Endeavour snub-nose dinghy

The open built Endeavour is a snub-nosed, carvel planked 14-foot wooden dinghy. It can be rigged as a sloop or a gaff, and has a centreboard, foredeck, and side decks. The hull to the waterline is painted white, while the deck, side benches and underside of the hull are painted brown. The original sail insignia shows the letter “E” inside a red and white diamond.

Endeavour was built by Don Felton for Bill Bevan at Buckland shed, Claremont and delivered in 1928. In the following years Endeavour and its skipper Bevan participated in numerous races. In January 1931, Endeavour, along with White Cloud and Miss Perth, were selected to represent WA in the Australian 14-foot championship on the Swan River:

"The selection could not have been better, one as White Cloud is a good light moderate boat, Endeavour is a beauty in the heavy stuff, and Miss Perth can adapt herself to any conditions"
(Newspaper, 18 January 1931)

Endeavour went on to compete in the opening race of the newly formed Dalkeith Sailing Club (DSC) on Sunday the 18 December 1932, finishing second after Nimrod.

Thorold Julian joined the Perth Dinghy Sailing Club with Endeavour in 1934. Julian is also known for his time at the Claremont Football Club from 1937 to 1946 where he played 59 games.

In the 1940s, Skip Foley found the dinghy on a riverbank, then purchased and restored it. He and his family used Endeavour for recreational sailing and fishing. Doug Foley and Betty Major (nee Foley) donated Endeavour to the WA Museum in 1992, in memory of their late father, Skip. Endeavour is thought to be the last 14-foot snub-nose racing dinghy in Western Australia.

The story of the 14-foot class in Australia begins in the 1880s when young sailors sailed amateur-built canvas boats. They were made of cheap pine planks and the hulls were covered with heavy canvas and painted to waterproof them. Over time, as fleets grew, and sailors became more competitive, professional builders became involved. They started building more expensive boats with batten seam carvel constructions. This modified design made the vessels heavier than the canvas boats and therefore, slower in races. This led to the creation of separate racing events for the two styles of dinghy. By the end of the 19th century, following trends seen in larger vessel classes, 14-foot dinghies had become beamier, carried more sails, and hulls showed more of a V-shaped section. Originally decks were not allowed on the dinghies, but during the 1890s this restriction was dropped.

Dinghy racing in Perth

This open boat class eventually reached Perth, which had excellent sailing conditions with the flat waters of the Swan River and the “Fremantle Doctor” sea breeze. Already in the 1870s, keen sailors raced against each other in miscellaneous dinghies and canoes, and by 1898 a racing association had been established.

Early racing dinghies were designed to suit the warm steady winds and flat waters of Perth and the main classes were 14, 16 and 18-footers. Crews were restricted to six for the 14-footer, eight for the 16-footer, and 10 for the 18-footer dinghies.

Snub-nose

The snub-nose dinghy was developed by the highly regarded Victorian designer, Charlie Peel during Melbourne’s 1910/11 race season. Its name derives from the design of its bow, which has a flat stem post above the waterline. Peel sought to improve on his previous designs, by creating a smaller but more seaworthy and powerful boat. He had previously focused on larger yachts, such as Acrospire III and IV, before shifting to smaller centreboard-oriented dinghies. His dinghy design was light and could be lifted by a crew of two. Despite their size, these new dinghies would still carry large gaff rigs.

https://sailcraftblog.wordpress.com/2017/05/31/fourteens-dominant-the-early-history-of-southern-and-western-australian-dinghies/#_ftn27 [external]

https://www.openboat.com.au/14-footers.html [external]

https://arhv.sea.museum/people/11224/charlie-peel [external]

http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article208143508 [external]

http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article58404524 [external]

http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article58639618 [external]

http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article37835533 [external]

http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article32398690 [external]

http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article52178651 [external]