Design and Construction
The 25+ is built on a solid hand-laid fiberglass hull with an external molded flange, mated to a balsa-cored deck, cockpit, and cabin trunk whose high-stress zones — under the deck-stepped mast and around deck hardware — are swapped to plywood. Practical Sailor found the exterior glasswork clean, with little roving printthrough, and noted that the cored deck gave a remarkably solid feel with none of the sponginess small boats often show. A molded fiberglass body pan is glassed inside the hull to carry interior furniture and stiffen the structure. The hull-to-deck joint is a secondary chemical bond between flanges, bedded in glass-reinforced polyester resin and lapped inside with four layers of mat and cloth, then capped outside by a plastic extrusion with a soft insert serving as rub rail. Below the waterline, every through-hull carries a Zytel reinforced-plastic valve; most hoses are double-clamped, though the icebox drain makes do with a single clamp.
Rig and Handling
King's delta fin keel is the headline: he states the form has very low induced drag, and the 25's behavior under sail reinforces that belief anchor. Owners report the boat is fast despite her chubby proportions, and the fractional rig with inboard chainplates permits narrow headsail sheeting with the genoa track tucked almost against the cabin side. A full-width mainsheet traveler on the bridgedeck gives positive mainsail control, and the split backstay allows a backstay adjuster to induce useful mast bend. The mast itself is a black deck-stepped extrusion with a stainless step that looks surprisingly fragile; because the rig is meant to be owner-stepped, the forward lower section of the mast heel is cut away to pivot, which greatly reduces bearing surface. In contrast, the Navtec chainplates and terminals are heavily built and strongly tied to the hull. There is no main halyard winch — only a single mast-mounted unit — and no boom topping lift, a omission the reviewers found hard to defend on a cruiser.
Accommodations
Below, the 25+ is a genuine accomplishment for its length. An honest 6 feet of headroom sits under a main cabin finished in off-white fiberglass and teak, with a teak-and-holly sole and later-production teak strip ceilings. The bow V-berth with filler makes a nominal double, though two normal-sized adults will not fit comfortably. A real enclosed standup head sits to starboard with an opening port, opposite a teak-lined hanging locker. The main cabin settees seat six and fold-down tables serve four; the starboard settee could be extended to a double at the cost of bin access. A human-sized aft quarterberth on the starboard side carries enough headroom to shed the usual coffin feel and is the most comfortable berth aboard. The L-shaped galley sits portside at the companionway with a recessed Kenyon two-burner alcohol stove, and a five-cubic-foot icebox is backed by insulation exposed in the port locker. A real bilge and polyethylene drop-in storage liners under the settees show practical thinking.
Known Issues
The fragility of the stainless mast step and its reduced bearing surface from the pivot cutout deserves a close look when stepping the mast. The single 1-1/2-inch cockpit scupper is recessed and its stainless strainer cuts effective drainage area by more than half, while the port cockpit locker is not well separated from the under-cockpit region. The exposed icebox insulation in that locker is vulnerable to stowed gear, and the companionway slides, though well made, lift out with less than an inch of travel.
Refits and Ownership
Power choices were unusually broad for the size — outboard, OMC gas saildrive, Volvo diesel saildrive, or Yanmar inboard, all on a common 20-gallon aluminum tank. Later boats standardized two-speed Barient headsail winches and teak ceilings; cockpit coamings leave room for secondary winches or larger primaries. With an outboard, the would-be inboard space becomes storage. The 25+ replaced the centerboard Mark I with a fin keel and gained length, beam, five feet of mast, and 23 percent more sail area, dropping average PHRF from 234 to 213.
The Verdict
The Ericson 25+ is a thoughtfully laid-out small cruiser that punches above its length in comfort and speed. King's delta keel and fractional rig deliver responsive sailing, while the interior — with a real head, standing headroom, and a genuine bilge — feels closer to a 30-footer than a 25. Build quality is sound and the deck structure notably rigid.
Pros
- Low-drag delta fin keel and 7/8 rig make her quick and handy
- Enclosed standup head, 6-foot headroom, and roomy quarterberth rare at this size
- Solid, print-free glasswork and rigid cored deck
- Broad engine options and later-boat equipment upgrades
Cons
- Fragile mast step with reduced bearing surface
- Cockpit drainage compromised by half-blocked single scupper
- No main halyard winch or boom topping lift
- Port locker poorly separated from under-cockpit area
