Opinions on (Australian) Endeavour 27 ?

[troppo]

Any opinions on the Australian Endeavour 27 footers? I am interested as they seem to fit my goal of coastal cruising, not live aboard but enough room for a week or three. Apparently, they are a bigger space version of the Endeavour 26 having more cabin area as well as a bit more length and width.

Here are some for sale to give you an idea if you don't know them:

http://www.boatsales.com.au/boats-for-sale/boatdetails.aspx?seot=1&R=7514637&silo=-1&__Ns=pCar_RankSort_Int32|1||pCar_Price_Decimal|1 ||pCar_Make_String|0||pCar_Model_String|0&Cr=&trec s=1&__N=1456%20285%204294909619%204294899639

ENDEAVOUR 27 boat details - BoatPoint Australia

[Get-a-Life]

If you are looking in this category then also check out Compass 28, Clansman 30.

They all sail similar, are very old and slow by todays standards.

Osmosis is common.

Personally, anything less than 30foot along the Easy Coast is pushing your luck. Going north from Sydney (or anywhere further south) you will be pushing the east coast current which can run at 2-3 knots. Consider you have a old boat that is lucky to sail to windward at 4.5knots and you can see you will be going nowhere fast.

For further information on these size yachts look at the Compass Yacht Owners forum Welcome to Compass Yachts and contact Geoff Raebel.

Geoff has published a very good book that gives all the tips and pitfalls of owning a yacht in this size bracket.

Ken

[Jim Cate]

Originally Posted by Get-a-Life

If you are looking in this category then also check out Compass 28, Clansman 30.

They all sail similar, are very old and slow by todays standards.

Osmosis is common.

Personally, anything less than 30foot along the Easy Coast is pushing your luck. Going north from Sydney (or anywhere further south) you will be pushing the east coast current which can run at 2-3 knots. Consider you have a old boat that is lucky to sail to windward at 4.5knots and you can see you will be going nowhere fast.

For further information on these size yachts look at the Compass Yacht Owners forum Welcome to Compass Yachts and contact Geoff Raebel.

Geoff has published a very good book that gives all the tips and pitfalls of owning a yacht in this size bracket.

Ken

G'Day Troppo,

I can't comment on this design, but the above advice is a bit sus... Yes, these boats won't go way fast to windward, but if you are not driven by a schedule, there is no reason to be beating northward against the EAC. We just finished such a trip and did not spend ANY time with the wind forward of the beam. People do it all the time in boats smaller than the one you are considering. The usual practice is to stay fairly close to shore along the coast, avoiding the worst of the current (even picking up counter currents in some spots).

Having a boat with great windward performance is certainly a plus, but when one is budget-driven, other values come to the fore!

Good luckin your search!

Cheers,

Jim and Ann s/v Insatiable II lying Manly, Qld, Oz, about to continue on Northward

[Get-a-Life]

A bit sus?

Very easy to say from the deck of a one off 46 footer!

I have cruised that coast from Hobart to top of Qld. never went to windward anywhere, took 2 years to do it. However we met many a yacht that was on a time table and they copped a hammering, also many places had people getting off their boats and putting them up for sale.

If you are trying to make landfalls at the various places each night then you need speed which equals waterline length or minimum weight, neither of these requirements are in those older boats.

Ken

[Jim Cate]

Originally Posted by Get-a-Life

A bit sus?

Very easy to say from the deck of a one off 46 footer!

I have cruised that coast from Hobart to top of Qld. never went to windward anywhere, took 2 years to do it. However we met many a yacht that was on a time table and they copped a hammering, also many places had people getting off their boats and putting them up for sale.

If you are trying to make landfalls at the various places each night then you need speed which equals waterline length or minimum weight, neither of these requirements are in those older boats.

Ken

G'Day Ken,

Mate, if you will re-read my post, you will note that I said that if you are not shedule driven windward performance is not so important.

We too have cruised (repeatedly) from Hobart to FNQ, and many of those trips were in an elderly 36 footer, not our current boat. We too met many folks in smaller boats, some of whom were having a great time, some who were not so happy. The point is, if ones finances limit one to a smaller boat, then one adapts one's cruising style to fit its performance.

We've met folks in an H-28 that managed to circumnavigate Oz (with 2 large dogs as crew) and while H-28s are great little boats, they don't go to windward so very well... it can be done. YEs, getting between some anchorages in daylight hours can be harder in a smaller boat, but overnight passages are an option, and smaller boats can often utilize anchorages unsuited to their bigger sisters.

So, Troppo, I guess that you have already figgered out that it is easier in a bigger, faster boat. This does not rule out enjoyable cruising in sub-thirty foot vessels.

Cheers,

Jim and Ann s/v Insatiable II lying Manly Qld Oz

[Get-a-Life]

Hi Jim,

All that you say is true, I forgot about the H28 especially the "walker" ones made in Geelong.

There are of course other not so well known small yachts, here in Tasmania there are a number of small converted and privately built fishing boat style boats. They make great coastal cruisers, Kemp's built quite a few and are in demand.

I just objected to the "sus" reference when I was giving an opinion, whether you agree with my opinion or not doesn't mean it is "sus."

Cheers and safe journey.

Ken

[Jim Cate]

OK Ken,

"Sus" is retracted! Perhaps as a Yank I don't understand this term's true meaning...

Jim

[troppo]

Folks, thank you for your input. Nice to see some debate because if everyone agreed I would think something was wrong .

[swagman]

Hi Troppo,
They are a conservative but from what I hear, well balanced yacht.
Had two pals in West Australia who owned Endevour 26's a decade back.
The older pal often sailed off westward for days and half way through his time out, turned and came back. Suspect he had a lonely home life- but he often bragged of how seaworthy she was.
The other pals (younger couple) set of from Freo heading north. Last seen in Darwin and still enjoying every minute.
And finally last week chatted to two German chappies on a 27 version. They'd sailed it from Hamburg down the Atlantic EU coast to where we met in Lagos, Portugal. It all looked a bit cramped but couldn't be all bad as they had found room for a dog also............
I suspect we all know it is rarely the boat that lets a sailor down - usually the other way round.
Enjoy whatever you choose - the Endevour would not be a bad choice.
JOHN