Design Brief & Intent
The Ericson 39 B was conceived for the offshore cruiser who refused to accept the sluggish performance of traditional, heavy-displacement cruisers but demanded more comfort and livability than the standard flush-deck racer offered. In the early 1970s, the market was flooded with deep-forefoot, full-keel cruisers that tracked well but struggled in light air, alongside IOR racers that were fast but exhausting to handle and spartan below. Bruce King balanced these extremes by utilizing the proven, slippery hull of the standard 39 and redesigning the deck and interior to optimize the boat for extended voyages. The result was a vessel that competed against contemporary blue-water classics like the Pearson 36, Alberg 37, and Nicholson 35, yet offered significantly more interior volume and speed.
Stepping below on the B-model immediately reveals the impact of this cruising-oriented brief. Rather than the tunnel-like, dark feel characteristic of flush-deck designs, the raised cabin trunk of the 39 B bathes the interior in light through eye-level portlights and delivers up to six feet, five inches of standing headroom 1. The level of craftsmanship reflects Ericson's golden era, featuring hand-selected mahogany joinery, raised-panel cabin doors secured with robust piano hinges, and durable, easy-to-clean countertops. The layout is structured as a proper offshore home, ensuring safe movement at sea with abundant handholds, deep lee-clothed berths, and a massive, secure galley designed to function even when the boat is heavily heeled on a port tack.
Rigging & Hull Variations 2
The defining difference of the "B" variant is its trunk-cabin profile, which distinguishes it from the nearly flush deck of the standard Ericson 39. This structural modification allowed the builder to solve two of the primary limitations of the racing model: limited tankage and cramped aft accommodations. By elevating the cabin top, King was able to raise the cabin sole slightly, opening up massive bilge spaces that accommodate 80-gallon fresh water and 80-gallon fuel tanks—a substantial upgrade over the standard model's meager capacities.
Furthermore, the B-plan arrangement introduced an offset companionway to starboard. This off-center entry freed up valuable real estate on the port side of the cabin, allowing for a dedicated navigator's station and an enclosed aft stateroom or deep quarterberth, which offers excellent privacy for off-watch crew. In terms of rigging, while the standard Ericson 39 was typically delivered as a high-aspect masthead sloop, the 39 B was frequently configured as a cutter. The cutter rig breaks the sail area into smaller, more manageable sails, giving short-handed cruisers a versatile sail plan that is easy to depower as the wind builds, making it the preferred configuration for ocean passages.
Sailing Performance & Handling
The sailing dynamics of the Ericson 39 B are defined by its remarkable physical ratios. It carries a heavy-displacement pedigree, weighing in at 19,000 pounds, but has an extraordinary ballast-to-displacement ratio of 50 percent. This massive half-and-half distribution of weight—including a 9,500-pound lead fin keel—makes the boat exceptionally stiff and weatherly. It carries its canvas long after lighter, wider-beam boats have been forced to reef, and it climbs over aggressive chops with minimal pounding.
With a displacement-to-length ratio of 314.15, the hull delivers a gentle, rhythmic motion in a seaway. It will not surf or accelerate like modern flat-bottomed performance designs, but its comfortable motion and comfort ratio of 35.41 ensure that the crew experiences far less fatigue over long passages. The sail area-to-displacement ratio of 16.18 confirms that the sail plan is conservative enough for a cruising couple to manage easily, yet powerful enough to keep the boat moving well in light air. Its capsize screening ratio of 1.70 is comfortably below the ocean-racing safety threshold of 2.0, certifying its high ultimate stability and ability to recover quickly from a knock-down.
At the helm, the 39 B tracks exceptionally straight when sailing on a reach or a beat, thanks to its deep fin keel and skeg-hung rudder. However, close-quarters maneuvering under power is where the early IOR design heritage reveals its quirks. The rudder is relatively small, which can make backing the boat in a tight marina an unpredictable and stressful experience. Veteran owners frequently advise against attempting complex backing maneuvers, suggesting instead that helmsmen use prop walk and forward bursts of power to pivot the boat, as the rudder lacks the surface area to steer effectively in reverse until significant sternway is established.
