Ericson Yachts for Sale

Ericson started in southern California around 1963, put together by two men named Handy and Jenkins out of molds bought from a failed builder and, by one account, from an enterprising dump operator. It went into Chapter 11 almost immediately and was bought in 1965 by Mark Pitman and Del Walton, who are the ones who made it work. The decisive move was hiring Bruce King, who drew nearly everything the company built: the E-23, E-30, E-32 Scorpion, E-35, E-41 and later the 30+, 34, 38 and 381. Ownership changed repeatedly, to Pacific American Industries in 1968, which built the new plant, to CML in 1971 and to Acquico in 1985, but the boats stayed recognizable: moderate displacement fin keel cruiser racers of 23 to 46 feet, quicker and more modern under water than the heavy full keel cruisers of the same years, with well proportioned interiors. The company ceased operations in 1990 and liquidated, and the molds for the 26, 28, 32, 34, 38 and the never built 43 were bought by Pacific Seacraft.

Everything under this badge is thirty five to sixty years old, there is no factory and no warranty, so buy on condition and maintenance history rather than on model year. They are good boats to survey because the problems are consistent and findable: balsa cored decks that have taken water around stanchion bases and other deck fittings, chainplates and their bedding, the rudder and its shaft, original tanks, and every hose and seacock. Expect the engine, the standing rigging and the sails to be due unless there is paperwork proving otherwise, and price accordingly. Parts are not a real obstacle, because the deck gear is standard American hardware of the period and there is an unusually good owners community that has documented these boats model by model. Where Ericsons earn their keep is on the water: they sail better than most cruisers of their era for the money, which makes the later Bruce King boats, the 34, 38 and 381, the ones worth waiting for.