segelyacht endeavour

Endeavour, JK4

Launched: 1934

Designer: Charles E Nicholson

Image Credit:

Jens Fischer

Image Credit: 

Endeavour was designed for the 1934 America’s Cup by Charles E Nicholson and built at Camper & Nicholson’s in Gosport for Sir Thomas Sopwith. Along with Shamrock, Endeavour is one of the two remaining J Class yachts which actually raced for the America’s Cup. Indeed she came closer to winning the Cup than any other Challenger. Against Harold S Vanderbilt’s Rainbow, Endeavour won the first two races and was considered to be the faster boat. With better tactics Rainbow then took wins in Races 3 and 4. Sopwith protested against one contentious manoeuvre but lost and Rainbow went on to win 4-2. At home, one headline read, “ Britannia rules the waves and America waives the rules ."

After the Cup she raced successfully in England but was partially wrecked in 1937 after breaking a tow. Since then she has had numerous owners, refits and repairs.

Endeavour was fully restored by Elizabeth L. Meyer over five years at Royal Huisman and this initiative, and her restoration of Shamrock, stimulated renewed interest in restoring and building replica J Class yachts.

Endeavour was relaunched on the 22nd June 1989 following a refit with Dykstra Naval Architects and sailed for the first time in 52 years. Meyer organised the first J Class racing that September when Endeavour raced Shamrock V in Newport RI.

She had a major refit in 2010/11 with modifications by Dykstra Naval Architects with a new sail plan and deck layout, the work carried out by Yachting Developments in Auckland, New Zealand. That refit included a new deck structure, new rig and sails, a new deck layout, an engine room upgrade and a new crew interior. Fresh from refit Endeavour proved she has performance potential, winning the 2012 Saint Barths Bucket against Shamrock V and Velsheda.

Length at waterline

displacement

upwind sail area

spinnaker sail area

1999 Antigua Classic Regatta

Competed against Velsheda and Shamrock V

‍ 2001, J Class Regatta, The Solent

Endeavour wins against Velsheda and Shamrock V ‍

2012 St Barths Bucket Regatta

Endeavour wins ‍

2013 Loro Piano Superyacht Regatta, BVI

Endeavour competes

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Iconic yachts: Endeavour

The most evocative of the great British racing yachts of the pre-war era, Endeavour , the ‘Darling Jade’, is uniquely beautiful and one of the greatest yachts of all time.

Commissioned by aeroplane magnate Thomas Sopwith, Endeavour was drawn by Britain’s leading yacht designer, C E Nicholson, but Sopwith, consistent with his hands-on role as helmsman and his access to state-of-the-art aerodynamics, contributed substantially to her technical prowess. If the hull was Nicholson’s work, the rod rigging, wind speed and direction indicators and other firsts were those of Sopwith’s right-hand man, Frank Murdoch.

Endeavour ’s performance ahead of the 1934 America’s Cup was superb. British attempts to regain the Cup had long been thwarted but here at last was a worthy challenger. Then, as if destined to heroic failure, mismanagement set a course that would doom the yacht to defeat.

With some justification,  Endeavour ’s professional crew asked for extra money for the extended season they would serve but Sopwith refused. A brilliant amateur crew was formed instead and the challenge was back on course. The racing against Vanderbilt’s  Rainbow  was keen, but just as  Endeavour  developed a leading position Sopwith threw away the race series through poor tactics. Seemingly all difficulties had been overcome only for defeat to be snatched from the jaws of victory.

The aftermath was perhaps even worse for British yachting. Murdoch’s technical developments were too visible to be kept secret, and Nicholson, perhaps determined to save his personal prestige, gave a copy of Endeavour’s lines to the designer of  Rainbow , W Starling Burgess. With all the advantages so painstakingly developed now thrown away, the result of the 1937 Cup was in effect settled in the days that followed the defeat of  Endeavour .

The yacht raced for only four more years, with the last of them seeing her back in US waters acting as trial horse for Sopwith’s doomed  Endeavour II  challenge. However, while there she scored a win over the American Super J and 1937 Cup defender  Ranger  – an achievement no other J had ever managed.