Known Issues & Structural Triage
Like many quality fiberglass builds from the 1970s, the Ericson 39 B suffers from specific, predictable structural vulnerabilities that must be addressed during a pre-purchase survey or long-term refit. The most critical issue lies in the bilge: Ericson utilized carbon steel I-beams glassed into the floor structure to tie the bulkheads together, support the cabin sole, and serve as the mast step. Over decades of exposure to bilge water and condensation, these steel beams slowly corrode, expand, and rust. This structural threat eventually requires major surgery, involving cutting away portions of the cabin sole, removing the water tanks, grinding out the compromised iron, and glassing in new, corrosion-resistant G10 fiberglass or stainless steel floor structures.
Another prevalent concern is the chainplate attachment points 2. The chainplates are bolted directly to the structural plywood bulkheads. Because the stainless steel deck covers and silicone seals are prone to drying out and leaking, water inevitably migrates down the chainplates, resulting in undetected rot in the bulkheads 7. When looking at a prospective boat, dark water stains on the mahogany bulkheads or weeping rust around the chainplates are clear signs of rot that will require bulkheads to be sistered or entirely replaced.
Finally, the boat's balsa-cored decks are highly susceptible to core rot. Virtually all standard deck penetrations—from stanchion bases and handrails to the original aluminum hatches—were not sealed with epoxy at the factory. Over fifty years of service, water ingress into the balsa core is common, leading to soft spots that require local or extensive deck recoring.
Modernization & Refit Economics
For owners committed to bringing an Ericson 39 B into the modern era, the economics of a refit must be carefully weighed against the vessel's market value. Because of its rarity and classic lines, a well-maintained or fully restored 39 B commands a premium among classic cruising enthusiasts, but the cost of addressing deferred maintenance can quickly exceed the purchase price.
The primary modernization target for many owners is the drivetrain. Many hulls were originally equipped with the Perkins 4.108 diesel engine, a reliable but noisy and occasionally leaky 40-horsepower workhorse. Replacing this with a modern, freshwater-cooled diesel engine improves fuel economy and reliability, although some owners are now exploring electric propulsion conversions, which are viable for those focusing on coastal cruising.
To resolve the notorious maneuvering issues in reverse, some owners have opted to replace the stock rudder with a modernized, deeper spade rudder design—such as those designed by naval architect Carl Schumacher. This modification dramatically improves steering response in both forward and reverse, making marina docking far more manageable. On the electrical side, modern cruisers are removing the heavy lead-acid battery banks and installing compact lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO4) systems, paired with high-efficiency solar arrays mounted on custom stainless steel stern arches, allowing the boat to remain self-sufficient at anchor for weeks at a time 4.
The Verdict
The Ericson 39 B is a rare and beautifully constructed blue-water cruiser that successfully blends Bruce King’s eye for elegant lines with a robust, seaworthy hull. It represents a bygone era of yacht building where ballast was heavy, structures were overbuilt, and hand-finished wood interiors were standard. For a cruising couple willing to invest in maintaining or updating its vintage systems, it offers a remarkably comfortable, stiff, and safe platform for offshore voyaging. However, prospective buyers must be prepared to tackle or pay for the rectification of its critical structural pain points, specifically the rusting bilge beams and bulkhead rot, to ensure this classic continues to sail safely for another generation 7.
Pros:
- Stiff and seaworthy performance with an impressive fifty percent ballast-to-displacement ratio that handles heavy air with ease.
- High-quality, warm interior joinery with excellent standing headroom and a comfortable, offshore-friendly layout.
- Generous fuel and fresh water capacities located deep in the bilge, ideal for long-range cruising.
- Classic, elegant Bruce King lines and a rare production run that holds aesthetic appeal and resale value.
- Vulnerable carbon steel floor beams in the bilge that are highly prone to severe rust and require costly, invasive replacement.
- Leaking deck chainplates that frequently lead to structural rot in the mahogany plywood bulkheads 7.
- Poor maneuverability and unpredictable steering when backing under power due to a small, early-generation rudder design.
- Susceptibility to balsa-cored deck rot around older, unsealed through-deck fittings.
