Watkins 29 Buyer's Guide
The Watkins 29 is an American-built coastal cruiser produced from 1984, with 60 completed between 1984 and 1988 before the design was revised into the Watkins 30. On the used market she is a small, integrated-structure boat whose value lies in a practical five-berth interior and a straightforward Yanmar diesel setup rather than speed or offshore pedigree.
Layouts on the Used Market
Every W29 shares the same core plan: a forward V-berth, head to port, lockers to starboard, and a main salon with a fold-up table where the port settee pulls out to a double and the starboard is a single. A quarter berth sits aft to port, and the galley is to starboard at the foot of the companionway with sink, stove, and icebox. Headroom is a generous 75 inches for the length. The companionway steps remove to expose the engine, and the bow anchor locker receives its rode through a hull-mounted pipe. A few boats are described with an aft cabin and bow V-berth both doubles, but the standard main-cabin quarter berth or pull-out remains the typical arrangement buyers will see.
Equipment and Common Upgrades
Hot water is a commonly fitted item on brokerage boats, reflecting a practical cruising upgrade over the original pressure-water baseline. Beyond that, the meaningful equipment clusters for a buyer are power and energy — the standard twin 12-volt batteries in parallel on a 35-amp Hitachi alternator, with either an 18-horsepower Yanmar 2GM20 or 27-horsepower 3GM30 diesel — and galley and comfort, where original iceboxes and gimbaled two-burner stoves may have been refreshed. Ventilation is consistent across the class with eight opening ports and one deck hatch, and the Edson pedestal steering with stainless cable and quadrant is a point of structural continuity rather than an upgrade item.
What to Inspect
The hull and deck are single-piece molded fiberglass with plywood coring in the cabin top, deck, seats, and cockpit sole, so any softness in those cored areas deserves a close look. The hull-to-deck joint is flanged, adhesive-sealed, and screw-fastened under an aluminum toe rail, and the keel is integral with internal ballast — inspect the flanged hull-to-deck joint and toe rail bedding for any separation or corrosion at the through-bolts. Chainplate areas have molded reinforcement, but the stainless rod rigging and through-bolted chainplates should be checked for crevice corrosion. The rudder post is stainless welded to an internal steel blade inside a foam rudder, a detail worth surveying for any water intrusion into the rudder skin.
Availability and Buyer's Takeaway
These boats are found in the United States. For a shopper, the short checklist is: confirm the cored deck and sole are sound, verify the hull-to-deck seal and toe rail bolts, check the chainplates and rudder for corrosion, and confirm which Yanmar is fitted and its service history. A clean W29 is a compact, well-unified cruiser with real cabin comfort for her size.
Price & volume trends
Monthly asking-price and listing-volume trends for the Watkins 29. The line shows the median ask each month; the bars show how many listings appeared.
Monthly breakdown · 2 rows
| Month | Listings | Median ask | Δ vs. last mo. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 25 | 1 | $6,000 | — |
| Jul 26 | 1 | $2,500 | -58.3% |
Where they're listed
Watkins 29 listings appear across 1 country. United States has the most listings with 1.
Country view
1 listings · 1 country| Country | Median ask | Listings · 12 mo | Active · 90 d | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | $2,500 | 1 | 1 | 100.0% |
Comparable models
Similar length, displacement, and era. Open a row to compare that model's market page.
Similar boats to compare
4 similar designs| Model | LOA | Median ask | Listings · 12 mo | Active · 90 d |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sadler 29 | 28.42' | $ 17,608 | 69 | 13 |
| Moody 29 | 29.53' | $ 16,996 | 37 | 8 |
| Delphia 29 | 28.2' | $ 39,738 | 7 | 0 |
| Watkins 29You are here | — | $ 2,500 | 1 | 1 |