# Endeavour 32 1980 - good or bad?



## 7tiger7 (May 30, 2006)

Hi,
I was looking for a year or two at Catalina 30's (I have a Catalina 27); and came across an Endeavour 32' (1980) for a pretty good price, and from pictures, looks to be in mint condition.

I've heard really good things and really bad things about Endeavour 32's... and can't seem to figure out if it is a well built, well sailing boat, or something built from spare parts that can't sail unless the wind is abaft.
So what gives? Is it a good boat or not? 
I plan to sail out of Boston, usually a weekend sail around Cape Cod bay, maybe a few day trip to Province Town, maybe a week down to the Vineyard. No offshore sailing.


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## CalebD (Jan 11, 2008)

A friend of mine bought an Endeavor 32' of similar vintage last spring at a fire sale from the estate of the PO. I think they paid 10K and my opinion is that it was well worth it and it is a good sailing boat. My friend's previous boat was a Hunter 25'5" which was so much smaller by comparison that we were all happy he got a bigger boat for our annual overnights. 
The PO kept the boat up in Canada and used it to go to the Bahamas a few times so it is quite a capable boat. The PO even had a wind vane steering mechanism installed as well as autopilot for long distances. My friend removed the vane and we are still trying to revive the autopilot. Good thing he isn't taking it to Bermuda anytime soon.
I've been on the E32 in the Chessy near Annapolis when there were small craft advisory warnings out. We had the main reefed and the jib furled a bit and it handled like a champ in the sloppy 3-4' stuff the bay can kick up. I am pretty sure that this boat is the shoal draft keel (eg., @ 4' deep). We flew the spinnaker on it a few weeks ago and it was a blast.
My personal observations about this boat would be:
- I am still not crazy about the wheel steering but I guess you get used to it
- port lights are made of plastic and NOT blue water rated
- the so-called 'Atomic' diesel (Universal M35 something) was well maintained so that was a plus
- the head would back fill from the tank which I hate. I had to instruct my friend on pump out procedures and using KO. That odor really makes the beautiful interior stink for sleeping in, IMHO.
- there was no Topping Lift for the spin pole but we just added one. In fact there was no spin pole or spin on the boat but my friend added those.
- the original traveler is not a fantastic setup but will work
- the boat came with 2 6V golf cart batteries and a 12v deep cycle starting battery (probably non-standard but necessary for longer term cruising). Batteries like the 6V ones are really heavy and hard to get in or out of the bank area under port cockpit bench
- electronics wiring was a bit home spun but basically functional

Overall I think that it is a pretty good 32 footer although I don't have much to compare it to other than a 51' Bendytoe I was on which is an ocean cruiser. I have read of 'oil canning' situations with the E32 (hull flexing when pounding in waves) but if you stay away from the Great Lakes and don't plan on doing significant offshore sailing I would say that it is a nice boat to have. It sails well but may not point up as much as you would like with the shoal draft keel (if the one you looked at has that option). If the engine works well and has been maintained and the price is right I say buy it.
YMMV.


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## rdunncpa (Sep 30, 2004)

*love my endeavour 32*

crossed the gulfstream last year: rumblin miami to westend grand bahams. tropical wave came through with 25-35 knots of northwest wind. seas kicked up to 8-10 and constant squalls. e32 handled like a champ; no "oil-canning". never was concerned re: seaworthy. didn't worry about the plastic non-bluewater ports.

oh yeah, she's a lot of fun to sail!


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## Jeff_H (Feb 26, 2000)

This is one of those boats that are hard to peg. They were pretty comparable boats to the Hunters of that era (Hunters were actually prettty high quality in that era). 

The Endeavour 32 began life as the Irwin 32 which was a nice racer/cruiser for its day. When Endeavour bought the tooling, they basically cheapened the boats in a lot of ways, and in doing so compromised its sailing ability by eliminating the Irwin's centerboard, reducing the amount of ballast, shortening the rig, installing lower power winches and lower quality hardware, and so on. My family owned 2 Endeavours from this era, and build quality on these early Endeavours really was not very good. 

Nearly 30 years later, if these boats had a caring owner, factory electrical issues would have been address, any structural issues will be visible, perhaps the cheesy deck and cabin hardware has been upgraded and so on. Or, if they were just sailed and put away wet then I would expect the boat to be something of a project. 

Jeff


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## JilesHinson (Jun 28, 2005)

*1980 Endeavour 32*

I purchased a 1980 Endeavour 32 three months ago and love it. I took it from Wrightsville Beach N.C. to Oriental N.C. via the intracoastal waterway. The boat handles well and is very comfortable. I have no complaints and am looking forward to many years of sailing in this shallow draft sweetheart.


