Gulfstar 50 vs Endeavour 52

[mark.l]

My wife and I like the layout and price of Gulfstar 50''s. We want to cruise the Caribbean and the East Coast for 5 years. Is the 62hp Perkins engine adequate, or should we look for the optional 85hp Perkins for the Gulfstar 50? Cutter rigged ketch or cutter rigged sloop?

Is the Endeavour 52 as good a boat for this purpose? Wing keel,sloop rig,10 years newer, but costs more.

[sailnaway]

What price range are you looking at thier is a real nice 53 I think it is here in New Orleans I looked at it the guy took gteat care of her. Contact me at sailnaway@earthlink.net if you are interested I think he was asking like $154K

[paulk]

Your focusing on the engine makes me think you''re likely to be cruising the E Coast via the ICW. That would make me want to avoid wing keels. This is because when I inevitably went aground in the ICW, I''d want to not stick in the mud like an arrowhead and not be able to back
out. To respond to the rig question: Modern sail-handling systems make the old argument of many small sails being easier to handle somewhat mooted. The added weight and windage of a mizzen don''t help performance. The mizzen mast, its stays, shrouds and boom can be an inconvenience in the cockpit. Many mizzens serve as very expensive radar arches and/or radio masts. If you like to anchor out or hang on a mooring, however, a mizzen could be just the thing that keeps you riding nicely to the wind and prevents you yawing all over the place. A good night''s sleep?? Priceless. Check with sloop owners to see if they sail around at anchor or lie quietly, and you''ll see if you need the ketch or not.

[Jeff_H]

While I am not normally a fan of ketch rigs, in the case of the Gulftar 50, with its narrow beam, easily driven hull and limited stability (which is true of most narrow, shallow boats) the ketch rig actually turns out to be the better rig for this specific model. While neither boat is particularly well built (we''ve had two Endeavous in our family and the build quality was worse than mediocre on both), the Gulfstar 50 has a strong reputation amoungst those whom I know who own one, including a particularly offshore experienced couple who traded out of a Cabo Rico to the Gulfstar 50 and have nothing but praise for the Gulfstar (Albeit after going through a major refit and build out).

Jeff

[howitzer23]

this may be too late but we used to own one of the two Endevour 52's that were built and know the boat inside out.

[letmesail]

Howitzer23, I am a current owner of an E52 in the San Francisco Bay Area. I'd love to know what you do! Were there only 2 or so built?

[knothead]

letmesail,
I sent you a PM.

[Almosthereman]

Originally Posted by howitzer23

this may be too late but we used to own one of the two Endevour 52's that were built and know the boat inside out.

Do you mind sharing with me some info about the E52. I am planning to purchase one of that type and I haven't been able to read comments about them, only specs.
Thanks
J.A.

[endvr32]

There were more than 2 E52s built. I'm not sure the number but here at the Endeavour Owners Forum we have records of 4 E52s and the hull numbers appear to indicate that there "may have" been as many as 34 built. Having said that I'm also aware that manufacturers have been known to manipulate hull numbers to give the appearance of more being built/sold but I'm not aware of that with Endeavour.

Endeavour Sailboat Owners Forum

[endvr32]

Checking the hull numbers in our database which are submitted by owners, the one listed as hull 34 cannot be trusted. It would be safer to say that there may have been as many as "9" E52s built.