For nearly 50 years  Endeavour  clung to a precarious existence. She and her younger sister were sold off by Sopwith and their lead keels were removed. Plans to  convert  Endeavour  into a cruising yacht fell through, as did a number of rescue attempts while she was laid up at various locations on the South Coast of England. The last of these saw her moved to Calshot Spit, and it was there that Elizabeth Meyer discovered her. She had not come seeking to  buy  Endeavour , just to see the supreme leviathan, but the yacht had found her saviour – and a hands-on one, too. The steelwork was carried out in situ before the project was relocated to the Royal Huisman shipyard, and in 1989 Meyer unveiled her achievement to an astonished world. She had succeeded against all the odds, and  Endeavour  was back, her original beauty fully revealed.

One of the original J Class trio, Endeavour like fellow yachts Shamrock V and Velsheda , is in continual development. The 77 year-old yacht was relaunched on 10 October 2011 having just undergone a major 18-month refit at New Zealand yard Yachting Developments, which included work to the yacht’s interior, deck strengthening, a new winch package, a new mast and sails.

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Yachting World

• Digital Edition

At the helm of J Class yacht Endeavour – we get exclusive on-board access

• Toby Hodges
• March 20, 2017

Toby Hodges jumped at the chance to helm the J Class Endeavour, one of the world’s most distinguished and beautiful yachts.

The mighty press of canvas fills as her bows fall off from head to wind. As she loads up and heels, everything changes – there’s a distinct mood adjustment aboard. It’s a switch to a more serious attitude from the sailors perhaps and their respect both for the craft and the loads she creates.

It seems there’s a change in the yacht herself though. Now silent, slipping through the water Endeavour seems totally in her element.

Skipper Luke Bines relays to the trimmers “coming up ten”. Endeavour ’s tumblehome is fully immersed, water streams over the capping rails now, as she loads up and points her bow to weather. And that’s when the magic really starts.

Trimmers aboard Endeavour with Toby Hodges at the wheel.

What a day. Not many people get to take the wheel of a J Class, so to be handed the helm for four hours of sailing in ideal conditions still makes me feel giddy thinking about it.

Endeavour is not only described as the most beautiful J Class, but the 1934 America’s Cup challenger is perhaps more highly regarded than any other single yacht in the world.

She is currently up for sale and her brokers Edmiston created a unique opportunity for us to sail and photograph her from her home port of Cascais in November.

Sailing a legend

Departing the marina berth that morning was a smooth, near silent operation. Once at sea the mechanics kick in as the process of setting sail begins.

The 490sq m mainsail with its distinctive JK4 insignia is hoisted. “On the lock,” the crew finally shouts back to Bines. “Cunningham on, lazys off,” he replies.

Endeavour with twin headsails.

A mastbase winch ferociously spits out halyard tails as the foresails shoot up in the blink of an eye and I am instantly reminded of how modern technology has transformed the way a yacht designed over 80 years ago is handled.

That said, even in her 1934 launch year Endeavour was ahead of her time. Sir Thomas Sopwith and his lead engineer, Frank Murdoch, applied their aircraft design experience to the rig and deck gear of Endeavour and helped introduce a number of innovations.

These included winches that could be rowed using horizontal bars, strain gauges on rigging wire and a masthead wind vane with a windspeed repeater.

In 1934 Endeavour had a ketch mast temporarily stepped and was sailed and towed across the Atlantic where she began Britain’s closest challenge ever to lifting the America’s Cup.

Eighty-three years later, however, she is for sale lying in Palma – a turnkey original J on the eve of the biggest year ever for this class.

The 10-15 knots of wind that morning was the ideal strength for Endeavour and her 3DL cruising sails. Although Js race with genoas now, the more manageable yankee and staysail are set when cruising.

Included in Endeavour ’s sale is a brand new full set of 3Di racing sails (three hours’ use) plus spinnakers.

On taking the wheel I couldn’t help but think of who has sailed the boat over two lifetimes. Sopwith won the first two Cup matches against Vanderbilt’s Rainbow during that 1934 challenge and four out of six starts.

