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Endurance 38

1997 March 5
By Robert H. Perry

Bluewater cruiserr

Peter Ibold's designs came to my attention years ago when his first Endurance design won an English design contest for ferrocement boats. Times have changed and most of the designers who churned out the pavement palaces have gone on to other things, but Mr. Ibold comfortably made the transition into fiberglass and has been adding to his Endurance line for the last 20 years. This new Endurance 38 comes to us from builder Colvic Craft PLC in Essex, England.

If I have a complaint with Mr. Ibold's designs, it is that he has stayed with the same look, i.e. semi-flush deck with traditional cabintrunk and his version of a clipper bow, on almost all of his designs. The boats look good but they all look the same. The new 38 shows that same traditional styling combined with a relatively modern underbody. The D/L is 307. Note the long overhang on the bow. This give plenty of useful foredeck and will help keep the boat dry, but it does subtract substantially from the sailing length and pushes the D/L higher.

Your taste may not run to traditionally styled yachts, but I think this is a good-looking boat. The sheerline is sweet and pronounced. The ends are highly shaped and the deep bulwark gives the boat a big boat look. Note that the bulwark is not a constant height but it grows higher as it goes forward.

The layout show tight V-berths forward and a comfortable pullman-styled double amidships. The galley is adjacent to this double. The photos I have show the galley aft in the pilothouse, so I must assume that there are alternative layouts. The layout shown here has a head that spans the beam of the boat, meaning that you will have to go through the head to get to the V-berths.

The rig is a normal masthead sloop with the mast stepped well aft. A babystay and in-line lowers are shown on the drawings but the photos show fore and aft lowers and no babystay. I do not have basic rig dimensions so I can't give you an accurate SA/D, but I would guess that we are looking at an SA/D of about 17.5.

I always like to see modern underbodies coupled with traditional topsides. There is no reason a boat can't look like an antique and still preserve modern performance parameters. The rudder and keel treatment on this 38 will help it move in moderate air. I think the cockpit may be a bit on the small side, however; there is no seat that I would be able to stretch out on comfortably. Of course, there is that wide expanse of flush deck forward for sun bathing, if you don't mind the exaggerated crown.

All in all, this is a comfortable-looking, conservative cruising boat that should work well for a couple. These boats are available in kits for owner completion or as sail-away models.