Johnson finished the design in 1979, although the tooling was only about half complete when he left Endeavour that year. The brief called for a 40-foot LOA center-cockpit cruiser with the visual appeal of an aft-cockpit design, aimed at private owners and the charter trade. The boat later became the liveaboard home of a character on the television series Miami Vice. Its lineage continued with the Endeavour 42, an evolution that replaced the E40’s step up aft with a continuous sheer line.
Design and Construction
The hull is molded as a single unit in polyester resin, fiberglass woven roving, and multidirectional chopped-strand fiber. Its modified fin keel is integral to the hull and contains 8,600 pounds of encapsulated lead ballast. The underbody also includes a skeg-protected rudder, while the 13-foot beam is carried well aft for form stability and interior volume.
The deck and cockpit form another single molded unit. Plywood coring between fiberglass layers stiffens the cabin top, deck, seats, and cockpit sole. Molded-in non-skid covers the working surfaces, the exterior has pigmented gelcoat, and the boot and sheer stripes are sprayed Imron.
At the hull-to-deck joint, a flange is liberally coated with adhesive/sealant and through-bolted in stainless steel. A teak rail, bedded in the same compound, caps the joint to doubly ensure watertightness.
The rudder has a solid high-density foam core covered by a fiberglass skin. Its stainless-steel post is welded to an internal steel blade and passes through the hull in a stuffing box.
Rig and Handling
Endeavour offered the 40 as a sloop, cutter, or ketch. The sloop carries 743 square feet of sail: 338 square feet in the mainsail and 405 in the foretriangle. The ketch carries 789 square feet.
The Owners model stepped a slightly taller mast with an inner forestay and extra winches. The Charter model took a shorter stick without the track, forestay, or additional winches. The main mast is keel-stepped through the cabin roof and uses a single set of spreaders. All spars are extruded 6061-T6 aluminum.
The stainless-steel standing rigging includes a 3/8-inch forestay and backstay and 5/16-inch upper and lower shrouds. These anchor to welded stem fittings and chainplates, with additional fiberglass reinforcement molded into the hull at those loads.
Halyards are external wire rope with Dacron tails. #32 Lewmar winches are mounted on the mast, while #40 self-tailers are fitted in the cockpit. The mainsheet traveler sits aft of the helm.
Owners report that the Endeavour 40 is easy to sail yet not fast by any stretch, though far tougher than the crew in rough seas.
Cockpit and Accommodations
The center cockpit sits farther aft than those on some comparable boats. It is also high and dry.
Below, the traditional two-cabin layout provides six berths and 6 feet 4 inches of headroom. Forward is a V-berth with direct access to the forward head. The midships saloon has opposing settees and a centerline drop-leaf table. Aft, the raised stateroom contains a full island berth and a private head with shower.
At the foot of the companionway, the C-shaped galley is to port. It includes a three-burner gimbaled stove, double sink, counter, and Adler-Barbour refrigeration. The navigation station is to starboard in the passageway aft and has a folding table.
Teak is used throughout the interior, together with a parquet sole and soft white overheads. The interior has 14 opening Beckson ports and four large Atkins-Hoyle hatches.
The insulated engine space offers great access.
Machinery and Electrical Systems
Almost every Endeavour 40 left the factory with a 50-horsepower Perkins 4-108 auxiliary, described as the most common diesel afloat. It turns either a 17x17 two-blade propeller or an optional 17x16 three-blade propeller. The drivetrain uses a 1-1/4-inch stainless-steel shaft running through a cutlass bearing at the skeg.
Some boats now have Yanmar 4JH5, Yanmar 4JH3, or Westerbeke 63C engines. These are almost certainly replacements installed as the original Perkins engines age out.
The wiring runs high under accessible side-deck panels. It is color-coded, 10-gauge stranded copper, and metallic underwater fittings are bonded to a common ground. Shore service is 30 amps, while two parallel 12-volt batteries are charged by a 35-amp alternator.
The Endeavour 40 fuel capacity is 75 gallons of diesel.
Known Issues
Tankage is the principal documented failure mode in service. On one surveyed hull, the bilge-mounted fuel tank had failed, as had one of the two water tanks.
Because the fuel tank sits in the bilge and the boat carries two water tanks, a rupture can introduce contaminated water and diesel into the boat’s lowest spaces, where the floor timbers and bonded sole meet. The repair goes beyond a simple tank swap.
The Verdict
The Endeavour 40 is a large, comfortable cruiser intended for extended trips. It combines a genuinely spacious two-cabin interior with a protected center cockpit and a heavily built hull-and-deck structure that owners report has proved tougher than its crews in heavy weather.
The encapsulated lead keel, flanged and bedded hull-to-deck joint, and accessible systems reflect a pragmatic cruising design. Its weak point is the bilge tankage, which has failed on individual boats and demands inspection.
Pros
- Encapsulated internal lead ballast in an integrally molded fin keel
- Two-cabin layout with private heads and a full aft island berth
- Flanged, bedded, and bolted hull-to-deck joint with a teak cap
- External halyards and accessible, high-run wiring that simplify service
- Insulated engine bay with documented great access
Cons
- Bilge-mounted fuel tank documented as failed on a surveyed hull
- Not fast, according to owners, despite the moderate sail plan
- Original Perkins 4-108 engines are now often at refit age
