Can an Endeavour 37'' be a good boat?

[eds928gt]

I''m still in the preliminary search mode which means I''ve not looked at too many boats, but have read quite a bit of spec. information about them.

Here''s some background. We''re in out late 40s/early 50s and may retire in a few years. We''re interested in a boat that will be sailed in the Cheaspeake, but we''ll likely do some bluewater sailing too.

We''ve decided that comfort, safety, and ease of sailing are more important than speed or optimum up-wind performance. As a result, I''m looking at fairly heavy displacement boats that are not too beamy. We still need room for comfort, so 37'' LOA or so will likely be the size we''ll most consider. The age of the boat is not too critical so long as it''s been well maintained. We hope to find such a boat near us (we''re about 60 miles west of Annapolis) for under $50k.

Thanks for any input you can provide.

[Jeff_H]

My mother owned an Endeavour 37 which she bought in Annapolis and took back to Florida. These boats are a real mixed bag. They were nicely finished but not so well built. They had a nice interior layout and good ventilation, but really did not sail all that well. They offered a lot of features for their day, but had one of the most uncomfortably rolly motion in a seaway of almost any boat that I have sailed in my life. They were quite slow and had underwelming deck hardware. They were useless in light air (which makes them a poor choice for the Chesapeake) and I thought they were not too good in a blow either.

They are now getting up in years and should be surveyed by a really competent surveyor. Beyond the normal concerns I would especially pay attention to the rudder condition and look for delamination in the area of the encapulated keel.

Jeff