Endurance Yachts

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Plan_B

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Hi Guys, wonder if you can help. I'm looking at the possibility of having a steel Endurance yacht built. Say 39 - 40ish feet. I know one or two Endurances are still being built - I think there is a Dutch firm making GRP hulls and they can be fitted out in UK yards, but I haven't heard of a steel version for years. Most of the vessels I've seen are very old.

Any ideas?

DD

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Hi Dave, not seen any newish Endurances for a while, but there's a Van de Stadt 40
showing up on the Bourden Brokerage site that's not dissimilar, I believe its in the Guilford area if you are interested.

<hr width=100% size=1>Tony W.
 
There was a Spanish boatbuilder, Valiure or something like that, which was still building Endurances in GRP a few years back. You could try a google search with that name (or maybe valioure)
john

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I went throught the same exercise a little while ago and found the total cost of commissioning totally unrealistic. With soaring prices (labour and materials), only plastic mass produced junk seems fair value today in the new boat market. My solution was to select a suitable yacht from the 'bursting at the seams' used boat sector (many 'very keen sellers' around) and have her professionally refitted. Refit charges are substantial unless you have the time / ability to DIY, but I reckon my time is even more expensive! The refit continues, but reckon I will end up with a yacht to suit my purposes in PDG condition at a total cost of approximately 40% of commissioning from new. Obviously the resale value will be less due to her age but personally I don't foresee selling. Hope this ignites a spark of thought, and sorry I haven't answered your question. PM me if you want personal tips on buying used.

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Thanks for that Tim. We've been looking at all sorts of yachts/motor sailers to spend 7 months odd per year on during retirement (in 3 years time). Nauticats, Tradewinds, Colvics etc. all the pilot house/deck saloon type with lots of space in the daily living areas. Something tougher than for coastal use but not of round the world. Prefer steel, because it will take a few knocks, but good strong plastic not out of the question.

Not happy about Benjenbav, neither is the mate.

We'll keep looking, our boat is out there somewhere.

Regards

Dave D

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Re: plastic mass produced junk

Well that's alienated about 98% of fellow forumites then! You don't drive a Morgan or a TVR do you? Maybe there's a reason why there are so few low volume boat (or car) builders left - basic supply and demand praps?

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Re: plastic mass produced junk

Sorry Zefender, no offence intended. My point is that (IMHO) Benjenbav are great value for coastal marina hopping but don't compare architecturally with the Endurance (for instance) type of design if one is looking for a Blue Water cruiser.

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Re: plastic mass produced junk

No offence taken! But I do think that some of the more modern designs are a lot tougher than they look and can make successful liveaboards. Assuming you can live with the basic hull design, their cost makes them an excellent choice for fitting out pretty much how you want, just chuck out most of the basic production kit.

I've chartered an Endurance 37 - a GRP one based in the West Country. It was about 2 years old at the time (maybe 5 years ago). I really liked its apparent toughness. It wasn't exactly a greyhound, but not a snail either. I suspect a steel one would have been much slower. Motion at sea was really good. But what surprised me was the poor finish to the interior and particularly the lack of space, for both storage and 'living'. A year later, it also suffered its chain plates being pulled out through the deck which would have been a bit scary in a blow! When it came on the market though, I was tempted to buy it, but the missus absolutely hated it! The Bav won on the joint decision and, in hindsight, it was probably the right one for us. Whilst we don't intend to live on it, we have been on decent offshore passages and encountered testing conditions. Certainly If I were to go out in the big blue on a longer term basis, I would make some adjustments here and there (but I suppose, there's little I could do about the most vulnerable bit - the rudder). Sailing ability is obviously an important issue but since most liveaboards spend more time at anchor or pontoon than actually sailing, living space has to be a major consideration too. And this is where I believe the plastic fantastics win hands down.

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My best mate bort a grp endurance last year in pretty poor condition. He replaced the engine and teak decks as well as numerous other items. They set sail last August for the Med and are still there enjoying themselves with no plans to return. The boat is all they hoped it would be, enuf space for 2 to live aboard in relative comfort + all their gear, including dive bottles and compressor.

I know nothing about sailing boats but he does, and would trust his judgement absolutely, so as a long term cruising boat it seems ideal.

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