He certainly had the boat to win the Cup – Endeavour ’s universal appeal was sealed that year – but he was let down by a late crew change and tactical errors. And in 2012 I had the privilege of witnessing Torben Grael take this wheel and helm her to victory in St Barth when four Js raced for the first time .

I am brought back to the present by the wholly unnatural mechanical sound of winches labouring under load. The ease of a sheet vibrating through the deck, or the shudder as the mainsheet jerkily comes on, are the harsh reminders of the loads exerted aboard today’s J.

There’s a big load on that wheel too when we harden up, yet Endeavour responds handsomely to the trim of her sails. I remain in a trance, looking along 100ft of clean decks to that pin sharp bow.

An offshore breeze blows a decent, but relatively smooth ground swell. As Endeavour heels the incredible power and load of her keel-hung rudder is felt. Trying to turn that immense appendage through a tack at speed is a workout in itself, but as I hand-over-hand the spokes rhythmically, her bow starts to respond.

I quickly appreciate how necessary it is to have the mainsheet trimmer directly in front of the wheel – without coordinating with him, turning the wheel would have little effect.

A push button panel also provides the trimmer with the suite of hydraulic controls – indeed during the St Barth’s Bucket in 2012, it was designer Gerry Dijkstra who operated the traveller, cunningham, outhaul and backstay from this remote panel.

The Cariboni hydraulic rams that drive the mainsheet traveller lie hidden in lockers beneath the aft deck. These rams are a perfect example of how the deck layout has improved, saving the need for two crew and two winches when racing.

The deck of JK4 today is clean with the number of winches reduced to the minimum. Gone are the large dorades in favour of forced aircon. “She looks more like the 1934 Endeavour now than she did in the 1980s,” Bines remarked.

The inviting cherry woodwork within Endeavour ’s dining area and saloon – the latter with a working open fireplace.

The sun breaks through and the breeze rises with it, up to 17 knots now. The upwind figures of 9.5 to 10.5 knots and up to 12 knots reaching are typical for a J. But it’s the consistency with which she maintains such speed that delights. Displacement and length work perfectly to ensure Endeavour just keeps slicing through the water.

A rediscovered jewel

Endeavour ’s history is one that typifies the highs and lows of the J Class fleet. She was sold for scrap in 1947 only to be bought hours before demolition.

When American Elizabeth Meyer purchased her in 1984, after three decades laid up in Solent mudberths, Endeavour ’s resurgence, and that of the J Class, slowly began.

Meyer had Endeavour reconfigured by Dykstra & Partners, shipped to Royal Huisman and restored in the late 1980s, before cruising and racing her all around the world.

Nav station aboard Endeavour .

Twenty years later Endeavour ’s current owner commissioned a subsequent major overhaul at Yachting Developments in New Zealand. Virtually all machinery was replaced or upgraded and a new Southern Spars carbon mast stepped with ECSix rigging.

John Munford and Adam Lay reconfigured her crew accommodation, while subtly keeping an ‘original’ 1980s look to the interior.

The saloon is, as it should be, the wonderfully welcoming heart of the boat. One can imagine the lively dinner parties held around the dining table.

Guests would then move to the green leather sofa, place their liqueur on a coffee table supported by Endeavour ’s old compass binnacle, and enjoy the warmth of the working open fireplace.

Endeavour remains seaworthy in her design below. A sail locker still resides beneath the saloon sole, low and central, where it would have been originally.

In the passageway that leads to the owner’s aft cabin, is a fabulous navstation, with a U-shape leather seat that allows you to sit to a chart table facing forward or aft. The owner’s cabin features an offset berth and leecloths.

Owner’s cabin aboard J Class yacht Endeavour .

Jon Barrett was integral to both Endeavour ’s major refits. He was project manager at Huisman and the owner’s rep when she went to Yachting Developments. He knew where to source every fitting – down to where to get the stars on the light switches recast.

I asked Barrett what makes Endeavour so special. “She has a unique history. During the closest match in history, she was eventually out-sailed, but her reputation as a beautiful and fast J was well established.”

She is also resilient, he says, describing her decades of disrepair. “In the last 25 years, in addition to the normal cruising routes, she has sailed to China and Japan, to New Zealand and the fjords of Norway and Alaska. I would guess that she has trekked the globe more than most yachts and certainly more than all the current Js.”

