Baba 30

The Baba line of boats was conceived in the mid-1970’s by Bob Berg, a Seattle yacht broker who with two business associates formed Flying Dutchman International Ltd. to import traditionally styled cruising boats from Taiwan.

Bob Perry was commissioned to design the boats, which Berg envisioned as a smaller version of the Tayana 37, one of Perry’s most popular designs. Though it is a full-keeled boat, the Tayana 37 has a greater turn of speed than most traditional yachts.

“Our objective was to produce a boat that was faster and less expensive than the Westsail 32 and the Valiant 32,” Berg said. He personally designed the boat’s interior for long­distance cruising. Two versions were offered: a V-berth model, which was popular on the West Coast, and the double berth model that was popular in the East.

Berg chose a propitious time to enter the market. Production began during the heyday of the sailboat industry in 1978 and continued until 1985. More than 230 Baba 30’s were produced. During the later stages of its history, the company produced two stretch versions of the boat-theBaba 35, of which more than 50 were built, and the Baba 40, with more than 150 built. The design of the Baba 40 was reworked twice, first as the Panda 40, and later as the Tashiba 40.

The boats were built in Taiwan for three reasons, Berg said. “Ta Shing boatbuilders were among the best in the world, and the best in Taiwan. Labor was inexpensive. And we enjoyed a favorable exchange rate.”

Ta Shing also built or builds the Mason, Panda, Tashiba and Taswell yachts.

The Baba 30 was introduced with a sticker price of $38,500 in 1977. A subsequent change in the value of the dollar resulted in a price jump to $49,500. That was followed by a 40% devaluation of the Taiwanese dollar and another increase in price.

Two other factors influenced pric­ing: The builder switched from Volvo engines, installed on early models, to Yanmar, and spruce spars were replaced by aluminum. The last boats sold were priced at $78,000.

In addition to pricing issues, the demise of Flying Dutchman International was accelerated by two other factors: a general slump in the purchase of new boats, and a shift in buyer sentiment. During the mid-1980’s, purchasing patterns shifted to a preference for lighter, faster, sleek­er-looking designs.

The Baba 30 continues to have one of the highest resale values in the marketplace. Twenty-year-old boats sell for $55,000 to $60,000; newer models for $60,000 to $65,000. Because Flying Dutchman had dealers on both coasts, the Gulf of Mexico, Great Lakes and Canada, it is possible to find used boats in most areas.

The Design

Perry’s design reflects a self-described disdain for the belief that “if it’s a traditional design it will be slow.” His objective was to take a relatively heavy, traditional double-ender and work with the hull lines to “ring every tenth of a knot in speed out of the design that I can.”

He gave the boat an easily driven hull with a prismatic coefficient of .50, “which should take care of performance in light air,” he said. The hull has considerable flair to the top­sides, which enhances stability and provides a dry ride when sailing to weather.

He also flattened the bottom more than a typical Colin Archer design in an attempt to avoid hobby horsing and enhance performance. The boat has a full keel with a cutaway forefoot, so it tracks well. One owner, however, described backing up under power as “an adventure,” a typical characteristic of full-keeled boats.

Owners give the boat high marks for its sea kindly motion in all types of sea conditions. They generally agree that it suffers in light air.

Perry was equally attentive to the needs of cruisers in the design of spaces belowdecks. That concern, coupled with a pinched stern, produces a rather smallish cockpit. Its seats are 60″ long and 20″ wide, so realistically has comfortable seating for four adults. The footwell is 44″ long and 28″ wide, but useful space is diminished by the introduction of a steering pedestal. The cockpit is not large enough for sleeping comfort­ably, but its small size is a safety feature in the event of boarding waves. Also, there are two 2″ scuppers.

The flip side of the minimalist approach to the cockpit is an increase in space belowdecks.

“Anything shorter than 30′ is too small for a long-distance cruiser, un­less you are willing to make serious compromises. At 30′, the designer still can create a workable galley, at least four full length berths, and an en­closed head,” Perry said.

The boat has 6′ 4″ headroom and a lot of stowage, even when compared to more recent 32- to 34-footers, but the price of stowage areas is a dramatic increase in displacement. The boat displaces 12,000 lb. on a 24′ 6″ water­line. Perry said that at the time he designed the Baba 30, the average 30- footer displaced about 7 ,000 lb.

