Any of these boats you DON'T Like?

[chuckiebits]

We are planning a trip to the Bahamas / Caribbean in 2 years, and are boat-shopping. We just sold our J/30 whish we owned for 9 years. Depending on boat condition and equipment, we have between 40-50K US to spend on the purchase, with some left over for a (minor) refit. We are looking at boats in the 34-36’ range, and since this may only be a 1-year adventure, we are looking at boats that might be relatively easy to sell after our trip.

The boats that seem to come to the top of our list again and again are:
Pearson 34
Sabre 34
Cal 35
Bristol 35.5
We also like some features of the Endeavour 35, but can’t seem to find out anything much about their reliability. Boat US, Sailnet, nor Practical Sailor have done any evaluations on the Endeavour, so we have no idea what they are like from a quality/ durability perspective.

I know everyone will have their favourite among this group, but I would be more interested in hearing which boat(s) you would drop from the list and why.

We aren’t looking to buy this year, but we have never even been on any of these boats, and there are none of them within 600-700 miles for us to look at, so we have our work cut out for us. It would be easier if we could shorten the list – we are hoping you can help.

Thanks in advance for all your assistance!

John

[capt lar]

I have been on the same hunt for a year and looked at all the boats you list. I will go for either the Bristol (1st) or Sabre, but they are more money than the other two and well above your budget if you are talking 80's boats. If you are talking 70's boats, I think the Bristol held up better - longitudinal (sp?) stringers and other construction details that make it stand out for me. Happy hunting - looking is learning. Capt. Lar

[Talbot]

Not enough hulls on any of them!

[Rick]

I went on board an Endeavor 35 which had gone on a reef in a fairly protected area in the USVI. I was going to kedge her off until I saw that the hull was broken open, bashed through and the bulkheads had broken loose.

The thickness of the fiberglass hull and bulkhead fastening was too thin! I had been anchored nearby and there was no big surge so a decent hull would have easily survived the grounding.

[Talbot]

Good reason for buying an older boat, or at least one with a solid hull rather than a lighter weight foam core below the waterline.

[capt lar]

i would disagree with our friend from the uk - you are going from nova to caribe, and unless you are an amazingly poor navigator, you won't be passing thru the north sea. much of that run is intracoastal and you can pick your weather most of the time. ted hood designed and built the bristol and he is well known in new england for his habit of taking his designs out and trying to make them fail. the bristol is the strongest built of those listed. sabre will get you there safely as well but she was built as a high end production racer / cruiser. the other two - watch the survey. they were midprice production boats and i would have less confidence. endeavour has a loyal following, but if i decided to live aboard an endeavour in the islands, i would buy it there. you should also think about draft - bristol has a keel / centerboard combo that needs 3'9" with board up. sabre has some options as well. one way to make a passage better is to do it faster so restrictions in water depth add to the trip. keep asking questions - capt lar

Draft should be a major consideration for this trip. As for the Endeavor, my closest friend has an Endeavor 43, that I have logged quite a bit of sea time on, and I would not hesitate to recommend the manufacturer. Of course all manufacturers have good and bad, or bad and worse, or for that matter good and great designs. I have not sailed the 35. I have heard good things about the 37.
As a recent convert (maybe), I would suggest checking out multihulls.

[halyardz]

Very good list of classic plastic. Depends on "where" you are going to cruise. You might add a Pearson 36 to the list but it may be more money.

We are headed for Bahamas and several years ago purchased a 1980 Tartan 33. For a review, go to www.tartanowners.org

A well-found T33 can be bought in the mid-upper $30k range leaving you extra bucks for upgrades. Solid construction, easy access to systems, good storage and tankage. Rig is fractional and pretty tall, in the 50"+ range. Minimal teak.

The Sabre would have been our second choice.

JR

[Captain Robbie_d]

I owned and Endeavour 32 and have worked on 37's and looked over the 35 adn 43 with intent to buy(That pretty much means a survey) and all the boats were solid well built boats i wouldn't hesitate for a second to cruise the Caribbean in. If I still had my 32 it would be on its way south to St Thomas in about 35 days. Great well built boats.

My friend installed a transducer, and saved the core. This is the only hull core (solid glass) I have ever seen that is thicker than the hull on my Challenger.

[Jeff H]

We had two Endeavors in our family, a 37 and a 40. These were anything but well built boats. In my opinion the 37 had the worst motion of any boat that I have ever spent time on. The glass work while thick, was pretty sloppy. The engineering was equally poor. The later Endeavour models were reportedly better built.

Jeff

What's "later"? 1984? My friend's 43 is I believe an 84, and I know that boat more intimately than I would like. I have sailed her in 30kts and 15 foot seas, and had no problem with the motion, or the balance. She had a bit more weather helm than is to my liking, but not more than is reasonable for a boat with that much sail area. As for craftmenship, the only things that have failed on this 20 plus year old vessel, are things that were changed or modified over the years. Most were add ons not replacements.