I could not think of a more prestigious vessel to purchase – to be a guardian of – particularly in this, what could be the most historic year yet for the J Class.

Enormous primary winches aboard Endeavour.

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NOT FOR CHARTER *

This Yacht is not for Charter*

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ENDEAVOUR yacht NOT for charter*

39m  /  127'11 | camper & nicholsons | 1934 / 2014.

Owner & Guests

Cabin Configuration

• Previous Yacht

Special Features:

• Multi-award winning
• 1,900nm range
• Lloyds Register classification
• Sleeps 8 overnight

The multi-award winning 39m/127'11" sail yacht 'Endeavour' was built by Camper & Nicholsons in the United Kingdom at their Gosport shipyard. Her interior is styled by design house John Munford and she was completed in 1934. This luxury vessel's exterior design is the work of Charles E. Nicholson and she was last refitted in 2014.

Guest Accommodation

Endeavour has been designed to comfortably accommodate up to 8 guests in 4 suites. She is also capable of carrying up to 8 crew onboard to ensure a relaxed luxury yacht experience.

Range & Performance

Endeavour is built with a steel hull and wood superstructure, with teak decks. Endeavour comfortably cruises at 9 knots, reaches a maximum speed of 13 knots with a range of up to 1,900 nautical miles from her 7,150 litre fuel tanks at 8 knots. Her water tanks store around 4,140 Litres of fresh water. She was built to Lloyds Register classification society rules.

*Charter Endeavour Sail Yacht

Sail yacht Endeavour is currently not believed to be available for private Charter. To view similar yachts for charter , or contact your Yacht Charter Broker for information about renting a luxury charter yacht.

Endeavour Yacht Owner, Captain or marketing company

'Yacht Charter Fleet' is a free information service, if your yacht is available for charter please contact us with details and photos and we will update our records.

Endeavour Photos

Endeavour Awards & Nominations

• International Superyacht Society Awards 2012 Best Refit Winner
• The World Superyacht Awards 2013 Best Refitted Yacht Winner

NOTE to U.S. Customs & Border Protection

Specification

S/Y Endeavour

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39m | Frederikssund

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Motor Yacht

Endeavour is a custom motor yacht launched in 2014 by Westport, in the United States.

Since 1964 Westport has taken a long-term view of the future, and invested heavily in people, design, naval architecture, infrastructure, engineering and proven technologies to secure its position at the forefront of the superyacht industry.

Endeavour measures 39.62 metres in length, with a max draft of 1.96 feet and a beam of 7.92 feet.

Endeavour has a GRP hull with a GRP superstructure.

Endeavour also features naval architecture by William Garden.

Performance and Capabilities

Endeavour has a fuel capacity of 37,722 litres, and a water capacity of 6,534 litres.

Accommodation

Endeavour accommodates up to 10 guests in 5 cabins. She also houses room for up to 4 crew members.

Other Specifications

Endeavour flies the flag of the USA.

• Yacht Builder Westport View profile
• Naval Architect William Garden No profile available
• Exterior Designer Westport View profile
• Interior Designer Westport View profile

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• Sailboat Reviews

Endeavour 37

She's comfortable and heavily built, but her performance leaves a lot to be desired..

Tampa Bay, in some respects, is the new Taiwan of American boatbuilding. Lost in the miles of nondescript tin warehouses, surrounded by chain link fences, where hundreds of virtually anonymous businesses come and go like the rain, it is easy to become disillusioned: My yacht was built here ?

Relic molds lie about the dirty industrial zones like whitewashed bones. Riggers become salesmen. Salesmen become builders. Builders never become businessmen, which is about the only difference between Taiwan and Tampa. An eager, low-paid workforce (read Cuban), favorable business climate (low taxes), and sunny weather (considered 50% of an employee’s compensation here) combine to make the environs of Florida’s largest west coast city a logical place to rent a shed, buy some used tooling, hire a couple of glass men and a carpenter (there’s a sort of floating labor pool in the Tampa area), and hang your shingle—I.M. Starstruck Yacht Co.

