Are these reliable to get to and cruise the Bahamas and indies? We are looking at a Jefferson 42. Right now I own a Bayliner 2855 and love it, however, didn't think larger Bayliners were ok for Bahamas, etc.
I can't think of any reason a Bayliner 38xx wouldn't be OK for Bahamas. Generator, two marine AC's...sounds like good on-the-hook time to me! Would it actually make the 50 mile or so trip from Florida to the Bahamas? Again, I can't see any reason why it wouldn't, assuming it's reasonably well-maintained (like any other boat). The 38xx have a high bow with lots of freeboard, and lots of bouyancy forward...so, it might not be a really comfortable ride in rough water (I don't think any boat this size would be), but I don't think the boat itself would have any problems handling some rough water.
An acquaintance of mine brought his 38xx down to NC from up north, and crossed one body of water (can't recall if it was the Chesapeake Bay, Pamlico Sound, or Albermarle Sound) in 6 foot or so waves of pretty short cycle (ie, it was pretty rough). The boat structure and mechanicals handled it fine...water splashing over the flybridge caused an electrical outage (GPS and all electronics went off...but they had paper charts). I'm sure they were exhausted by the end of that day, but they made it in one piece.
There are a lot of shallows in my area (although more in the Bahamas)...I added an EchoPilot FLS 2D forward-looking sonar...quite happy with that, it seems to work really well on a 38xx, both at hull speed and at cruising speed, and the cost wasn't crazy (those units are about $2K in the US, plus install of the thru-hull transducer).
I'm about 2 months from having mine for one year now...and I'm still quite happy with it. The heat and AC work fabulously...the boat is plenty warm in the winter and plenty cool in the summer. I'm going to remove the stock salon table and replace it with a combination of a custom-made ottoman and smaller table that can be lowered to make the salon bed when needed (the stock design is a pain)...that will also make the salon feel much more roomy. (Remove the stock table and notice the difference...Bayliner must have gotten some special deal on 2000 of those tables or something, because it's WAY too big for that area...LOL.) Slowly getting some maintenance and improvements done. I was wrong about some of my transmission assumptions...after a bottom cleaning, running gear cleaning, and some repairs to trim tabs, I got mine up to 18.5 knots @ 2850 rpms...the boat sea-trialed at around 12-13 knots, so needless to say I'm pretty pleased. That said, I spend most of my time at around 8-12 knots or thereabouts. She's getting some new stainless steel exhaust risers installed at the moment...some belts, hoses, and impellers to go, and I think I'm probably done for this year, and can just enjoy her.
I've had very few problems over the past 10 months, even though I bought her knowing she needed some maintenance. No major problems, all small/silly stuff...what I thought was a transmission leak turned out to be a loose filler cap on the tranny...what I thought was a manicooler leak was a leaking hose between the manicooler and water heater...an engine alarm that went off once was a bad ground that just needed some contact cleaner. Jabsco manual heads are a PITA, and I'll eventually change at least the master head for something much better. So far, there's been nothing other than a few minor problems and catching up the maintenance.
My home port is Carolina Beach, NC...on the 38xx, we've been to Charleston, Georgetown SC, North Myrtle Beach, downtown Wilmington multiple times, Wrightsville Beach multiple times, Bald Head Island, etc. This summer we're planning several weekend trips, and one week-long trip from CB to Topsail Island, Beaufort NC, and Oriental NC, and back. I'd have to say...buying a boat you can stay on comfortably, and buying this particular brand/model of boat, are probably two of the best decisions I've ever made. We're at the beach pretty much every warm weekend (and a few cold ones over the winter), sometimes taking it somewhere, and sometimes not.
I love this boat (and so does the mermaid I caught a couple years ago
), and I love the lifestyle it enables...AND I also love that it enables that lifestyle at a reasonable and manageable expense!
About 2000 of these 38xx's were made and sold new over the years that Bayliner made them...that many people can't be too drastically wrong. These 38xx's kinda hit a really good "sweet spot"...big enough to be really comfortable, but still small enough to be manageable (both operationally and financially).
If or when I decide to upgrade, I'm pretty sure I'll be looking for a Bayliner 4588 Pilothouse (if size/volume is my main goal at that time) or a Bayliner 3988 (if greater speed is my main goal at that time).
And agreed...I don't like the smaller side walkways much either (but I'll sure take that internal room), but I rarely go up them under way. There are solid handrails all the way up and back, and one of the items on my list is to run a remote switch up to the flybridge to operate the solenoid on the anchor windlass so no one HAS to go up front except at dock to tie up.
Cheers!
Dave