Weighing Ericson 30 Plus vs. Catalina 30...

[smosh]

Catalina 30 (1990) or Ericson 30 Plus (1984)? And why?

Both boats are in comparable shape, well-maintained, invested owners, outfitted similarly...

Use will be daysails in the Bay and occasional cruises up the coast...2-9. days. Stepping up from an O'Day 272.

I know, Catalinas inspire little love - I've owned smaller ones. I've never sailed an Ericson, but people seem to really love them. I think I have a whole left brain/right brain thing going on with these two boats...

Anyone own/sail either one?

[sailingdoc]

Originally Posted by smosh

Catalina 30 (1990) or Ericson 30 Plus (1984)? And why?



Both boats are in comparable shape, well-maintained, invested owners, outfitted similarly...



Use will be daysails in the Bay and occasional cruises up the coast...2-9. days. Stepping up from an O'Day 272.



I know, Catalinas inspire little love - I've owned smaller ones. I've never sailed an Ericson, but people seem to really love them. I think I have a whole left brain/right brain thing going on with these two boats...



Anyone own/sail either one?

I sail an Ericson 30+ (‘86). Stepped up from a Catalina 27 after a few boat-less years. Had looked at a number of C 30s but have never sailed one. My sailing is Long Island Sound. Owned it for 5 years.

I enjoy the Ericson. It feels well balanced, points reasonably well, and has been easy to single hand. POs has done a few upgrades including replacing traveler and rigid vang. Build quality seems on par with Catalinas. On the water, usually feels like I do well with speed relative to similar length boats but haven’t raced it. Overall chose it because it seemed like slightly more performance oriented than the C.

One potential advantage of Catalinas is they are still in business and have a reasonable set of parts still available - although I haven’t yet run into an issue I couldn’t address with the E which has the usual set of “old boat” problems.

Hope this helps. PM me if you have specific questions.

[smosh]

Originally Posted by sailingdoc

I sail an Ericson 30+ (‘86). Stepped up from a Catalina 27 after a few boat-less years. Had looked at a number of C 30s but have never sailed one. My sailing is Long Island Sound. Owned it for 5 years.

I enjoy the Ericson. It feels well balanced, points reasonably well, and has been easy to single hand. POs has done a few upgrades including replacing traveler and rigid vang. Build quality seems on par with Catalinas. On the water, usually feels like I do well with speed relative to similar length boats but haven’t raced it. Overall chose it because it seemed like slightly more performance oriented than the C.

One potential advantage of Catalinas is they are still in business and have a reasonable set of parts still available - although I haven’t yet run into an issue I couldn’t address with the E which has the usual set of “old boat” problems.

Hope this helps. PM me if you have specific questions.

excellent! I worry a bit about the huge mainsail vs a more balanced rig. Two reefing lines are set up nicely, and there's the mainsail management system, so that's good. But the boom seems too low to be able to set up an effective bimini
- I want to stay out of the sun frequently. I really do love shade. But also sailing. I'd keep it retracted a lot. The E30 could also use a dodger.

Ugh, even in the past hour I've flipped between them twice.

[smosh]

Originally Posted by sailingdoc

I sail an Ericson 30+ (‘86). Stepped up from a Catalina 27 after a few boat-less years. Had looked at a number of C 30s but have never sailed one. My sailing is Long Island Sound. Owned it for 5 years.

I enjoy the Ericson. It feels well balanced, points reasonably well, and has been easy to single hand. POs has done a few upgrades including replacing traveler and rigid vang. Build quality seems on par with Catalinas. On the water, usually feels like I do well with speed relative to similar length boats but haven’t raced it. Overall chose it because it seemed like slightly more performance oriented than the C.

One potential advantage of Catalinas is they are still in business and have a reasonable set of parts still available - although I haven’t yet run into an issue I couldn’t address with the E which has the usual set of “old boat” problems.

Hope this helps. PM me if you have specific questions.

excellent! I worry a bit about the huge mainsail vs a more balanced rig. Two reefing lines are set up nicely, and there's the mainsail management system, so that's good. But the boom seems too low to be able to set up an effective bimini
- I want to stay out of the sun frequently. I really do love shade. But also sailing. I'd keep it retracted a lot. The E30 could also use a dodger.

Ugh, even in the past hour I've flipped between them twice.

[Adelie]

Based on year I assume the Catalina is a Mark-3.
If the Catalina has a wing keel that would be a deal breaker for me.

Assuming a regular keel then it depends on what kind of weather is typical in your locale.

LWL and beam are similar for the 2 boats but the Ericsson is 1,000+ lighter and has a lot more sail area so should be faster in light to moderate winds.
In moderate to heavy winds they should be near even. But the Catalina has 1000lb more weight in the hull (Disp - Ballast) which argues that it might be the stronger boat depending on if the were both built with liners or not.

PHRF for the Ericsson seems to be about 170-174
And the Catalina seems to be about 183-186
10 sec per mile isn’t a whole lot for a cruising boat.

[Ericson38]

We had a 1980 E30+ (the first year) in 1985. Ours had the 2 cylinder M16 (Kubota) which was a fuel miser. The E is not built with a liner but a triaxial force grid. I sailed much on our then new friends' C30 (1985) before we got our E. The E sails in a groove to windward, and was always much quicker than their C. The C's steering felt vague, as though there was a bit of wandering around. It was beamy for the length. Accommodations on the C are better, and it might have the 21 hp 3 cylinder Kubota too, which is smooth. As a sailer, the E is better, although the C will accommodate you better when you get to the island (in our case Catalina or Santa Cruz). My favorite sail was the 130 Genoa, which you could set without the main and hands off beat to Catalina from San Pedro with no helm input. The E's bridge deck traveller is great for sail control and mechanical advantage, but not as good for interior access while underway. The E has a reverse curve in the bow flair for a fine entry, and never pounded, at least for our adventures.

We moved up to a 1982 E38 in 1987. That was heaven.

[Stu Jackson]

Originally Posted by smosh

Catalina 30 (1990) or Ericson 30 Plus (1984)? And why?

Both boats are in comparable shape, well-maintained, invested owners, outfitted similarly...

Use will be daysails in the Bay and occasional cruises up the coast...2-9. days. Stepping up from an O'Day 272.

I know, Catalinas inspire little love - I've owned smaller ones. I've never sailed an Ericson, but people seem to really love them. I think I have a whole left brain/right brain thing going on with these two boats...

Anyone own/sail either one?

Lots of folks love their C30s. They made 6,200 of them and then used the same layout for the C309 and now the C305(?)C315).


Folks love their Es, too, and there's a pretty good Ericson Yachts website, but it covers all Es.


The C30 has a website, a google or yahoo group and a tech wiki. Many systems are identical to our C34s, so tech support from owners is huge.

Originally Posted by smosh

excellent! I worry a bit about the huge mainsail vs a more balanced rig. Two reefing lines are set up nicely, and there's the mainsail management system, so that's good. But the boom seems too low to be able to set up an effective bimini
- I want to stay out of the sun frequently. I really do love shade. But also sailing. I'd keep it retracted a lot. The E30 could also use a dodger.

Ugh, even in the past hour I've flipped between them twice.

A dodger will cost $$, so they are not so similarly equipped.


I wouldn't fash about the mainsail size, they designed a good boat and for cruising a 110 jib will work fine, although up to a 130 would do in light air venues.



Are the rigs both single spreader? If double on the E, it's more to rerig the standing rigging, and a tad more work to tune.


What engines do they have, could be way different.



Good luck in deciding. Either way I don't think you could go wrong.