boat shopping in mid-January, I finally pulled the trigger on an Ericson 29, located in Oriental. I was admittedly influenced by the fear that hordes of sailors from NY and NJ who lost their boats to Hurricane Sandy would be headed South waving insurance checks and gobbling up everything of value in the Carolinas.
A 1976 model, she has an Atomic 4 gasoline engine, purported to be in good condition, good mainsail, and a strong 150% roller furled jib. Both sails were still stiff and had seen little use. She needed work but had a price tag less than half that of the S2 in New Bern. The promise of a year's free dockage sealed the deal.
The free slip was located on the upper end of Smith Creek in a small development named Oriental Plantation. It's in a small marina designed to accommodate owners of interior lots. It has water (April to December) and 30 amp power. The drawback is that it has no facilities and very little water for the Ericson's 4'4" draft (more on that later). The 20-slip marina only had about 6 boats.
The Ericson 29 enjoys the reputation of being a solid, stable boat with classic lines and good speed. She had spent a couple of years in Norfolk, VA as a live aboard for a serviceman so she needed some attention.
The boat had a couple of goodies that sweetened the pot. A year-old Garmin 546 Chartplotter and a flat-screen TV with a built-in DVD player.
The first project was the head. Somewhere along the line, the waste holding tank had been removed. That left the illegal and disgusting option of pumping the waste directly overboard. We removed the existing head and waste hoses, capping off the thru-hull fittings. A porta potty, a Thetford Curve, with 5 gallons of water and a 5-gallon waste tank took its place.
The next project was to replace the old (probably original), frayed upholstery that reeked of cigarette smoke. Bob Buntin, the owner of the 27 O'Day that I looked at in December, owns a sail and canvas shop in New Bern, so I turned to him for help. He replaced the nasty, disintegrating 3" foam with 4" of high-density foam topped with 2" of memory foam and a quality beige Sunbrella interior fabric. We gained not only a new look but two new friends - Bob and his wife Robin.
June accessorized with colorful fish cushions and made new curtains.
At some point in her past, the Ericson had a binacled stove and oven in the galley but that had been removed in favor of a small dorm sized refrigerator that didn't work. In the interest of gaining more storage space I used the space to create a shelf for a small microwave oven with a large drawer below. Behind the microwave is storage for my butane stove and other goodies. The counter above lifts up to provide access.
A 1976 model, she has an Atomic 4 gasoline engine, purported to be in good condition, good mainsail, and a strong 150% roller furled jib. Both sails were still stiff and had seen little use. She needed work but had a price tag less than half that of the S2 in New Bern. The promise of a year's free dockage sealed the deal.
The free slip was located on the upper end of Smith Creek in a small development named Oriental Plantation. It's in a small marina designed to accommodate owners of interior lots. It has water (April to December) and 30 amp power. The drawback is that it has no facilities and very little water for the Ericson's 4'4" draft (more on that later). The 20-slip marina only had about 6 boats.
The Ericson 29 enjoys the reputation of being a solid, stable boat with classic lines and good speed. She had spent a couple of years in Norfolk, VA as a live aboard for a serviceman so she needed some attention.
The boat had a couple of goodies that sweetened the pot. A year-old Garmin 546 Chartplotter and a flat-screen TV with a built-in DVD player.
The first project was the head. Somewhere along the line, the waste holding tank had been removed. That left the illegal and disgusting option of pumping the waste directly overboard. We removed the existing head and waste hoses, capping off the thru-hull fittings. A porta potty, a Thetford Curve, with 5 gallons of water and a 5-gallon waste tank took its place.
The next project was to replace the old (probably original), frayed upholstery that reeked of cigarette smoke. Bob Buntin, the owner of the 27 O'Day that I looked at in December, owns a sail and canvas shop in New Bern, so I turned to him for help. He replaced the nasty, disintegrating 3" foam with 4" of high-density foam topped with 2" of memory foam and a quality beige Sunbrella interior fabric. We gained not only a new look but two new friends - Bob and his wife Robin.
June accessorized with colorful fish cushions and made new curtains.
At some point in her past, the Ericson had a binacled stove and oven in the galley but that had been removed in favor of a small dorm sized refrigerator that didn't work. In the interest of gaining more storage space I used the space to create a shelf for a small microwave oven with a large drawer below. Behind the microwave is storage for my butane stove and other goodies. The counter above lifts up to provide access.
A previous owner had named her' First Impression '. The name had been lettered over the shadowy remains of yet another name that was illegible. I removed the names from the stern and left her temporarily nameless - waiting for inspiration to strike.
It was a good start on a long term project to make her a comfortable boat for exploring the Inner Banks of North Carolina.