In the 1970s, Southern California—Costa Mesa more than any other city—was a major boatbuilding center. It was much the same as South Florida is today, until Orange County got tough on environmental emissions, and for the sake of a few parts per million of styrene fumes, essentially drove the boatbuilders out. Two early giants, Columbia Yachts and Jensen Marine (Cal boats) fled. Islander stuck it out until succumbing to bankruptcy just a few years ago.

Endeavour Yacht Corporation traces its lineage to those good ol’ days in Costa Mesa. Co-founder Rob Valdez began his career at Columbia, managed, incidentally, by brother Dick Valdez, who later founded Lancer Yachts. Rob followed Vince Lazzara to Florida to work for Gulfstar. The other co-founder, John Brooks, had worked for Charley Morgan and then Gulfstar and Irwin. “It’s so incestuous,” he once said, “it’s pathetic.”

In any case, Rob Valdez and John Brooks founded Endeavour in 1974 using the molds from Ted Irwin’s 32-footer to launch the business. The company built about 600 32s in all. Spurred by this success, Valdez and Brooks began looking around for a larger sistership to expand the line. Just how they “developed” the 37 is a tale best left untold until the principals pass away or become too senile to read the yachting periodicals. Brooks calls the 37 a “house design,” and that is generous. The total number of Endeavour 37s built is 476—a lot for a boat that size.

In 1986 Brooks sold the company to Coastal Financial Corporation of Denver, Colorado. Despite upgrading the pedigree of its model line with designs by Johan Valentijn, Endeavour’s position was plagued by declining sales and competition with its own products on the used boat market.

Brooks said, “When boats started to blister, I said, ‘God’s on our side! Maybe they’ll disappear and go away. Everything else becomes obsolete—your car, your clothes. We’re the only ones building a product that won’t go away!’ ”

The Endeavour 37 represents a decent value for the cruising family more interested in comfort and safety than breathtaking performance. Let’s take a closer look.

Sailing Performance

Most Endeavour 37s are sloop rigged, though the company did offer the ketch as an option—an extra $1,800 in 1977. The sloop is somewhat underpowered, so the ketch would appear to give the boat some much needed sail area. With either rig, it is not a fast boat, nor was it intended to be.

A bowsprit was added at one point to increase the foretriangle area and to facilitate handling ground tackle, though some photographs show the forestay still located at the stem despite the presence of an anchor platform, which was an earlier option. Also, a tall mast option was offered. Many readers complain of heavy weather helm in higher wind velocities, and moving the center of effort forward by means of enlarging the foretriangle would be one solution.

PHRF ratings range from a high of 198 for the standard rig in the Gulf of Mexico area, to 177 for a tall rig with bowsprit racing in Florida. PHRF ratings, of course, are adjusted according to local fleet performance, so variances between regions are to be expected. Most 37′ club racers rate 10 to 40 seconds per mile faster, and a high-performance boat such as the Elite 37 or J/37 will clean its clock by 80 seconds per mile and more. Make no mistake, the Endeavour is a cruising boat.

Some of the boat’s other troubles are presumably attributable to hull design, something most of us can do little about. The boat points no better, despite a fairly fine entry. One reader says he tacks through 115°, a number competitive only with schooners. Another notes excessive leeway.

Such performance may be expected from a boat with a long, shoal-draft keel, though it is cut away at the forefoot and terminates well forward of the spade rudder. Many owners report satisfactory balance as long as they pay attention to trim, reefing, and sail combinations. And it deserves mentioning that the Endeavour 37 has been happily employed as a charter boat by several companies, including Bahamas Yachting Services, which moves its fleet between the Bahamas and the Virgin Islands each season. It has and can make safe ocean passages.

The standard engine was the freshwater-cooled, 50-hp Perkins 4-108 with 2.5 to 1 reduction gear, a real workhorse that is something of a stick against which all others are measured. It rated tops among mechanics in Practical Sailor ’s 1989 diesel engine survey. The company began phasing it out that year in favor of a new line. The Perkins 4-108 is a good engine for this boat, adequately sized for the waterline and displacement.

Access to the engine compartment is reasonable; the companionway steps are removable and there are sound insulating materials glued to the inside of the box.

Fuel capacity is about 65 gallons in a baffled tank.