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## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

*Endeavour 32 is a great boat.*

I would say buy the Endeavour. I have an Endeavour 32 and I would rate it as a very good boat. For it a heavy displacement cruiser its fairly fast as well. I do club races with mine and I can beat pearson 30's Irwin 32's and Cal 29 when the wind picks up over 12 knots.

As to Jeff H's comments I really don't know what he's talking about. The Endeavour 32 is a far superiour boat to the Irwin in every way. The deck hardware is Lewmar winches and Nico/Fico traveler (popular at that time). The cabin sole is solid teak. As to the ports, there Beckson and are on more boats from that era than any other port. Hatches are Atkins Hoyle which in my opinion my excellent bomb proof hatches.

I have done some major upgrades to mine over the past year. I've replaced the beckson ports with ABI Bronze ports, the lewmar 30 winches to Lewmar ST40's, the 2 blade prop was replaced by a Kiwi feathering 3 blade prop. The old sails are gone with new UK 135% Genoa and ASYM spinnaker and a Hood Vectron 2+2 main. I would really suggest Hood over UK when getting new sails. I beefed up the battery capacity from the factory 2 group 27 12 volts to 4 6 volt golf cart batteries for the house and a 12 volt for starting.

As to the sailing abilities of the boat. For a shoal draft (4'2") it will point fairly well, it stands up well in a blow and is very comfortable in heavy seas. I've been in 8-10 waves in Lake Michigan and never pounded unless I was underpower and heading straight into the wave. I personally don't know of any boat that isn't going to pound falling off a 10 foot Lake Michigan wave when hitting it head on.

As for the engine I would only buy a boat with either the Universial 27 hp or the Yanmar 3gm (22hp). This is a heavy boat and needs the power if you get caught offshore in a storm.

Either way I really like my Endeavour 32. For the money I don't think you can find a better boat. In my opinion it is far better than any Hunter, Catalina or Irwin from that period.


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## Csobanc (Feb 27, 2009)

*Endeavour 32*

I am looking for a boat in the 30' range as a first boat as well... Have a few questions myself if you would not mind answering...

The size and make of the motor is mentioned a few times here... if the boat would need a new or remanufactured engine, gearbox shaft, seals and prop... any ideas what this would cost?

What year is your boat? I am looking at a few listings and the late '70 boats seem to be avail. around $15K-$18K... is yours a '70s boat? Anything you can recommend looking at (by a novice sailor/buyer before a surveyor is brough in)? Also it seems that these boats come with either centerboard or shoal draft... are they both reliable systems? I was told that the centerboards would need inspection more often due to corrosion problems... Someone at another forum also mentioned that they have a hard time backing out of the slip (under power) turning to port... they do not yet know why, they suspect the screw may need to be replaced with a different type. Any thoughts on this?

Thanks for any additional info you can provide.


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## Brucerobs2 (Feb 5, 2009)

I dont own one but have spent a fair bit of time sailing on an '70 Irwin 32 in the Chesapeake-a very similar boat as others have mentioned. There is both an Irwin 32, and an Endevour 32 in our creek, and they look nearly identical. My buddy owns the Irwin and I have cruised and day sailed on it. Its a nice boat, that sails well, especially when the wind/waves pipe up to the 12-15K+ range. Nice comfortable cockpit too. We've chased each other around in our boats as well. My 1980 Cherubini Hunter 27 seems much faster in light air, but he sails away from me when it gets heavier, as you would expect. I lean over... he goes forward. Perhaps a little sail trim would be in order. He has upgraded much of the things you would expect- deck hardware, winches, some rigging, etc. Give the chainplates a good look on that boat. Not sure if its symptomatic of that boat, but he has had issues there. Keel/CG is great for around here. It has an Atomic 4, but I have no idea if thats original or not. It seems to do the trick. He bought the boat in rough shape and has restored it nicely . I like his boat, it sails well and has beautiful lines too.


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## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

*'82 Endeavour 32'*

When you are looking at the Endeavour 32's look for a '79 or newer. The interiors are much nicer IMO than the earlier models. The later models were modified by Bob Johnson, the improvements are reworked coach roof, SOLID teak sole and a better hanging locker. There are other little improvements but these are the most noticable. The later boats also came with a more powerful engine. Mine has the Yanmar 3GM & 22 HP. This is a great engine for this boat, any smaller and you will have a hard time in rough seas.

What to look for, leaking around the ports. My ports were leaking and I had to replace all the teak on the inside of the coach house. This was not expensive maybe about $200.00 and wasn't difficult. What was not fun was cleaning the old chalk off the ports. I ended up replacing all the 5x12's with ABI bronze ports now I need to do the 7x14's. This was easy buy expensive, but it sure looks nice. If your on a tight budget you can replace all the gaskets and lenses on your beckson ports for around $350.00. The ports are the biggest weak link on this boat, but if you look most boats from this era have plastic beckson ports.