“But,” he added, “you will find that the light yacht is short on stowage space, which is fine for short week­end trips and day sailing. I chose a rather beamy double-ender with a healthy displacement-to-length ratio(D/L) of 3 79, which afforded the interior volume to do a comfortable layout.”

The Baba 30 has a tall cutter rig. The sail area-to-displacement ratio (SAID) is 14.97. “While this may be viewed as a rather low figure,” he said, “it is my contention that at this size the use of a 150% genoa is not prohibitive. My aim was to design a rig compatible with the hull I had designed in terms of deriving maximum performance.”

During our test sail, we discovered that a large genoa or light air drifter contributes significantly to downwind speed in winds under 10 knots. Above 15 knots, the boat can be sailed at hull speed with a jib and staysail.

One owner told us that the boat is easily driven to weather, and will point to within 35 of apparent wind when sails are properly trimmed.

“The result of my design is not a cute cartoon,” Perry concluded, “but a really capable offshore cruising yacht.

Construction

Berg, two professional surveyors, and owners who responded to the PS Boatowner’ s Questionnaire agree that the Baba 30 is a well-constructed, blue-water vessel.

The hulls were constructed of uncored, hand-laid fiberglass using alternating layers of 1. 5-ounce mat and 24-ounce woven roving.

There are six layers in most places, and 10-12 layers in the keel area,” Berg recalled.

The interiors of early boats were smoothed and sprayed with gelcoat, and covered with a quilted vinyl material. Later models were sprayed with a foam that provided insulation and sound deadening.

Newer boats we inspected also have hulls lined with teak battens in the saloon and forepeak, which improve noise insulation and add to the boat’s traditional feel. The cabin sole is teak and holly. Cabinetry and joinery are of a quality typically associated with high-end custom yachts.

Berg disclosed that some of the hulls experienced minor blistering problems, “usually within 12″ of the waterline,” he said.

Ron Reisner, a Seattle-based surveyor and construction consultant with Reisner and McEwen, Inc., oversaw construction of Baba yachts during the 1970’s on two trips to Taiwan. He has since surveyed several used Baba 30’s, including two in 1998.

“The boats were substantially built, and have held up well,” he told us. “The only problem we have discovered is that some chainplate bolts have corroded.” Because the bolts are visible from below, their condition is easy to monitor.

Jerry Edwards, a surveyor with the same firm, concurred. Edwards sold, commissioned and performed sea trials on several boats during three years as a yacht broker, and has surveyed seven since becoming a surveyor.

“The construction is on a par with almost any quality production boat,” he said. “The electrical systems are excellent; the company used high quality wire, which was tagged and bundled. The plumbing system is also good. The blisters we saw were usually 1/8″ inch in size, and usually in small clusters near the waterline. They probably were a function of the company using isophthalic resins, rather than orthophthalic. But my main criticism of the boat is the use of a steel fuel tank.”

We inspected boats constructed in 1979 and 1983, both of which had completed trans-Pacific passages, and found no evidence of cracking or crazing on gelcoat surfaces, or of water leaks around the mast or ports. One still has a good non-skid surface on deck. On the other, its teak decks showed little wear.

The first boats produced were equipped with only one set of shrouds, Berg told us. However, after one owner’s boat was dismasted, fore and aft lower shrouds were add­ed to the single spreader rig.

Later models in­corporated a boom gallows.

Deck Layout

One of the Baba 30’s most prominent features is the 4′ bowsprit. It is surrounded by a stainless steel pulpit, and also houses two bow rollers and a large bronze winch.

Most boats were equipped with self-tending staysails, but two we inspected had been retrofitted with furlers on the jib and staysail stays, which simplified sail handling during double-handed passages across the Pacific Ocean.

The rest of the boat’s on-deck systems are rather ordinary; halyards are led to Lewmar 30 two­speed winches mounted on the cabin top, and jib sheets through blocks to Lewmar 40 two-speed winches in the cockpit. Sail tracks, port and star­board, on the coachroof, are for the stay sail sheets. The side decks are 18″ wide. The toerail is 3″ high.

Though tiny, the cockpit is functionally organized. Stowage space includes a port lazarette, two elevated, oval­shaped compartments aft that also provide a backrest for the helmsman and crew, and another vented compartment for a propane tank. Two 14″-wide cubbies with teak covers are good for stowing winch handles and other small items.

Two hatches and four bronze opening ports on each side of the cabin were standard. Two opening skylights over the saloon are 34″ long and 18″ wide; a second 24″ square hatch is located over the forepeak. Additional ventilation is through two 6″ Dorades installed in fiberglass boxes forward of the mast.

