Baba sailboats for sale

Buying a used Baba: a badge that names an importer, not the yard

A Baba carries the name of the American business that imported it — Bob Berg's Flying Dutchman International Ltd. — rather than the Taiwanese yard, Ta Shing, that actually built it. That distinction matters to a buyer: Ta Shing kept building the same hull forms after Flying Dutchman's business folded, first as the Panda and later as the Tashiba, so "Baba" marks one importer's run rather than the full life of the design. Buying used means separating the badge from the build: hull and construction quality trace to Ta Shing's yard work across that whole span, while some interior details and finish choices trace more specifically to decisions made during Berg's importing years.

Which era to target

Baba 30 production shows a documented engine and rig change partway through the run — Volvo engines and spruce spars gave way to Yanmar engines and aluminum spars — so it's worth confirming which combination a given hull carries before assuming parts availability or service history. The Baba 35 saw its own mid-run interior update: by 1983 the aluminum mast was shrouded in teak entering the saloon and the head had moved from port to starboard, a marker worth checking against a boat's actual configuration rather than assuming it from build year alone.

What to inspect across the range

Hull blistering is a recurring, publication-documented issue rather than a one-boat problem: Practical Sailor found minor blistering on some Baba 30 hulls, typically within 12 inches of the waterline, and Sailing Magazine separately reported blistering as common on the Baba 35, usually requiring deep sanding or peeling and a new barrier coat. Fuel tanks are the other cross-model flag: a Baba 30 surveyor criticized the boat's steel fuel tank, and Sailing Magazine's Baba 35 coverage states the steel tanks very likely will corrode over time and require replacement — worth budgeting for on either model.

Navigating the lineup

Berg's line grew from the original Baba 30 into a larger Baba 35 built at his request, and later into the Baba 40, which also came in a pilot house version alongside the standard layout. Production volumes were not even across the range — roughly 72 Baba 35s were built between 1979 and 1986, against 115 Baba 40s in a shorter 1980-to-1982 span — a useful signal of relative availability alongside the full model directory on this page.