A two-blade, bronze propeller was standard, though many respondents in our owner’s survey stated they had switched to a three-blade to improve control backing down. This, of course, is a problem with many boats. A three-blade, automatically feathering prop would improve performance under power and minimize drag under sail. It seems a shame to further destroy the performance of this boat by turning a three-blade, fixed prop, just for control in reverse; at that point one must ask himself just how much time he intends to spend going backwards.

Construction

The Endeavour 37 is a good example of low-tech construction—nothing fancy—no exotic fibers, core materials or unusual tooling. The hull is a singleskin, solid fiberglass laminate. No owners reported structural problems with oilcanning panels or moving bulkheads. Numerous owners, however, complained of gelcoat crazing, a condition also cited of the Endeavour 32. Gelcoat repair kits seldom match old and faded gelcoat colors, so owners are faced with an expensive re-gelcoat job or painting with an epoxy or polyurethane paint system. Since most older fiberglass boats inevitably suffer gelcoat crazing in areas of stress or impact (a dropped winch handle will do it), we’d be more concerned with the condition of gelcoat below the waterline. The results of Practical Sailor ’s 1989 Boat Owner’s Questionnaire showed 8 of 19 Endeavours had blistered; 42% is high.

The interior is built up of plywood with teak trim. Workmanship is generally good. In fact, one owner who said his hobby is woodworking, said, “The trim joints are excellent.” In general, owners liked the boat because it feels solid, “built like a tank.”

Problem areas included gate valves on throughhulls, which some owners have correctly replaced with sea cocks; side-loading refrigerators on some boats that were replaced with top-loading ice boxes; pumping of the Isomat spar; inaccessible electrical wiring; V-berths too short for people over 6′; listing due to water and holding tank placement; and plastic Vetus hatches crazing and dripping. Ventilation seems to be a concern of many owners, though with 10 opening portlights and three hatches, there’s not much more to be done except add cabin fans and rig wind scoops.

An Endeavour trademark is the teak parquet cabin sole, which makes you feel like you’re dribbling down center court at the Boston Garden. Some like it, some don’t, but at least it’s different.

The keel is part of the hull mold, with internal lead ballast dropped in and glassed over. There are no keel bolts to worry about, but in the event of a grounding one should look to see if the skin has been punctured and water entered the cavity. The laminate must be thoroughly dried before repairs are made, and this can mean a fairly long waiting period. The shape of the keel is what is sometimes called a “cruising fin,” shallow and long with a straight run. The boat should take the bottom well, whether it is an accidental grounding or intentional careening for bottom work on some distant island.

Two arrangement plans were offered—“A” and “B.” The first is a bit unusual in that the forward V-berths are dispensed with in favor of an enormous Ushaped dinette; owners of this plan like it. In its lowered position, the table converts to a huge, sumptuous double berth.

And there is a handy shelf forward for books, television and knick-knacks. The hull sides are decorated with thin teak slats that are widely spaced and fastened flat against the liner. This plan has a large forepeak, divided into two compartments, one for chain and the after one for sails, accessible from the deck.

The galley is a sideboard affair located to starboard and the head is opposite to port, just about midships. Hot and cold pressure water and a shower are standard equipment. The sink is porcelain and there is a full-length mirror. Plumbing has copper tubing and there is an automatic shower sump pump. Aft in Plan “A” are two large double quarter berths.

Plan “B” is the more conventional, with V-berths forward (no sail stowage in the forepeak), the toilet compartment just abaft the head of the bunk, settees in the saloon with an offset dropleaf table, pilot berth outboard above the starboard settee, aft galley and a port quarter cabin.

There is a privacy door to this stateroom (not shown in the layout illustration), which is no doubt what the public demands; however, some owners complain that it is stuffy and cramped. That, of course, is what you get with a small, enclosed cabin aft in the boat; despite overhead hatches, vents, and portlight opening into the cockpit footwell, ventilation is bound to suffer.

There seem to be pros and cons to both plans. “A” is certainly more open, which will suit a couple with few overnight guests. Ventilation is better as air coming in through the forward deck hatch freely circulates in the main cabin; the main bulkhead in “B,” as in most boats with this type of layout, obstructs air flow, and nowhere is this problem more acute than in the tropics, where every breath of ocean breeze feels like the difference between life and death.

