I know the Elissa well. The next tall ship on my site, the full
rigged one, was being designed for an organization headed by the
fellow who was director of the Elissa restoration project. He made
that one happen but just couldn't get the new ship project off the
ground.

--

Roger Long



"Jim Cate" wrote in message
...

Great pictures Roger. Incidentally, the 52.7 meter barque that your
article says wasn't built actually was built! - I sailed on her
several years while serving on the crew.
- Well, almost! Actually, the Elissa, built in 1877 in Aberdeen
Scotland, is a barque docked in Galveston that looks very much like
the one shown in your drawing. It is maintained in sailing
condition by a volunteer crew at the Texas Seaport Museum in
Galveston, associated with the Galveston Historical Society, and
sailed in the Gulf several days each year. The historical connection
to Galveston relates to the fact that it docked in Galveston twice
in the 1800's while engaged in trade between England, the US, and
ports in South America.- When I was on the crew, in addition to
training, maintenance and promotional events, I conducted guided
tours of the ship. In return, we crew members and guests got to
sail on her several times during the Summer. (It could get pretty
exciting, particularly when going aloft to let out the royal and
topgallants, holding onto the yardarm with one arm while working the
sails with the other while standing on a tensioned foot line
extending below the arm, all done while the ship was bouncing around
in 25-knot winds. But what a beautiful view from up there!) In any
event, you may want to check out their site:
http://www.tsm-elissa.org/

Jim Cate





Roger Long wrote:

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