Design and Construction
The 33 represented a deliberate step forward in Endeavour's laminate practice for its era, using a one-piece, hand-laminated hull cored with Klegecell rigid closed-cell polyvinyl foam and built from a single molding of polyester resin, woven roving, and multidirectional chopped strand fiber. Strength came not only from non-woven unidirectional rovings in the laminate but from a one-piece multi-axial steel-reinforced fiberglass grid bonded into the hull, giving the structure rigidity without external framing. The keel itself was molded integrally with the hull, and all ballast consisted of cast lead pieces set in polyester bonding resin and capped with woven roving so that the finished ballast became a structural element of the boat rather than a bolt-on mass. Plywood coring in the cabin top, deck, seats, and cockpit sole added local stiffness, while the deck and cockpit were themselves a single molded unit. The hull-to-deck joint followed Endeavour's flange practice, coated with adhesive-sealant and thru-bolted in stainless steel, then finished with a bedded teak toe rail. A molded non-skid deck, pigmented gelcoat exterior, and sprayed Imron boot and sheer stripes completed the standard finish.
Rig and Handling
Above the structural hull sat a double-spreader masthead sloop rig on Isomat aluminum spars with a 539.5-square-foot standard sail plan built around a 110% genoa. The mast was stepped through the deck to a steel step on the keel, with stainless steel wire standing rigging led to chainplates through-bolted at the hull edges and extra fiberglass reinforcement molded into every chainplate zone. Halyards ran externally to Lewmar 32 winches on the mast, while sheet handling came back to Lewmar 40 self-tailers in the cockpit, and a deck-mounted traveler just forward of the companionway managed the main. On the water the 33 proved close-winded, routinely holding 45 degrees in a breeze, though she was less eager in light air unless flown with a 150% roller-furling genoa. She balanced easily on any point of sail, rarely dipped a toerail, and almost never pounded in a seaway; a small crew or even a single hand could manage her, and seven knots was within reach when conditions allowed.
Accommodations
Below, the interior was a molded fiberglass unit with varnished teak bulkheads and cabinetry, pre-assembled outside the hull and then bonded in with woven roving and mat to form one rigid structure. Headroom ran a full 6 feet 2 inches under soft white overheads, with a teak-and-holly removable cabin sole. The layout opened with a forward V-berth, separated from the main salon by a portside head and starboard wet and dry lockers. The salon held a fold-up teak table, an L-shaped port settee that converted to a double with a removable back, and a starboard single, while a pilot double berth lay aft to port and the galley sat aft to starboard with an icebox and a gimbaled three-burner alcohol or gas stove with oven. Light and air came from ten opening Lexan ports plus two large aluminum deck hatches over the bow and salon, with early hulls carrying six opening and four fixed ports instead.
Equipment and Systems
The 33 came standard with fresh-water-cooled Yanmar diesels, offered as a 22-horsepower 2QM20 two-cylinder or a 22.5-horsepower 3GMF three-cylinder, turning a 16-inch two-blade prop on a one-inch stainless shaft through a Vernalift muffler. A welded aluminum fuel tank with baffles sat under the cockpit aft of the engine, and the electrical scheme placed most wiring high and accessible behind side-deck ceiling panels, all in color-coded 10-gauge copper with crimp connectors and below-waterline metals bonded to the common ground. Two group-27 house batteries in parallel fed from a 35-amp Hitachi alternator. Steering was a 24-inch Edson pedestal with cable-quadrant linkage reached through a lazarette drop box, and an emergency rudder stowed under the port settee could be fitted to a deck flange behind the wheel.
The Verdict
The Endeavour 33 is a coherent small cruiser from a defined three-year production window: a foam-cored, grid-reinforced hull with structural internal lead ballast, a practical double-spreader rig, and a bonded teak-trimmed interior that sleeps seven without feeling makeshift. She is forgiving and well balanced, close-winded in breeze, and easy for a short crew, if a touch lazy in the light until genoa area is added.
Pros
- Structurally integrated lead ballast and steel-reinforced grid in a foam-cored hull
- Pre-assembled bonded interior with genuine 6'2" headroom and seven berths
- Close-winded, well balanced, and calm in a seaway under small-crewed handling
Cons
- Light-air performance needs a larger roller genoa to wake up
- Early hulls carried fixed ports instead of the later opening layout
- Engine access is partial from the cockpit locker and full only by removing stairs
