Bayfield 29

[ex182pilot]

Hi all,

Am brand new to sailing.
Am considering the purchase of a Bayfield 29 cutter rig. Has anyone had any expererience with this boat? Anything you really like about this boat? Anything you don't like ? Am looking for positive or negative comments.

Thnx

[zeehag]

i dont know the 29, but i sailed on a 36--was well designed boat--by gozzard. handled well.

[onestepcsy37]

friend of mine has a bayfield 36. well built boat although he did have a blister problem which he fixed, so i'd have it checked for blisters. don't think you'd go very wrong buying a bayfield 29 as a first boat. it's not a hot racing boat, more traditional with a full keel. if you're buying through a broker, ask him to suggest the names of a surveyor he would recommend; then get someone else. some surveyors get repeat business from brokers by overlooking problems. it would be on my list of boats in that size range....

[ex182pilot]

thnx for replies from zeehag and onestep..........anyone else have any experience with a Bayfield 29 ?

PS good advice on obtaining a survey..thnx

[pandora]

We have bayfield-29 in Key Largo, Florida.
Good boat for a couple.
A lot of info on our yahoo group - search bayfieldyachts.
PM me with specific questions.

[nwdiver]

Very common in the PNW and feels much larger than 29 because of it head forward, I slept on one for a few days and the double pulled out was comfortable, they move along well and I have seen them in all the tucked away little anchorages here in BC. Have it surveyed and enjoy it.

[ex182pilot]

Pandora, nwdiver or anyone. Can you tell if the Bayfield 29 can be easlily sailed single hand which is what I will be doing for the most part. I do like the layout with head forward and I like the shallow draft. I understand it is not easily sailed on the reach in light winds and generally a slow sailer in any case. Kinda like the difference between a Cessna 182 and a V-Tail Bonanza. any comments ?

[pandora]

We sail mostly in the Florida Keys.
The B-29 can be handled singlehanded, being cutter helps as the sails are not too big or heavy.
One of the B-29 keeps it in Grand Bahama and sails alone a lot, go on the yahoo group and look for the posts of "sailingbahamas".
Autopilot helps too.

[Hud3]

A friend of mine has one on the Chesapeake. I was just out sailing with him a couple of months ago. It's a great little boat, easily single handed. It can handle the weather, too. Beautiful joinery down below.

[cheoah]

A friend has a 25 he bought in Canada. Not sure if same design, but he really likes his. He's a long time sailor that had to scale back. He took it to the Bahamas this summer and had some squalls in the gulf stream that terrified his neophyte first mate. The skipper was very pleased with the performance in all but the lightest air, but this is not unusual when one is in a hurry, and has no light air sails!