Both plans offer sleeping accommodations for at least six, including decent sea berths. Plan “B” has a pilot berth that ups the count to seven, but most owners of this layout had converted it to stowage space.

The deep, double sinks in both “A” and “B” are reasonably close to the centerline of the boat, and should drain on either tack.

In the late 70s, a three-burner alcohol stove and oven was standard. On the boat we chartered for a week in the Bahama Islands, the stove was LPG and there was a nifty tank locker in the cockpit coaming, well hidden yet easily accessed. The garbage container and insulated beverage container in the cockpit are nice features.

Both plans also have chart tables, which of course is appreciated. The longer you study the arrangement plans, the more you realize just how much has been fitted into the available space. If any corners have been cut to make this happen it’s probably the length of some berths, which a few owners criticized (presumably the endomorphs and Ichabod Cranes among us).

A high percentage of the owners surveyed are liveaboards and almost without exception they consider the boat ideal for their purposes. And it’s not difficult to see why. During our week of chartering, there was plenty of space for two couples to move about without knocking elbows at every turn.

The aft cabin is, however, cramped, and getting into the high berth would be easier with a step; one is leery of jumping in, especially given the low overheads of boats. Also, one has to get his bottom on the berth first, then swivel around to get the feet aimed in the right direction. If your mate is already in bed, this can be a maneuver almost impossible to perform politely! The V-berths are preferred for ventilation and ease of getting in and out.

The Endeavour 37 is easily appreciated on deck. The side decks are wide and uncluttered. The foredeck, though narrow at the bow, is adequate for sail handling, and the high cockpit coaming makes for a good backrest and a sense of protection. The toerail rises forward so that there is a sort of mini-bulwark for security when changing sails or handling ground tackle.

In profile, the coaming seems too high, especially on top of the high freeboard; one owner said he’d have liked to see an Endeavour 37 without this great, wraparound coaming.

From the helm it’s a different story. The varnished cap board on the coaming defines the attractive curve, and does impart a feeling of safety and well being.

Coamings such as this, which extend over the sea hood (a good safety feature), make installation of a waterproof dodger much easier, though the dodger will be large and extend athwartship nearly the full beam of the boat at that station.

The large size of the cockpit is worth noting. In fact, it probably borders on being too large for offshore sailing. A pooping may temporarily affect handling, but given the considerable volume of the hull, the presence of a good bridgedeck, and assuming that weather boards are in place, water shouldn’t get below or unduly sink the stern. Still, it is a boat we’d like to see with large diameter scuppers for safety’s sake. One owner said he thought it was possible to run two large scupper hoses aft through the transom, which is a sensible idea. Another said the cockpit was too wide and that it was difficult to brace his feet when heeled.

The Endeavour 37 is a Florida boat. Windward sailing performance was purposely sacrificed for shoal draft, which is a requirement of cruising the Florida Keys and Bahama Islands. The cockpit is large and the deck area spacious.

Either you like the Endeavour 37’s distinctive cockpit coaming or you don’t; we found the cabintop area just abaft the coaming useful for stowing suntan lotion, hats and the usual cockpit clutter; in calm conditions, it even makes a fairly decent, elevated seat when you want to pontificate to the rest of the crew.

Sailing performance is marginal, especially upwind. The rig, however, is very simple and will seldom get the beginner in trouble, which explains the boat’s appeal to charter companies. A light, nylon multi-purpose sail will be essential to light air performance, but it is probable that many owners turn on the engine when the wind drops below about 10 knots, and when going to windward to get that extra few degrees.

Our most serious concerns with the boat are, unfortunately, those that are uncorrectable. You can replace the gate valves with sea cocks, rewire the electrical system, even install flexible water and holding tanks to correct minor listing tendencies, but there’s nothing practical that can be done about poor hull design.

One reader suggested fitting a hollow keel shoe to improve the boat’s windward performance…hollow, he said, because the boat is heavy enough as it is. The boat also appears not to balance well, and though this tendency can be mitigated to some extent by mast rake and sail trim, it may well extend to the shape of the ends of the hull’s waterline plane when heeled.

