JejjH - father still have Brewer 12.8?

ian6460 · #1 01-23-2004

I''m in the initial stages of comparing the Brewer 12.8, Bristol 41.1 & Endeavour 42. The PHRF rating are about the same on all 3. I realize that the Endeavour build quality is not that of the other 2, but they are about $30k less (that will cover a good part of a refit).

Your take on each will be very helpful.

Thanks

Jeff_H · #2 01-23-2004

Yes, my Father would still like to sell his boat although he has yet to list it. We looked at all three boats when we were shopping for my father''s boat. We liked the Bristol 41.1 and the Brewer 12.8. We ruled out Endeavours on build quality and sailing ability. Although they only have a slightly lower rating, we actually had an Endeavour 37 and an Endeavour 40 in out family and had found the build quality really lacking and while they were OK in flat water they really were not very good offshore boats. I did not that the 42 had a substantially faster rating than the 40. I am surprised that the Endeavour 42 is much faster than the 40 as the 40 seemed to be a slightly faster boat than the 42 when sailing in company with the larger boat. Mom and jack (my stepfather) cruised throughout Florida, the Bahamas and up the US South Atlantic coast with theirs. After their experience, and helping with a 42 being put back together after being in the charter biz, I really think that there are much better boats out there for the dollar.

I thought that the Bristold 41.1 was a very nice boat. They probably are a little faster than the other two. Build quality seemed about the same as the 12.8''s. When we were looking they were substantially more expensive and did not seem to have a layout that appeared to be slightly more biased towards coastal cruising than the 12.8 and with less storage. (There were several 41.1 interiors and some seemed better than others.)

I think that there were several things that pushed Dad toward buying the specific that he did. His particular boat is one of the original 12 Brewer 12.8''s which were built to a very high spec for a group of very knowledgeable yachtsmen. They had been set up specifically to be easy to handle by an older couple, to be expecially seaworthy and comfortable, and to offer a good turn of speed. I feel like they really succeeded.

I don''t think that you would go wrong with either a Bristol 41.1 or Brewer 12.8.

Jeff

Jeff_H · #3 01-23-2004

Yes, my Father would still like to sell his boat although he has yet to list it. We looked at all three boats when we were shopping for my father''s boat. We liked the Bristol 41.1 and the Brewer 12.8. We ruled out Endeavours on build quality and sailing ability. Although they only have a slightly lower rating, we actually had an Endeavour 37 and an Endeavour 40 in out family and had found the build quality really lacking and while they were OK in flat water they really were not very good offshore boats. I did not that the 42 had a substantially faster rating than the 40. I am surprised that the Endeavour 42 is much faster than the 40 as the 40 seemed to be a slightly faster boat than the 42 when sailing in company with the larger boat. Mom and jack (my stepfather) cruised throughout Florida, the Bahamas and up the US South Atlantic coast with theirs. After their experience, and helping with a 42 being put back together after being in the charter biz, I really think that there are much better boats out there for the dollar.

I thought that the Bristold 41.1 was a very nice boat. They probably are a little faster than the other two. Build quality seemed about the same as the 12.8''s. When we were looking they were substantially more expensive and did not seem to have a layout that appeared to be slightly more biased towards coastal cruising than the 12.8 and with less storage. (There were several 41.1 interiors and some seemed better than others.)

I think that there were several things that pushed Dad toward buying the specific that he did. His particular boat is one of the original 12 Brewer 12.8''s which were built to a very high spec for a group of very knowledgeable yachtsmen. They had been set up specifically to be easy to handle by an older couple, to be expecially seaworthy and comfortable, and to offer a good turn of speed. I feel like they really succeeded.

I don''t think that you would go wrong with either a Bristol 41.1 or Brewer 12.8.

Jeff

ian6460 · #4 01-25-2004

Jeff

I have read that the early Whitby''s that were built in Canada used pop-rivets during construction. I have been unable to find any info on the construction practices that were used by Fort Myers Yachts on the Whitby 42 & Brewer 12.8. I am also unclear as to the differences in the two Ft. Myers boats.

Also, the Canadian Whitbys used balsa core 12" below the sheer to 1" below the water line. Was this done on the Ft Myers boats and if so, are there any problems related to this practice?

I appreciate any knowledge that you can pass my way. Thanks!!

Jeff_H · #5 01-26-2004

I really can''t speak in too much detail about the Canadian Whitby 42''s but I am reasonably certain that they did not have cored topsides. That was one of the changes that were incorporated into the Brewer 12.8. I believe that you are correct that the topsides from roughly a foot below the rail to just above the design waterline was cored. We have not encountered a problem with that coring.

The 12.8''s were built at Fort Meyer Yacht and Shipbuilding. The story is that a group of experienced yachtsmen went back to Teed Brewer and asked him to improve the design in a number of ways. The Whitby 42''s have a full keel and the 12.8''s have a ''Brewer''s notch'' which is in effect a long fin and a skeg hung rudder. The original dozen 12.8''s are slightly shallower than the Whitby but have a centerboard. The 12.8''s had the cored topsides which I believe that the Whitby did not. The weight savings were used to increase the ballast and so the 12.8''s have a lower vertical center of gravity and more stability. The Whitby''s were all ketches. The original 12.8''s were all cutters with removeable jibstays. This is a very interesting rig with the staysail on a furler. The head of the stay is mounted on a track on the mast and is hauled vertically up the mast to pull the stay out of the way when not in use. The original 12.8''s were all equipped pretty much the same with electric winches and other very high grade equipment for the day. There were a whole range of interior improvements on the 12.8''s. I do not believe that the hull to deck joint was pop-riveted. I believe that the joint is bolted and there is a solid teak toerail over the bolt heads (but to be frank I can''t recall ever looking at the bolting pattern).

Jeff