2000 bayliner 4788-gctid346249

[Guest]

Just wondering if there are any owners out there of this particular maodel. We are kicking the idea around of an apgrade in the future and this boat is on the list. I prefer one around this year due to the light colored lower helm and the finishes of the interior.

I am curious about fuel burn, cruise speeds, sea keeping and tender sizes for the most part. The boats seem to be built very well and I have doine some research and all signs point to a yes, but I really would like to hear some real opions from real owners. Even if you dont like things about it please let me know.

Thanks much

[ksanders]

There are several owners who will chime in here.

We have a 2001 4788. This is our retirement boat. The layout is fantastic.

There is a really good fuel burn table over at Baylinerpilothouse.com

We've only owned ours for a short period of time. The only downside we saw is access to the outboard side of the starboard engine, since the waste tank is there.

Other than that its a well thought out boat.

When you get closer, I can provide real world costs to fix defered maintainance.

[smitty477]

"fuel burn, cruise speeds, sea keeping and tender sizes for the most part"

We have had a few of these so we are well biased so take that for what it is worth.

Fuel burn / cruise speed - you have a few choices here and all dependent upon hull condition loading and props. Here are some general guidelines to start.....

about 6 knots will demand around 1.5-2.0 gph total burn

about 8-9 knots will demand around 4.5 - 5.5 gph total

about 15 knots will demand around 16-17 gph total

Useable cruise speeds can be anywhere from like 5-8 knots and 14-17 knots in general.

Sea keeping is generally comparable with other major brand power boats of this size with the Bay being quite solid (yet these are not 'battlewagons' at all). Head seas and winds are cause for a wet ride. The worst scenario for these boats are trailing seas where the wavelength is just a slight bit longer then the boats hull. In general and quite subjective 2-3 ' seas will be dismissed easily, 3-5' seas will begin to be noticed, 5-8' seas will become uncomfortable for most folks, and 8' and above the seas will demand serious attention on the bridge. We have been in 12' plus (not by choice) and the boat will handle more then the captian and passengers can easily.

Tender sizes - recently we have had a 12.5 Zodiac with a 40 hp as well as a Kawasaki STX 12-F on the boat deck with really no issues. These boats are also easily utilized to 'tow' other support boats from the stern.

Please try a search for what you are looking to research as there are many good posts from other BOC members that have been posted on these subjects lately.

More detailed questions will also likely yield more detailed answers.

BTW - where are you and where do you boat?

Good luck with your search and hope this helps

[Guest]

Thanks for the info so far. We are just beging to talk about and begining the search. There are a lot of different brands out there, but I relly love the lines and looks of this boat. We are in New england and really do not travel a great deal at the present time, but would like to get into our last boat next. the every few years of buying os getting quite old. Eventually we will mosty likely be doing the loop, so that is a factor as well.

[smitty477]

"We are in New england and really do not travel a great deal at the present time, but would like to get into our last boat next. the every few years of buying os getting quite old. Eventually we will mosty likely be doing the loop, so that is a factor as well."

We are on the north shore of Long Island and have cruised extensively in the area including the Hudson river, BI, Pt Judith, and the Conn. coast.

I think your ideas are well thought out and researching these additional details are a good next move for you.

In the past it has served us well to make a list of all the things we 'wanted' and 'needed' in a next boat before we chose a brand or model.

It took longer then we thought to make the list but it had great value when 'argueing' over how important certain items were - ie amount of fresh water and A/C.

Hope this helps

[Guest]

We have made the list of wants vs needs. Ac is a no brainer, we do not want gas engines, Water storage is not a huge deal breaker as we can always add a storage tank or carry extra while cruising plus we do a very good job on conserving. This may sound rediculous, but one of the biggest concerns is tender storage. I really am tired of the weaver set up we use now on the swim platform and we would like to get a larger tender anyway. I am looking in the 11 foot range inflatable with around 25 hp and a small helm. i really like the idea of storage on the aft deck. It would be safe from theives when not using, easier to keep clean and do not have to disassemble the whole thing to store. Hoist it up, cover it up and done. The pilot house is also a really plus. Lower helm is a must, but really like the pilot house design. we have seatrailed a Nordic tug, but the cost is just huge. A used 32 Nordic of the same year is about the same cost. I understand the build differences, but we are not looking to do major must travel through cruising

