In 1971 the 10th Ericson 39 was launched. Originally named Orca, then New Orca, she came to us in October of 2018 and was renamed Tiburón. She was, and remains, a masterpiece. I recall the look on our Marine Surveyor Jim Wallace’s face, as he said, “Nothing moves like an Ericson”. It is true. I grew up on an Ericson 30. Bruce King had a way of making a boat that was both beautiful and sea kindly. Some boats plane over the waves, others pound through them. The Ericson moves like a porpoise through them. She has the lines of an era in boat design when the aesthetic of the vessel was as important as the sailing characteristics. Look at the modern trend of hard chines, no overhang on the bow or stern, and scow shaped hulls. Are these really beautiful? Do they suggest a oneness with the sea? Or do they seem sterile and more suited to cocktails at the dock than crossing an ocean?
I have to say that my personal aesthetic leans heavily toward the graceful lines that suggest a willingness to meet a swell and embrace it in a sort of dance. I will quickly concede that the Ericson 39, while beautiful, has all the living space of a 30-footer. I have been aboard a few recent vintage Beneteaus and had the sense that they were designed by Ikea. The wide beam made me feel like I might fall 10 to 12 feet if I were to lose my footing below. My Ericson was designed to sail offshore and to do so quickly. Hand holds abound below. She is nimble, goes to wind like a freight train, and well balanced. Yes, she can be a bit squirrelly downwind. I would not call her a broach-coach, like so many IOR vessels of her vintage, but she can be tender.
While I love the design of the boat, I came to realize that she would need some upgrades to do what we wanted her to do. The previous owner was meticulous in her care. She came to us in “turnkey” condition. She had obviously been updated. Her standing rigging was new. The sails were crunchy. The winches – I have come to love those winches – were clearly aftermarket. Her most reliable and frustrating component is her diesel. It is a Perkins Prima. Let me say now, that I am heartbroken that these engines are still not being manufactured. Ours will start if you look hard at it. It sips diesel. Reliable is the engine’s middle name. But parts are nearly impossible to find. We are replacing our heat exchanger. Ours clearly had work done on it. You can see the welds on the tube. We are having to have a new one fabricated.
We have updated the electronics and had the boat rewired. She has Garmin radar and gauges. She has an electric autopilot that can be set to apparent wind or compass heading. I rarely use this. We updated the rudder with a Schumacher design (the higher aspect ratio diminishes weather helm but does nothing to help back the boat). The new rudder means that I can balance the trim going to wind and that the boat will track arrow straight. I’ve sat by the helm without touching the wheel in amazement. We've added AIS.
We are installing a Rainman watermaker and will be adding a Hydrovane steering system. We updated the freezer/fridge. We are installing an Iridium offshore internet system (that will provide real time tracking when we are doing crossings). She will be getting a new set of sails. We installed solar panels some years ago and will be upgrading these.
Our goal is to upgrade the Ericson, while keeping what makes her a the sexiest boat on the water.
More later…
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