In all fairness, however, the Endeavour 37 is heavily built, reasonably well finished, comfortable to cruise and live aboard, and it sells for an attractive price.

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Inspired, confident and engaged Bermuda youth with an appreciation for our waters and an excitement for learning and their future.

Building self-confidence and life skills by engaging youth from diverse backgrounds across Bermuda in hands-on experiential learning through sailing.

• Help Bermuda’s youth from all backgrounds to build self-confidence and develop life skills;
• Leverage sailing as an effective tool for teaching STEAM Education;
• Inspire maritime and STEAM career pathways through experiential learning;
• Enhance opportunities for Bermuda’s youth to start a career in the maritime industry;
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Endeavour has engaged thousands of young people from diverse backgrounds across Bermuda in hands-on learning through sailing.

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History of the Endeavour name

Endeavour is a word that will forever be synonymous with the America’s Cup, in its past through the association with the J-class yacht Endeavour, and now with Endeavour, which was initiated during the 35th America’s Cup in Bermuda.

The yacht Endeavour is a 130-foot (40m) J-class yacht that was built for Sir Thomas Sopwith to compete in the 1934 America’s Cup. Endeavour was the most advanced yacht of its day, with a steel hull and mast, and came closer to winning the America’s Cup than any other challenger until Australia II finally broke the U.S. dominance of stewardship of the America’s Cup in 1983. Endeavour’s legacy of innovation, excellence, determination and the will to try aligns perfectly with Endeavour, making it a fitting name for the initiative that is educating and inspiring thousands of students in Bermuda.

The inspiration for the Endeavour logo was taken from one of the most famous nautical legends in history, Poseidon. Poseidon’s trident, such a powerful mark in the minds of sailors for thousands of years, underlines the Endeavour brand, providing not only a connection to the millennia of nautical tales, but also Bermuda’s historic Royal Naval Dockyard which features a large statue of King Neptune with a trident in the courtyard of the National Museum of Bermuda, a nod to Bermuda’s rich maritime history.

The definitions of the word Endeavour underline why it is such an appropriate word for an initiative created to inspire and educate young people through sailing: Verb: try hard to do or achieve something: “ they are endeavouring to help their friends “ Noun: an attempt to achieve a goal: “ an endeavour to inspire and educate young people “

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Inside the Black Box: What Makes SELEX Better?

Affiliations.

• 1 Scientific-Manufacturing Complex Technological Centre, 1-7 Shokin Square, Zelenograd, Moscow 124498, Russia. [email protected].
• 2 Scientific-Manufacturing Complex Technological Centre, 1-7 Shokin Square, Zelenograd, Moscow 124498, Russia. [email protected].
• PMID: 31591283
• PMCID: PMC6804172
• DOI: 10.3390/molecules24193598

Aptamers are small oligonucleotides that are capable of binding specifically to a target, with impressive potential for analysis, diagnostics, and therapeutics applications. Aptamers are isolated from large nucleic acid combinatorial libraries using an iterative selection process called SELEX (Systematic Evolution of Ligands by EXponential enrichment). Since being implemented 30 years ago, the SELEX protocol has undergone many modifications and improvements, but it remains a laborious, time-consuming, and costly method, and the results are not always successful. Each step in the aptamer selection protocol can influence its results. This review discusses key technical points of the SELEX procedure and their influence on the outcome of aptamer selection.

Keywords: PCR amplification; SELEX; aptamer; next generation sequencing; nucleic acid library; sequencing; ssDNA regeneration.

Publication types

• Aptamers, Nucleotide / chemical synthesis
• Aptamers, Nucleotide / chemistry*
• DNA Primers / chemical synthesis
• DNA Primers / chemistry*
• DNA, Single-Stranded / isolation & purification
• Gene Library
• High-Throughput Nucleotide Sequencing / methods
• Nucleic Acid Amplification Techniques
• Nucleic Acids / chemistry
• Polymerase Chain Reaction
• SELEX Aptamer Technique / methods*
• Aptamers, Nucleotide
• DNA Primers
• DNA, Single-Stranded
• Nucleic Acids