1978 Endeavour 37

Name: Daniel R, Hawryschuk Jr. sailnomad@yahoo.com
Boat Name: Nomad
Year: 1978
Size: 37' cutter, A-Plan
Date Purchased: 1997

Previous Owner History:
I am the third owner for this boat. She was owned by a couple in Deleware and called "Meditation." The second owner had the boat for three yeas prior to my ownership. During this time she was called "Moonshadow." The original owner maintained the boat meticulously. Based on the ship's log the second owner used the boat very little.

Your Sailing Experience:
I am 28 and have been sailing since I was 8 years old. I have worked on and sailed everything from racing dinks to America Cup Boats. I spent three years creating algorithims for sail shapes for sailmaker's Cad programs. I also had a short stint working on the America's Cup. I grew up sailing on Lake Ontario and started ocean sailing and Racing in 1994. I am preparing my boat for long term cruising in the form of a circumnavication.

Boat Review:
The Endeavour 37 is a great boat for the money. The hardware both, above and below decks is very good. Construction in very heavy with quality materials. The A plan layout of the boat I own is not common in the industry. The Perkins 4-108 diesel is rock solid. There is ample enough room to work in the engine room even with the addition of the Lister/Petter 4kw generator I have installed. The boat is a good platform to build a solid cruiser.

There are areas that I would classify as negative characteristics. The chainplates are undersized and not backed correctly. The coach roof needed to be reinforced for hard offshore work. The plastic windows are leaky and not very strong. The bulkheads in my boat are of two designs. The first is the traditional bulkhead glassed to the hull. These have poorly done tabbing and there is no fillet/foam cushion between the bulkhead and hull. I have had to grind away tabbing, create a gap and put a fillet in inorder to prevent/reduce hard spots in the hull. The second type of bulkhead is the floating bulkheads. These are built against the plywood liner. I am in the process of removing the plywood liner and tabbing these bulkheads into the hull. Layout of the deck is not optimal for single-handed or rough weather crewed sailing but leading controllines aft has helped. The cockpit is wonderful in port but a liability offshore because of its size. I am in the process of reducing its volume. The combing around the cockpit is a love or hate feature. I am of the love it crowd. Combined with a hard dodger, deck washing seas never make it aft.

I have noticed that the boat has the tendency toward weather helm. I can tune most of this out when I sail the boat. New owners will need to become familiar with the boat in order to correct this condition.

I would recomend the 37 to anyone who wants a strong solid boat for coastal sailing. I would recomend the 37 for offshore work provided modifications are made. I don't think you can buy another boat with the quality or size for the cost of a used 37.

How did you find us:
I found your site while reading "Another Opinion" on the Cruising World site. I have recently joined the Owners Group and have talked with Carol Elwell. I am planning on putting a site online detailing projects I am working on for the circumnavigation.