[ksanders]

bayliner2859 wrote:
We have made the list of wants vs needs. Ac is a no brainer, we do not want gas engines, Water storage is not a huge deal breaker as we can always add a storage tank or carry extra while cruising plus we do a very good job on conserving. This may sound rediculous, but one of the biggest concerns is tender storage. I really am tired of the weaver set up we use now on the swim platform and we would like to get a larger tender anyway. I am looking in the 11 foot range inflatable with around 25 hp and a small helm. i really like the idea of storage on the aft deck. It would be safe from theives when not using, easier to keep clean and do not have to disassemble the whole thing to store. Hoist it up, cover it up and done. The pilot house is also a really plus. Lower helm is a must, but really like the pilot house design. we have seatrailed a Nordic tug, but the cost is just huge. A used 32 Nordic of the same year is about the same cost. I understand the build differences, but we are not looking to do major must travel through cruising

Storing a tender is a piece of cake on the 45/47 Bayliners.

We have an 11' Zodiac YL series with a 30 hp outboard. and it fits on the aft deck just fine.

As far as seakeeping, don't let anybody fool you. The Nordic Tugs are fine boats, but they, like the Bayliners are semi displacement coastal cruisers.

You won't see all that much if any real world seakeeping ability differences between semi displacement hulls. They are all the same basic design.

The real seakeeping separation comes when you get into the true full displacement boats like the Hatteras LRC's, or the Krogens, Nordhavns, etc...

[WhiteRockMike]

bayliner2859 wrote:
I am looking in the 11 foot range inflatable with around 25 hp and a small helm. i really like the idea of storage on the aft deck.

You'll have no problem lifting this and storing on the bridge deck. The davit is rated for 750lbs.

[smitty477]

"This may sound rediculous, but one of the biggest concerns is tender storage"

Defineatly a more detailed question.....

Here is a Zodiac YL-380 (12.5') with a 40hp ptt 2 stroke Yamaha engine:

http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47b7cc36b3127ccec2b7a9afa14100000010O08AcN2rNq4btQe3nwQ/cC/f%3D0/ps%3D50/r%3D0/rx%3D550/ry%3D400/

And here it is on the 4788:

http://im1.shutterfly.com/media/47b5da31b3127cceca8002cdab2d00000010O08AcN2rNq4btQe3nwQ/cC/f%3D0/ps%3D50/r%3D0/rx%3D550/ry%3D400/

Hope this helps

[egbauman]

Like you, the admiral and I have been out scoping 4788's to replace our 4087. I think we've settled on a boat but will advise you to check out the 2002 4788 for sale in Maryland. We saw this boat last month and she's in absolute tiptop condition. I believe it even comes with a center console inflatable tender plus a good sized outboard.

The price is very very reasonable. Details on Blake Davis' website (baylinerpilothouse.com).

The reason we are not pursuing it is that we found the same model boat for sale a lot closer and this owner willing to take my boat in trade.

[Guest]

I di d come across that boat while looking. Great looking, well equiped, nice electronics and the tender is a great bonus

[spt7566]

We are one year into owning a 2000 4788. Have been very happy with it. Think you are good to look at the 2000 models. Believe they are first year with no exterior teak and they have 370 Cummins. We have a 11' Zodiac w/ 40 HP Merc on the aft deck. Not sure but think that ready to go it probably comes close to the 750# capacity of the crane/winch, but we have no trouble getting the tender over the side and recovered. Recommend you have a close look at the crane. Be sure it's in good working order or be ready to overhaul. A little bit of a job. Biggest downside from my perspective is engine room access. You (or your mechanic) will spend lots of time contorting yourself into the pit, and low crawling to the aft end of the engine compartment. Some other threads here that discuss cutting a center hatch into the salon to allow standup access to the engine compartment. Considering it but haven't executed yet. You will enjoy the pilot house layout. Lots of good and bad weather options. We are on the Chesapeake and don't get into particularly rough water. Concur that 4 - 5' not a real problem. The 2002/Maryland boat mentioned above looks nice. Good luck and have fun shopping. Steve

