Bayfield 36 Buyer's Guide
Shopping the used Bayfield 36 means looking at a Haydn Gozzard-designed, 1984-introduced Canadian full-keeled cutter that is no longer in production. The boats on the brokerage market are traditional in line — clipper bow, bowsprit, cutter rig — but modern in their glassed-in structural liner and compartmentalized interiors, so a buyer's eye should be on structural history and the state of the long-keel ballast joint as much as on cosmetic teak.
Layouts on the Used Market
The used fleet shows the documented interior: a companionway-adjacent galley with 12-volt cold box and two-burner alcohol stove with oven, a port-side half dinette in the main saloon, and two enclosed sleeping cabins each with a double berth, dressing space, and hanging locker. A larger hanging locker sits by the nav station. Some boats will have had the standard alcohol stove replaced with propane by prior owners, a change the builder advised against. Teak joinery, louvred doors, and turned posts are typical of the styling, and the structural hull liner carries ridges for teak-strip cabin liners.
Equipment and Common Upgrades
On the used market, hot water, dodger, autopilot, bimini, chartplotter, heating, solar, inverter, and radar are commonly fitted. AIS and evidence of a completed transatlantic passage are often seen. Less common owner upgrades include watermaker, wind generator, spinnaker, furling main, and bow thruster. The original deck gear remains a strong point where unmodified: four Lewmar 40 primary winches, three Lewmar 16 halyard winches on the mast, and twin Harken mainsheet tackles with ratchet blocks on the cabintop. The Yanmar 4 JHE 44-hp diesel and bronze thru-hulls are standard; a bronze hand pump for lake water to the galley sink and a substantial manual bilge pump are part of the as-delivered spec.
What to Inspect
The documented structural caveat is the keel: ballast is a cast-lead insert lowered into a long keel that is an extension of the fiberglass hull molding, and this keel construction can cause problems if water works into the porous region between outer skin and lead after grounding damage. Inspect for any history of grounding and signs of moisture at the keel-hull interface. Confirm the status of the galley stove — many buyers replaced the standard Origo alcohol unit with propane against Bayfield's advice, so verify the installation is safe. Check the hull/deck joint and the perforated toe-rail bolting, and review the bronze thru-hulls and the engine compartment, noting that no sound insulation was provided originally though the diesel ran quietly.
Availability and Buyer's Takeaway
These boats typically appear in the United States, Bahamas, Canada, and Grenada. For a buyer, the short checklist is: verify keel-skin integrity and any grounding history; confirm safe galley stove setup if converted to propane; confirm original winch and thru-hull hardware condition; and assess the compartmentalized interior for the kind of cruising you intend. The Bayfield 36 remains a robust, well-built traditional cruiser whose main used-market risk is concentrated in the long-keel ballast joint rather than in widespread systemic faults.
Price & volume trends
Monthly asking-price and listing-volume trends for the Bayfield 36. The line shows the median ask each month; the bars show how many listings appeared.
Monthly breakdown · 8 rows
| Month | Listings | Median ask | Δ vs. last mo. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 25 | 1 | $ 50,000 | — |
| May 25 | 1 | $ 64,900 | +29.8% |
| Sep 25 | 3 | $ 49,900 | -23.1% |
| Oct 25 | 1 | $ 59,900 | +20.0% |
| Jan 26 | 2 | $ 73,917 | +23.4% |
| Mar 26 | 1 | $ 60,535 | -18.1% |
| Apr 26 | 4 | $ 59,891 | -1.1% |
| May 26 | 2 | $ 54,900 | -8.3% |
Where they're listed
Bayfield 36 listings appear across 3 countries. United States has the most listings with 8 (72.7%), followed by Bahamas and Canada.
Country view
11 listings · 3 countries| Country | Median ask | Listings · 12 mo | Active · 90 d | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | $ 54,900 | 8 | 3 | 72.7% |
| Bahamas | $ 60,208 | 2 | 1 | 18.2% |
| Canada | $ 85,900 | 1 | 0 | 9.1% |
Comparable models
Similar length, displacement, and era. Open a row to compare that model's market page.
Similar boats to compare
8 similar designs| Model | LOA | Median ask | Listings · 12 mo | Active · 90 d |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bavaria Yachts 36 | 37.89' | $ 68,381 | 124 | 26 |
| Gozzard 36 | 36' | $ 75,000 | 41 | 10 |
| Cape Dory 36 | 36.12' | $ 49,000 | 33 | 12 |
| Rustler Yachts 36 | 35.33' | $ 101,606 | 29 | 6 |
| Creswell Marine 36 | 36' | $ 39,060 | 20 | 2 |
| Bayfield 36You are here | — | $ 59,900 | 13 | 5 |
| Bayfield 29 | 29' | $ 15,499 | 13 | 3 |
| Ericson 36 C | 36' | $ 36,500 | 12 | 4 |