Baycruiser 26 Owners

[barrymortenson]

I am getting very close to making the decision to order a BC26 and would love to hear some first hand impressions from any owners on this forum. I have spoken to Keith (Floki), who is a wonderful person and very generous with his time, sharing a ton of information about his boat and experience with Swallow Yachts. I have been very impressed with the boat overall and the experience of being able to ask questions directly to the builder has been a breath of fresh air when compared to working through a Beneteau broker who know very little about the boats they are selling.

My 2 main criteria are modern sailing ability and trailer-ability, in contrast my wife's main criteria is an enclosed heads and other comforts that are rare on a boat under 26 feet. From the marketing and photos the BC26 seems to check all our boxes. I am not completely naive to the fact that rigging from a trailer and de-rigging would easily add a few hours to our day sails but would hopefully be less of a pain point for multi-day trips. My larger boat was 30' Newport with a tabernacle system to go under a bridge in our harbor which we had use twice on every sail, it was a bit of work but not enough to deter use from using the boat every weekend.

I am in California in the US so it is a rather significant investment to purchase and import the boat here, thus I am trying do as much research a head of time to be confident in my decision.

So for any owners who made this far in this longer than planned post, what do you like/dislike about your BC26? What options would you say are must have? If you could go back in time, would you still purchase your boat or what would you do different? Are you happy with the way it sails and handles in moderate wind and seas up to F5? Basically, would you recommend it and why or why not?

[Carol Lawson]

Hi Barry
We have had Iris BC26/003 since December 2015 one of the first two GRP production boats and are just about to leave, trailering to Spain for the fourth time, by ferry Plymouth Santander this time. In the past we have driven down through France, taking it easy and using the boat as accommodation en route. Once you get used to dropping the mast and packing up, it becomes second nature. We have found Dyneema shrouds very helpful in this respect, no kinks to worry about.
We could enthuse endlessly about what we like about the boat. Comfortable cabin, good head - Carol was insistent- which doubles as wardrobe for foulies, We might have invested in an electric head, but the pump is ok, comprehensive but compact galley, useful double sink, the Dometic oven has been essential but it's build quality for its price is questionable. We have a fridge under the companionway, which has hardly been off since we bought it, with four solar panels feeding it and keeping the batteries topped up, especially on long tows off shore and engine power. The panels are still working fine, but have delaminated so look 10 years older than they are. Recommend a Lagun table frame for cockpit (and possibly cabin - still thinking about that, BC26/001 swaps the frame and table between the two.)
optional Shelf above swing table has proven very useful, but there are also a lot of useful storage areas in cabin.
Sailing- copes fine with F5 and whilst, because of its flat bottom, you get a fair bit of slamming, we have had some bumpy rides in 2m.+ swell. Have found as the wind gets up, 16-18 knots, putting a reef in steadies the boat and increases the SOG. We have a top down furling asymmetric, which is great fun and can pull you along quite handily in light to very light winds.
We also had davits and pushpit seats retro- fitted, partly so Carol, being short could see where we were going! With a tiller extension makes cruising very relaxing in the sunshine! Never ha d a problem with Mainsheet post, but beware the throttle assembly on starboard locker, easily knocked!
There is a tent option, which we got and have found useful but am now looking at a re-design, a little less camouflage-muddy brown, not quite in keeping with the BC26 look and certainly not with our turquoise hull and multicoloured cockpit cushions and halyard bags! No Farrow & Ball colours here!
As electric motors are moving on and becoming cheaper ( is anything cheaper on a boat?) and fuel getting ever more expensive, we have looked at the options. BC26/001 is now all electric, although at some considerable expense. But the Recommended Yamaha 9.9 high thrust outboard has proven very reliable and gives 6-7 knots on a flat sea. However, recently with wind 25 knots, swell 1.5m and current all against us passing Eddystone Light, and 8 hours out of Falmouth, we were only managing about 3.5 knots and drinking fuel, so a quick turn to port, sails up, we covered the 12 miles into Plymouth in just under two hours.
Swimming off the back of the boat is very popular and accessible, which In your neck of the woods might be an added advantage. Optional shower on back of boat, we use a lot.
Comparatively large cockpit for the size of boat, seat 5-6 easily and generous locker space.
You would get the new design rudders which I understand give even better hold.
Nick Orchard (BC26/007 Luminos II) will no doubt pick up on things I have missed and can be far more technical than I. He often sails without water ballast in without any mishap.
There are four BC26s in the South West of England of which we are aware. 002 Redwing in Topsham and Iris, Luminos and 011 Zephyr in Torquay.
Needless to say, we would recommend the BC26, we have had hours (days and nights) of enjoyment on it. Despite Matt's recent move into motor cruisers, he remains a sailor at heart and continues to be readily and happily accessible for after-sales advice.
You won't regret it, and will get many admiring looks and comments. We are expecting to have the usual children want to get photographed by the side of our trailered boat on the road on Thursday!
Best Wishes
If you want to keep in touch E:lawson_conquer@mac.com

[barrymortenson]

Thank you for the detailed reply. The trips you and carol have done sound amazing and the way you are using the trailer to extend your cruising reach is exactly what I hope to do here in California. Thank you for the tip on the Dyneema shrouds, I believe Matt is using wire so I will have to see if that can be an option. The davits and pushpit seats sound like a great upgrade, I would love to see some photos if you have any?

I agree the electric options are getting much better and that must be great to be as almost as quiet motoring as when you are sailing along with not having to deal with fuel. In our area both our primary destinations (national park islands) are 20+ nm so I think the electric range would have me a little nervous on low wind days, what size batteries do you run?

The top down furler is a new concept to me, I have only worked with a traditional spinnaker and asym in a sock. I have watched a couple videos and it looks like a fantastic system, it is defiantly on my wish list for this boat.

I am curious how well the single line reefing works on this design. Have you found it fairly easy to put the reefs in from the cockpit while under sail? Additionally, with the lack of a topping lift does this give you any trouble? (Keith of Floki) has added a topping lift to help with the stack-pack when dropping the main, did you find you needed to do the same?

We will absolutely be making use of the transom platforms and swim steps, we are fortunate to have warm enough temps to swim nearly year round so we spend a lot of the time in the water at anchorages we visit.

Again, I cannot thank you enough for your detailed reply, enjoy your trip this Thursday!