One owner mounted a spinnaker pole on a sail track on the front of the mast, which takes no otherwise usable space and eliminates the need to drill holes in the deck.

Accommodations

A number of Baba 30’s have made trans-oceanic passages, carrying adequate provisions for a crew of two. One couple spent 27 days sailing from Hawaii to Seattle.

The layout is fairly straightforward with the galley to port below the companionway, the nav station opposite, and a quarterberth to starboard. An almost triangular-shaped head is to starboard, forward of the saloon, and the V-berth fills the bow. With the exception of countertops in the galley, all of the surfaces are teak, which has aged well on the boats we saw.

The nav table is 28″ wide, and 17″ deep. A cabinet 26″ wide, 14″ high and 12″ deep is on the forward edge of the nav station and provides adequate room for VHS, GPS, ham radio or single-sideband and weatherfax. An additional 50″ x 9″ shelf provides room for books and other instruments.

The quarterberth aft of the nav station is 68″ long (plus 12″ of the nav seat) and 30″ wide and has stowage below it.

We found two interesting stowage areas under the companionway-a hanging locker immediately to starboard of the engine compartment that is large enough for two sets of foul weather gear, and another 18″ wide and 12″ high into which one owner had mounted a small microwave oven.

The engine is accessible by removing the companionway steps and cover, though some owners complain that changing oil filters is an acrobatic challenge.

The galley is a typical U-shaped affair with the ice box aft, a gimbaled two-burner stove and a dry locker and sink forward. Countertops are as large as those found on bigger boats.

Living spaces are equally spacious, partially attributable to the boat’s 10′ 6″ beam and 6′ 4″ headroom. The port settee is 6′ long and the starboard settee is 50″. Three storage compartments measuring 20″ wide, 21″ tall and 16″ deep are located on both sides of the boat, above which are enclosed cabinets more than 24″ long.

Water and fuel tanks are located below the settees.

The head is large enough to be functional but has little elbow room. It measures 31″ deep and 42″ wide, and is equipped with a circular stainless sink. The medicine cabinet is large enough for some toiletries, but too small for a cruising medical kit.

The hanging locker to port is 43″ high and 18″ wide-adequate for a small amount of clothing. We think most clothes will be stored in cabinets below the 77″ x 60″ V-berth. The chain locker/forepeak is accessed through louvered teak doors. A drawback is the water that can come aboard with the ground tackle, not to mention the smell of mud.

In our opinion, the spaces below­decks on this boat are well-organized and adequate for couples planning extended passages, especially com­pared to newer production boats.

Some owners, however, report that tankage numbers are inaccurate. One told us that the fuel tank holds just 2 7 gallons, not 40 as advertised. Another said the two 40-gallon water tanks hold only 50 gallons combined.

Performance

Our experience aboard the Baba 30, corroborated by PS readers, found that in very light winds she’s an under-performer; above that, she performs on all points of sail, is sea kindly and has an easy helm.

The most cogent comments came from a couple in their mid-50’s who sailed a 1976 model from Hawaii to Seattle. After cruising Hawaiian waters for 18 months, they began the upwind route to the mainland, which took 27 days. The boat was not equipped with a spinnaker, so they used a 150% genoa in light air.

In less than 10 knots of wind the boat made 1-2 knots, steered to within 5 of its intended course for three days by an Auto-helm wind vane. When winds picked up to more than 10 knots, boat speed increased to 5 knots while sailing under the vane on a close reach. Three days from port the boat was struck by a 30-hour storm, during which winds built from 20 to 50 knots.

“The wind vane wasn’t operating properly, so we disconnected it, and steered by hand,” the skipper said. “Aside from general fatigue, we had no problems because the boat was easy to sail and the helm well-bal­anced; we just tied off the helm and hid behind the dodger, sailing under a double-reefed main and staysail. The ride was very comfortable. It seems as though the more the wind blew, the stouter the boat became.”

Conclusions

We think the Baba 30 will be pleasing to the eye of any sailor with an appreciation for traditional yachts. The construction methods are among the best used during its era, and have aged well; recent surveys of aging boats show them to be structurally sound. Accommodations are spacious and the joiner work is of very good quality. Performance is about what we’d ex­pect for a boat with her displacement, so it’s no surprise that she’s sluggish in 5-10 knots of wind.

The Baba 30 has held its value well; used boats are still commanding prices nearly as high as they were 10 years ago.