The prop walking on the E 32 is an issue to some, I replaced the fixed 2 blade the moment I bought my boat with a Kiwi feathering prop. Mine still prop walks but seeing that I never used the fixed prop I can't say that it improved this problem or not. The issue here is the extreme angle of the prop shaft. There is nothing you can do about it. In time you will use this to your advantage (propwalk), to me its a non-issue.

All in all, I think the Endeavour 32 is the best value in a 32 foot cruiser. Its not slow, it stand up well in a blow and if it gets nasty it doesn't pound. IMO it has a nice classic look to it that will look good for a long time to come. I've done a lot of upgrades to my boat over the past 3 seasons. If you get this boat let me know and I'll help you the best I can with any issues you may run into. The one thing I suggest is get a boat with the 3GM engine or Universal 3 cyclinder, and the shoal draft, if it cost a bit more its money well spent!

​


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## windship (May 4, 2002)

Jeff_H said:


> This is one of those boats that are hard to peg. They were pretty comparable boats to the Hunters of that era (Hunters were actually prettty high quality in that era).
> 
> The Endeavour 32 began life as the Irwin 32 which was a nice racer/cruiser for its day. When Endeavour bought the tooling, they basically cheapened the boats in a lot of ways, and in doing so compromised its sailing ability by eliminating the Irwin's centerboard, reducing the amount of ballast, shortening the rig, installing lower power winches and lower quality hardware, and so on. My family owned 2 Endeavours from this era, and build quality on these early Endeavours really was not very good.
> 
> ...


Wow Jeff! You still trashing Endeavours?

I had a lengty post goin' here but lost it, so I'll just say thet Jeff is wrong about this boat and always has been.

She is a well built seaworthy boat. I've had my '77 E32 for 15 years now and I love her. Best boat in this size for the money.

Email me and I'll lay it all out for you if you want.

Dennis

[email protected]


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## ChuckA (Dec 28, 2008)

Roger Long is a marine architect, Harbormaster for Cape Elizabeth, ME and a writer for Point's East Magazine. He has written extensively about his 1980 Endeavor that he has been sailing for several years on his Strider web page. He took ownership in 2005, and although she was in good condition, he did extensive refitting. *Roger raves about the boat's sailing ability* and sailed three round trips between Portland Maine & Canada in 2009. Although I don't know him personally, I've read a bit about his personal and professional maritime experience, and _I have utmost respect for his opinion_.

While I was boat shopping recently I ran across a late '70s Endeavour 32 advertised for about $10K near Hingham, MA, but she had been sitting for a while and was rather neglected.

I passed her by, considering the following which Roger had written about Strider...


> I've been telling people for years that a thirty thousand dollar boat is a thirty thousand dollar boat even if you only pay fifteen for it.


I'm headed outdoors to enjoy the sunshine and unseasonably warm temp today. The snow and ice will be here too soon!

Best,
Chuck


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## Yorksailor (Oct 11, 2009)

Good little boat, mostly a coastal cruiser but a friend did the Altantic west to east in one without problems.


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## xort (Aug 4, 2006)

windship said:


> Wow Jeff! You still trashing Endeavours?


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## sailingdog (Mar 19, 2006)

Not all of the Endeavours are well-built boats... just like not all of the Hunters are junk...  Making broad generalizations is generally a bad idea... 

Roger Long and his boat are very well known, and I respect Roger's opinion, and he has documented much of what he has done on Strider on his website. However, before going to survey, I'd really recommend reading and using the information in the Boat Inspection Trip Tips thread I started.


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## Robert Nelson (Sep 29, 2016)

I have been sailing an E32 for 11 years with a friend. I am in South West Florida and she has yet to let us down. She is a 1978 with a 2 cylinder Yanmar. I think the yanmar is a touch small for her but in our area she has performed fine. She slings a 3 bladed prop and has a bad prop walk to port. I have been rebuilding her interior for the past few years for the owner and the only real issue I have left is the ports and over head hatches. She has 3 AGM batteries for the house with a total of around 300 amp hours. and one start battery. This boat loves a port tack in wind over 15 knots. We have had her our with a reefed main and jib in 30 knots and she stood up just fine though we did dunk the rail a few times. Most likely I will be purchasing her from the owner in the next year. I have fallen in love with the boat and he knows it and wants to sell her to me. I just need to put a new Autopilot on her and its all good.


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## bigdogandy (Jun 21, 2008)

Sounds like you have a great boat there! :smile I'm a bit biased, of course........


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