Design and Construction
The Endeavour 37 is a monohull with a fin keel and skeg-hung rudder, though the keel itself is better described as a shallow, long "cruising fin" with a straight run, cut away at the forefoot and terminating well forward of the spade rudder. The keel is part of the hull mold, with internal lead ballast dropped in and glassed over—there are no keel bolts to worry about, a meaningful simplification for any long-term owner. The hull is a singleskin, solid fiberglass laminate, and the boat is heavily built, reasonably well finished, and felt by owners to be solid, "built like a tank." The interior is built up of plywood with teak trim, and one owner with a woodworking hobby praised the trim joints as excellent. No owners reported structural problems with oilcanning panels or moving bulkheads. At 20,000 pounds displacement with 8,000 pounds of lead ballast, she carries a ballast-displacement ratio of 40 percent, and her 11.58-foot beam and 4.5-foot maximum draft speak to a shoal, stable platform.
Rig and Handling
Most Endeavour 37s are masthead sloop rigged, though the company offered a ketch as a paid option, and later added a bowsprit to increase the foretriangle area and ease ground-tackle handling, plus a tall-mast option. The rig is very simple and will seldom get the beginner in trouble. That simplicity does not buy speed: with either rig she is not a fast boat, nor was she intended to be, and windward performance was purposely sacrificed for shoal draft. The sloop is somewhat underpowered, and sailing performance is marginal especially upwind. PHRF ratings run from 198 for the standard rig in the Gulf of Mexico to 177 for a tall rig with bowsprit racing in Florida. Owners report heavy weather helm in higher wind velocities, one tacking through 115 degrees, and another noting excessive leeway. Many owners, however, report satisfactory balance as long as they pay attention to trim, reefing, and sail combinations. Her hull speed is 7.34 knots.
Accommodations
Two arrangement plans were offered. Plan A dispenses with forward V-berths in favor of an enormous U-shaped dinette, leaving a large forepeak split into chain and sail compartments accessible from the deck, with a starboard sideboard galley, midships head opposite, and two large aft double quarter berths. Plan B is more conventional, with forward V-berths, a toilet compartment just abaft the bunk, saloon settees around an offset drop-leaf table, a pilot berth above the starboard settee, an aft galley, and a private port quarter cabin. Both plans sleep at least six with decent sea berths; Plan B's pilot berth brings the count to seven, though most owners converted it to stowage. Both carry chart tables, deep double sinks near the centerline, and the Endeavour trademark teak parquet cabin sole. Plan A standardized hot and cold pressure water, a shower with automatic sump, copper plumbing, and a porcelain sink. A three-burner alcohol stove and oven was standard in the late 1970s. The aft cabin is cramped, and some Plan B owners find the quarter cabin stuffy; a high percentage of surveyed owners are liveaboards who consider her ideal for that purpose.
Known Issues
Several recurring defects marked the class. Numerous owners complained of gelcoat crazing, a fault also cited on the Endeavour 32. Problem areas included gate valves on through-hulls, which some owners correctly replaced with sea cocks; side-loading refrigerators on some boats that were later swapped for top-loading ice boxes; pumping of the Isomat spar; inaccessible electrical wiring; V-berths too short for anyone over six feet; a tendency to list from water and holding-tank placement; and plastic Vetus hatches that crazed and dripped. These are service-life issues rather than structural failures.
Ownership and Refits
The class invites pragmatic upgrading. The through-hull gate valves, side-loading fridges, and Vetus hatches were common early fixes, and the simple rig keeps modification straightforward. Wide, uncluttered side decks, an adequate if narrow foredeck, a high cockpit coaming that doubles as backrest and protection, and a forward-rising toerail mini-bulwark suit sail changes and ground-tackle work. The cockpit is large—bordering on too large for offshore use—and one owner found it too wide to brace against when heeled. The standard freshwater-cooled 50-hp Perkins 4-108 with 2.5:1 reduction, about 65 gallons of baffled fuel, and 101 gallons of water give real cruising range.
The Verdict
The Endeavour 37 is a straightforward, heavily built Florida cruiser that trades upwind sparkle for shoal-draft comfort and liveaboard practicality. She is a sensible buyer's boat for those who value solid construction and interior volume over speed.
Pros
- Solid fiberglass hull with internal lead ballast and no keel bolts to maintain
- Two flexible interior plans with liveaboard-friendly volume and standard pressure water in Plan A
- Simple, forgiving rig suited to newer sailors
- Proven charter and ocean-passage service history
Cons
- Marginal upwind performance with heavy weather helm reported
- Gelcoat crazing and several fixture-level defects (gate valves, Vetus hatches, Isomat spar pumping)
- V-berths too short for tall owners; aft and quarter cabins cramped
- Large cockpit and listing tendency from tank placement
