Ericson History

Ericson was started in Costa Mesa, CA in the early '60's by Ray Handy and several other former employees of Columbia Yachts including Jules Marshall, Kurt Densmore, and Bruce King. Don and Gene Kohlmann joined around 1964.

Based on a 1987 hull number history published by Ericson [Word document, 28k], the first Ericson boats were the 26 and the 30; both began production in 1966.

The business went into Chapter 11 in the mid-'60's and was bought and resold several times by Mark Pittman, Del Walton, Pacific Commercial Industries, and Charlie Layton. The Scorpion 32 page on this site contains a circa 1967 ad describing Ericson as "a division of H&J Products, Inc." In 1971 the company was bought by a CML Group; perhaps this was a group led by Charlie Layton. Gene Kohlmann regained control of the company in 1984 and ran it with Don again until 1990, when Don Kohlmann joined Pacific Seacraft and brought with him the molds for the Ericson 333 (a Ron Holland design), 34/35 and 38. Production of the latter two boats resumed in 1991, and in 1998 the Ericson 333 appeared for a short run.

Pacific Seacraft itself was purchased by Southern Californian businessman Jeffrey Emery in September 1998 and Don became President. Robert Norona is PS's VP of Production, and Jeffrey Merril is VP of Sales & Marketing.

However, the older Ericson designs saw limited sales at Pacific Seacraft, and by mid-1999 PS stopped production of the entire Ericson line. It appears that the molds have been destroyed.

Jeff Lennox, publisher of the Northeast Ericson News, reported in late 1999:

PS has suspended production of Ericsons (as of this summer). They state that this is part of a transition to clear out the old designs to allow for the introduction of a new line. Bruce King would be the designer of new boats. Only problem is that Bruce is apparently not working on an Ericson design right now. Given that there is no design actively in the works, I can't imagine a new line or boat will see the water for several years. I have asked PS for a statement for our newsletter; I can't get one. We saw Don Kohlmann (who we know well) in Newport, but he offered no news.

PS clearly got themselves into a bad situation. They bought the Ericson assets in about 1991 and never invested in new Ericson designs (the last truly new boat was introduced in the mid-1980's!). They rarely brought boats to boat shows. In the 1990's, 20 year old designs, albeit very good boats, cannot compete with the comparably priced competition (Sabre and Tartan). We heard for years "we are waiting for the economy to improve" and "our plant capacity is full".

My own opinion (which may get me in trouble) is that I wish PS would sell the line (name) to a company really interested in producing Ericsons. I have even thought that an aggressive company like Hunter could be an interesting builder for Ericson (if they built them like Ericsons, not Hunters), if they wanted a line for Hunter owners to graduate to. At this time, PS is making money building PS boats, and especially the new Bruce King 38T trawler, which has a one year waiting list. The next larger trawler is apparently in the design stage. I have heard a rumor from two sources that there may be a Bruce King designed Picnic Boat (like the very successful Hinkley) that would be badged an Ericson.

I think the reason for cutting up the molds is that since PS is discontinuing the current line and does not intend for anyone else to build those designs, destroying the molds ensures they won't be built again.They probably take up valuable storage space, also.

The good news is that the problems of current Ericson production does not change the fact that we all have great boats! It is our love for our boats that drives us to wish the line was far more active as far as new boat building, whether or not we can afford one!

The January 15, 1998 edition of Practical Sailor (Volume 24, Number 2) gives more details about the company's history in their New Boat Review of the Ericson 380.