Endeavour 42 & Bristol 41.1

[el]

After months of looking we have narrowed our choices down to the Endeavour 42 and the Bristol 41.1. We would love to here your opinions on the sailing characteristics and construction of both boats.

Both sailboats meet our needs as a live aboard while cruising the east coast, Bahamas and VIs.

Thanks in advance for your help!!

el

[spartinaSC]

We own a bristol and love her,We have looked at Endeavours but have heard the craftsmanship is not as good as a Bristol. I can only speak for the Bristol,If you do decide on a Bristol look around,there are more for sale in the mid atlantic then in the New England area. We have a soft spot for boats built in Bristol RI. We also have a Southern Cross 39[much like an Endeavour in looks] both boats built in Bristol. Good luck.....,Looking is half the fun

[gknopp]

Ive got an offer in a Bristol 388 and it does appear to be a great boat. The survey is next. I did a post on the Bristol list here on sailnet and got some very complete responses from owners. I had no negatives. You can correspond wiht me Ive tried to change the email here on sail net but have no luck. My email is gwknopp@earthlink.net.

Gary

[JohnDrake]

Congrats on the Bristol 38.8, I hope you are successful in getting her. I have the Wauquiez Hood 38, sistership to the Bristol 38.8. These are wonderful boats. Surprisingly good in light air but able to take heavy weather with ease. Great sea boats and nice livaboards. The vee berth is very very spacious and comfortable.

Best of luck.

John
s/v Invictus
Hood 38

[bob-m]

I have sailed aboard the Bristol 41.1 and have boarded several E42 & E43, but never sailed them. Here are a few observation.

Both boats were built for coastal cruising, not true blue water boats. Neither boat is considered to be a "performance" cruiser., but make great liveaboard-cruising boats (based on the conversations I have had with owners who are/were fulltime cruisers).

The Endeavour was built specifically for cruising the areas you mention. I don''t think the Bristols were built for the tropics (ventilation).

The Bristol''s aft deck stowage hatch covers are raised (I remember tripping over them), they are flush on the Endeavour. Both decks are easy to move around on with good grab-bar placement.

Later models of the E42 had a scooped transom. The Endeavour''s tanks are impossible to get to and owners have had extreme difficulty replacing/fixing leaking holding tanks (don''t know about the Bristols.

I wish I had more info to give you. Very surprised that Jeff H and Whoosh haven''t offered any thoughts.

[sailor7885]

I am looking at Bristol 41.1 for great lakes and coastal (East Coast and Caribbean) cruising, followed by more international passages.....Any comments on the BRistol 41.1 1985 for ocean passages? Appreciate anyone's comments.....

[KindOfBlue]

I sailed my bristol 38.8 to the Caribbean from Boston this winter. I'm currently in st Thomas. My lockers are flush. My vetilation is great. Offshore, she handled great. They make the 41.1 in both center and aft cockpit. Which are you looking at?

The only thing that I wish I had was larger fuel capacity and a 4kw genset. I don't have (or can't find) room for either. The 41.1 may not have these problems.

[petmac]

Originally Posted by el

After months of looking we have narrowed our choices down to the Endeavour 42 and the Bristol 41.1. We would love to here your opinions on the sailing characteristics and construction of both boats.

Both sailboats meet our needs as a live aboard while cruising the east coast, Bahamas and VIs.

Thanks in advance for your help!!

el

I'd go with the Bristol. Better quality boat.

[xort]

Can't comment on the bristol except to note the aft is either a transverse bunk or a split bunk. The E-42 is an 'almost' walkaround queen. We ruled out any boat that required crawling over each other to get up in the night. We like our E-42cc.

As for the E-42, they have fuel tanks in the keel sump. Try to buy one with a new tank, should be good for at least 20 more years and if they did it right, much longer than that. There are several ways to pull the fuel tank, some are more expensive techniques than others. It can be done yourself and have a fabricator make the new tanks. If you take the easy cheap way out you will loose about 10% of capacity but save a bunch of cash.
E-42's put up to 8k genset under the centerline sink.

[sailor7885]

I am looking at 41.1.....I will look at this over the weekend.....will let you know what I find.....Thanks for your guys comments....