Bristol 45.5 Buyer's Guide
The Bristol 45.5 on the used market is a Bristol Yachts cruiser built from 1979 to 1989, designed by Ted Hood and Dieter Empacher as a racer-cruiser and now out of production. With 75 examples of the 45.5 and its 47.7 successor built together, survivors are few and individually distinct, so a buyer is shopping a low-volume fiberglass vessel whose original systems are decades old by definition. The boat's centerboard fin, Edson wheel, and reverse transom mark it clearly against earlier full-keel Bristols, and any purchase decision should center on the structural facts recorded for the class rather than on market folklore.
Layouts on the Used Market
Owner three-cabin layouts are the more common on the used market, but both are available; ex-charter examples are common. The 45.5 is a 45.25 ft monohull with a raised counter reverse transom and a “17 ft beam, and the same hull molds were later used under the 47.7 with a longer stern and traditional transom — so the used 45.5 represents the shorter, reverse-transom expression of that hull. Because the design is a recreational keelboat built predominantly of fiberglass with wood trim, interior finish on any example will reflect its owner history rather than a documented standard arrangement beyond the three-cabin prevalence noted.
Equipment and Common Upgrades
The available market record places a defined set of gear in the owner-upgrade tier rather than as factory equipment: solar, lithium batteries, inverter, wind generator, spinnaker, asymmetric spinnaker, furling main, electric winches, freezer, bimini, dodger, teak decks, AIS, autopilot, and chartplotter are all sometimes-or-owner-upgrade items. None are cited as commonly fitted or often seen, so a buyer should expect to find them only where a prior owner invested. The original specification documented by authorities notes aluminum spars, a masthead sloop or optional ketch rig, and an Edson wheel on a skeg-mounted rudder — the rest of the liveaboard and navigation suite is typically post-build addition.
What to Inspect
The recorded authority material names no systemic defects for the 45.5, but the one mechanically complex element inherent to the design is the retractable centerboard within the fin keel, whose trunk, pivot, and seal sit inside the fixed fin and are the only through-hull-adjacent moving system. A buyer should confirm the board raises and lowers freely and that the trunk shows no indication of water ingress at the pivot. Beyond that structural note, the documented construction — solid fiberglass hull, balsa-cored deck, through-bolted caulked flange — gives a known baseline, but the sources record no further fault modes to check.
Availability and Buyer's Takeaway
Typical markets for the Bristol 45.5 are the United States. Given the combined 75-unit production of the 45.5 and 47.7 and the 1979 to 1989 build span, patience is required to locate a suitable example.
- Expect owner three-cabin layouts as the more common configuration; both exist
- Treat solar, lithium, furling main, autopilot, chartplotter and similar as possible owner upgrades, not factory gear
- Inspect the centerboard trunk and pivot for free movement and dryness
- Verify Edson wheel steering and skeg rudder condition as original long-life components
- Budget for full replacement of period electronics and running rigging
Price & volume trends
Monthly asking-price and listing-volume trends for the Bristol 45.5. The line shows the median ask each month; the bars show how many listings appeared.
Monthly breakdown · 6 rows
| Month | Listings | Median ask | Δ vs. last mo. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 25 | 1 | $69,900 | — |
| Sep 25 | 1 | $99,000 | +41.6% |
| Oct 25 | 3 | $105,000 | +6.1% |
| Nov 25 | 2 | $124,900 | +19.0% |
| May 26 | 1 | $99,000 | -20.7% |
| Jun 26 | 1 | $129,900 | +31.2% |
Where they're listed
Bristol 45.5 listings appear across 1 country. United States has the most listings with 8.
Country view
8 listings · 1 country| Country | Median ask | Listings · 12 mo | Active · 90 d | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | $105,000 | 8 | 1 | 100.0% |
Comparable models
Similar length, displacement, and era. Open a row to compare that model's market page.
Similar boats to compare
9 similar designs| Model | LOA | Median ask | Listings · 12 mo | Active · 90 d |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Catalina 445 | 44.42' | $ 299,500 | 62 | 16 |
| Little Harbor 40 | 40.16' | $ 44,900 | 35 | 11 |
| Sweden Yachts 45 | 46.42' | $ 318,811 | 23 | 6 |
| Island Packet 45 | 45.25' | $ 135,000 | 16 | 6 |
| Bristol 38.8 | 38.25' | $ 62,900 | 16 | 1 |
| Island Packet 445 | 45.75' | $ 359,000 | 15 | 0 |
| Catalina Morgan 45 | 45.25' | $ 40,000 | 11 | 9 |
| Dufour Classic 45 | 45.92' | $ 107,812 | 10 | 1 |
| Bristol 45.5You are here | — | $ 105,000 | 8 | 1 |