Bristol 38.8 Buyer's Guide
Shopping the used market for a Bristol 38.8 means chasing a limited-production Ted Hood cruiser from the Bristol Yachts Inc. yard, with total construction below 100 hulls. She is a masthead-sloop centerboarder of heavy displacement, and the boats that surface for sale tend to be owner-version three-cabin layouts, though two layouts exist and ex-charter examples are common. A buyer should weigh her shallow-draft flexibility against a documented light rig and a thin paper trail on interior specifics.
Layouts on the Used Market
Owner three-cabin arrangements are the more common used-market configuration, but both owner and other layouts appear, and ex-charter boats are a common sight. The centerboard trunk and stub-keel configuration gives a draft of about 4.5 to 4.8 feet dependent on the load, a trait that shapes where these boats have cruised and how they were used.
Equipment and Common Upgrades
On the used market, radar, autopilot, dodger, chartplotter, heating, and electric winches are commonly fitted. Often-seen additions include inverter, spinnaker, cockpit shower, and AIS. Buyers should treat a furling main, solar, or life raft as less common owner upgrades rather than standard. For consequence, the electric winches and autopilot clusters matter most for short-handed handling, while radar and chartplotter define navigation readiness; heating is the comfort differentiator in colder cruising grounds.
What to Inspect
The defining systems on this yacht include the stub/centreboard keel and the shaft-drive transmission. A shaft drive is fitted, so the drivetrain should be checked for wear during survey. A standard hull and rigging survey remains the buyer's safeguard.
Availability and Buyer's Takeaway
These boats turn up in the United States and Australia. For a shopper, the checklist is short: confirm the centerboard pivots and trunk condition, verify shaft-drive wear, and assess whether the commonly fitted autopilot and electric winches suit your handling plan. Accept that the rig is light by class standards and that fewer than 100 were built, so patience is part of the purchase.
Price & volume trends
Monthly asking-price and listing-volume trends for the Bristol 38.8. The line shows the median ask each month; the bars show how many listings appeared.
Monthly breakdown · 11 rows
| Month | Listings | Median ask | Δ vs. last mo. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 25 | 3 | $69,000 | — |
| Apr 25 | 1 | $69,950 | +1.4% |
| May 25 | 1 | $55,000 | -21.4% |
| Jun 25 | 3 | $45,000 | -18.2% |
| Jul 25 | 2 | $64,900 | +44.2% |
| Sep 25 | 2 | $57,475 | -11.4% |
| Nov 25 | 1 | $39,999 | -30.4% |
| Jan 26 | 2 | $98,383 | +146.0% |
| Apr 26 | 8 | $65,950 | -33.0% |
| May 26 | 2 | $50,000 | -24.2% |
| Aug 26 | 1 | $55,000 | +10.0% |
Where they're listed
Bristol 38.8 listings appear across 2 countries. United States has the most listings with 15 (93.8%), followed by Australia.
Country view
16 listings · 2 countries| Country | Median ask | Listings · 12 mo | Active · 90 d | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | $62,900 | 15 | 1 | 93.8% |
| Australia | $98,766 | 1 | 0 | 6.3% |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bristol 35.5 | 35.5' | $ 38,000 | 39 | 10 |
| Little Harbor 40 | 40.16' | $ 44,900 | 35 | 11 |
| Bristol 41.1 | 41.14' | $ 75,000 | 26 | 11 |
| Caliber 38 | 38' | $ 81,769 | 18 | 4 |
| Wauquiez Hood 38 | 38.06' | $ 57,171 | 17 | 4 |
| Bristol 38.8You are here | — | $ 62,900 | 16 | 1 |
| Morgan 38 | 37.67' | $ 69,000 | 5 | 1 |
| Bristol 47.7 | 47' | $ 147,000 | 2 | 1 |