After a summer sailing the Endeavor 32 we bought last year, I would
start looking for another one tomorrow if anything happened to it.
This is from the perspective of a boat designer and a quarter century
of sailing on a wide variety of boats between 7 and 380 feet.
It's primarily a good choice if your budget is limited. We got a very
clean 1980 boat for $15,000 and put about half of that again into
upgrades. For that, we got a boat with full headroom, six berths (at
least for an overnight), open and very woody interior, carries a few
more than it sleeps comfortably on daysails. We got good sails and a
great diesel engine. It's still small enough for easy singlehanding
and managing alone in a tight marina berth.
This is a very middle of the road boat that doesn't stand out in any
particular area but does just about everything you need in cruising
very well. It isn't fast but it isn't slow either. We often sail past
faster boats if they aren't paying close attention to sail trim. I
always feel like we are making good progress on cruising legs. It is a
shoal draft, wide headsail sheeting base, vessel so windward isn't her
best point of sail but beating performance is still way ahead of
traditional vessels and she makes solid progress.
What really endears her to me is the handling. The turning radius is
tight and response quick which makes marinas and tight docking
situations easier. Unlike most boats I've sailed with this kind of
helm response, she can be overpowered and driven down hard in a tight
spot without ever threatening to take charge. There is plenty of helm
force but, when you overcome it, she does what you need her to do.
I'd like slower helm response if we did more long cruising but she is
just right for fun daysailing and shorter trips. A good autopilot
would provide the best of both worlds.
This is not a true blue water boat although they have sailed at least
half way around the world that I know of. They were designed for
island hopping in the Caribbean and have an excellent hot weather
interior with all opening ports. With new ports and some beefing up of
cockpit and other openings, they should be capable of going farther
than most people would want to go.
The detail work is a bit rough in spots, you can see that a lot of
ganja got smoked during the construction but a three quarter inch
solid glass hull makes up for a lot of sins. The decks are stiffened
with plywood glassed under the main lay-up so there is no coring
anywhere to worry about.
If I suddenly had $50,000 to spend on a boat at this point, I would
still look for one of these for about 20 and then have it stripped and
redone soup to nuts. It's a great hull with the comfort and easy
motion of a traditional boat but the responsive handling of a modern
one. If I had $150,000 for a boat and were designing one for custom
construction, it would still look a lot like our E32.
Look for a 1980 - 1982 for the best features.
You can see the story of our boat at:
http://home.maine.rr.com/rlma/RWL.htm
--
Roger Long