[Guest]

We purchased our 1997, 4788 two years ago and still love our boat. No exterior teak, and we have 370hp engines. Corion counter tops etc.. I also believe the choices of color schemes in the interior decor is pretty much the same in all the 4788s. When we decided to buy a 4788 pilot house, we found that the individual care and maintinance and engine hours of the boat was to us, more important than the model year. The fuel burn is awesome! Very simular to the published data in Blake Davis's listing. We lived aboard for 3 months bringing her home to St Louis from Ft Lauderdale and were very ccomfortable with the living space. Faced some rough seas at times and she really handled well.

[Guest]

spt7566 wrote:
We are one year into owning a 2000 4788. Have been very happy with it. Think you are good to look at the 2000 models. Believe they are first year with no exterior teak and they have 370 Cummins. We have a 11' Zodiac w/ 40 HP Merc on the aft deck. Not sure but think that ready to go it probably comes close to the 750# capacity of the crane/winch, but we have no trouble getting the tender over the side and recovered. Recommend you have a close look at the crane. Be sure it's in good working order or be ready to overhaul. A little bit of a job.

1997 is the first year w/370's and no exterior teak. I wholeheartedly agree with the warning about the davits. You want one that moves freely side to side otherwise you're in for some heavy lifting of metal and paper. "Does your davit swivel freely?" is the first question I ask sellers. Then "do you have any corrosion on your exterior aluminum, especially the window frames?". The corrosion is more likely seen in 2000 and 2001 models more than older models due to supply of Aluminum from company named Taylor that turned out not to have been properly zinc coated. Not an issue with freshwater boats, but is-for salty's. Of course, all can be rectified with just $$.

If the reply's are Yes, and No, then the rest of the boat is probably tip top, and will look better the harder you look.

Dave's 4788 fell into the condition category of "boats I should buy for myself", which is very rare. Lot of people STILL kicking themselves they didn't scoop her up themselves, when they had the time. I counseled Dave for at least 2 years (?) to "be patient, I'll find you a good one"- and did. Good yachts for good people is my motto!

[ksanders]

pilothouseking wrote:
1997 is the first year w/370's and no exterior teak. I wholeheartedly agree with the warning about the davits. You want one that moves freely side to side otherwise you're in for some heavy lifting of metal and paper. "Does your davit swivel freely?" is the first question I ask sellers. Then "do you have any corrosion on your exterior aluminum, especially the window frames?". The corrosion is more likely seen in 2000 and 2001 models more than older models due to supply of Aluminum from company named Taylor that turned out not to have been properly zinc coated.

How right you are Blake...

My 2001 boat had both davit problems and flaking paint and corrosion on the aft bulkhead.

Rebuilding my davit cost around $3500. Its now like new inside and out.

Properly prepping and painting the aft bulkhead inside and out ran another $3K.

I don't know if its the same issue but we had some corrosion on the windshield supports. That ran a couple of K$$

Door corrosion both inside and out, along with the areas around the pilothouse doors is also a problem area. Plan on another $4K for that one.

If folks are looking at 2000-2001 models, Very Carefully look over the areas I mentioned. What might look like a little corrosion can be much larger than you think. Unless you're prepared to realistically spend the time or the $$ necessary to properly fix the corrosion, then you'll either end up with a ugly corroded boat or a ugly boat that was owner painted, and looks like it.

I promise you that nothing will make your dream yacht look like XXXX faster than flaking paint and exterior corrosion.

Mine is now 100% perfect but I spent quite a bit to get it there.

It might sound stupid, and some will laugh here but look at the gelcoat wax. A full strip, buff, wax on a 4788 is a very large undertaking. The crew that detailed the exterior of my boat took 28 person days on the exterior. Do you realistically have that much time on your hands? If not plan on a $6K detail job. I know folks are thinking "$6K for a buff and wax...what a waste" Actually, that one thing made the very most difference in the "curb appeal" of my boat. Photos do not do it justice. Walk up to a chalky flat looking 4788 and a nice shiney waxed boat and you'll be flat amazed at the difference.