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Model profile · for Great Loop buyers
Bayliner 4788 Pilot House Motoryacht
The published record on this model and what owners report, with the
questions worth asking while a boat is still a listing. This page covers the model.
Every boat still needs its own homework.
A very Loop-friendly pilothouse cruiser whose value hinges on proper propping, aftercooler/pump upkeep, and a measured, lowerable air draft.
The Bayliner 4788 Pilothouse Motoryacht is one of the most popular and frequently cited Great Loop boats, valued because its pilothouse layout, moderate draft, and lowerable air draft address both the shallow-water and fixed-bridge constraints of the route. It was the flagship of the Bayliner line and, along with its Meridian 490 successor, enjoys a solid coastal-cruising reputation. Most were fitted with twin Cummins 6BTA 5.9 diesels, and the model has well-documented owner communities (Bayliner Owners Club, Meridian Yacht Owners Forum, Trawler Forum) that catalog its recurring issues, chiefly over-propping, engine-room access, and aftercooler/raw-water-pump maintenance.
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CLAIMstated by one source, not yet confirmed
CONTEXTbackground on how this model is built or used
Sources are linked where published.
Buying
CLAIM
One couple paid $152,000 for a 1999 boat in 2017
Technomadia report paying $152,000 for their 1999 4788 in early 2017. She passed survey with a few items the seller fixed, and they put the survey and haul-out at about $2,400. Prices have moved since 2017, so treat this as a point in time.
src:
Technomadia blog, boat selection (May 2017) and buying (Apr 2017) posts
Your move: Ask the broker for recent sold prices on 4788s, since asking prices alone can mislead.
Livability
CLAIM
440 gallons of fuel and 200 of fresh water
Technomadia, who have lived aboard a 1999 4788 since 2017, give 440 gallons of fuel for a safe range of 400 to 500 nautical miles, and 200 gallons of fresh water with no stock watermaker. Theirs dropped to 150 gallons when a prior owner installed the bow thruster.
src:
Technomadia blog, Top 10 trade-offs of the Bayliner 4788 (Jun 2019)
Your move: Ask what her water tank holds now, especially if she has an added bow thruster.
CLAIM
All the cabins are down one hallway
They describe every cabin opening off the same hallway, which makes guests aboard for more than three or four days uncomfortable, in exchange for a big salon aft. Their forward berth sits high over the fresh water tanks with little headroom.
src:
Technomadia blog, Top 10 trade-offs of the Bayliner 4788 (Jun 2019)
Your move: If you'll have guests, walk the hallway and sit up in each berth.
CLAIM
Narrow side decks, with the fuel fills and pump-out on them
They call the side deck outside the salon windows very narrow, with a handrail the whole way and no other protection. The fuel fills and pump-out are on the side decks too, which they find precarious when that side isn't against the dock.
src:
Technomadia blog, Top 10 trade-offs of the Bayliner 4788 (Jun 2019)
Your move: Walk the side deck from the cockpit to the bow, and picture fueling from the side away from the dock.
Cost to keep
CLAIM
Closer to 54 feet than 47 at the dock
The 4788 is documented at 47'4". With the bow pulpit, swim platform and dinghy, Technomadia put theirs closer to 54 to 56 feet, and dockage, bottom paint and cleaning are charged by the foot. They add that a lot of places only charge the 47.
src:
Technomadia blog, Top 10 trade-offs of the Bayliner 4788 (Jun 2019)
Your move: Ask the marinas on your route how they measure before you budget dockage.
Fuel & range
CLAIM
Owners: about 2.2 NM/gal under 8.3 knots, half that at 8 to 9
On the Bayliner Owners Club forum, one owner measured about 2.2 nautical miles per gallon keeping under 8.3 knots, over a month of cruising in two separate years. Another, with Hino 310s at 1,600 rpm, logged 1.14 NM/gal (8.5 gph) at 8 to 9 knots over a 242-mile trip, generator included. Both report 0.65 to 0.75 on plane. Those last few knots below plane cost half the mileage, so check what speed any range figure assumes.
src:
Bayliner Owners Club forum, 'Hino 310 Performance Chart' (owners' 2005 fuel logs)
Engine access
CONTEXT
Outboard sides of the engines are very cramped to reach
Owners' most-cited layout complaint is engine-room access. Centerline items (filters) are accessible if tight, and removable hatches reach the tops of the engines, but the outboard sides (battery charger, blowers, and other equipment) sit in a very cramped space that is hard to reach.
src:
Bayliner Owners Club; Meridian Yacht Owners Forum
Your move: Crawl the engine room yourself at showing and confirm you can physically reach both outboard sides for service.
CONTEXT
Look for a centerline-hatch access modification
A common owner fix is adding a centerline hatch (alongside the two outboard hatches) so engine checks can be done without crawling aft from the stairway; this was later incorporated on newer Meridian builds. Some brokerage listings specifically note this upgrade.
src:
Bayliner Owners Club; Curtis Stokes brokerage listing
Your move: Ask the broker whether a centerline access hatch has been added, and prefer a boat that already has it.
Air draft
CLAIM
The arch is the tallest point and is the variable that decides Loop clearance
Published bridge-clearance figures for this model vary widely by listing and configuration (brokerage specs range from roughly 14'6" to over 18'), and higher numbers are typically measured to the top of the arch only. The arch, plus anything mounted on it (radar, antennas), is the governing air-draft element, and stripping or folding it dramatically lowers the boat.
src:
Brokerage listings (Leap of Faith, Foreign Exchange, Cherish); Technomadia Great Loop blog
Your move: Physically measure air draft to the true highest fixed point and identify exactly what can be removed or lowered; do not rely on the listing's clearance number.
CONTEXT
Owners strip or fold the arch to clear the lowest fixed bridges
For the lowest fixed-bridge segments, owners have removed everything from the arch to get the boat to a bit over 15 feet, timing passages for lower water. At least one 4788 was fitted with a custom hydraulic folding arch bringing air draft to just under 13 feet in under ten minutes of effort. That's a well-regarded solution for full Loop capability.
src:
Technomadia Great Loop blog; Bayliner Owners Club
Your move: Ask whether the arch is fixed, removable, or folding, and get the achievable stripped/folded height in writing.
Reading the boat
CONTEXT
Low annual hours are typical, so watch for sit-related neglect as much as high hours
There is no fixed minimum hours-per-year for this model; the often-cited average is around 100 hours annually and many owners use their boats far less. Very low-hour boats that sat for long stretches can carry deferred-maintenance issues (impellers, seals, fuel, aftercoolers) that offset the low hour count.
src:
Bayliner Owners Club
Your move: Ask when the boat last cruised extended distances and prioritize service records over the hour meter.
CONTEXT
Well-regarded flagship, better built than the Bayliner reputation suggests
The 4788 was the flagship pilothouse motoryacht of the Bayliner line and has a good reputation for coastal cruising, widely considered an exception to the general 'Bayliner' stigma. It is repeatedly named among the most popular Great Loop boats because it balances air draft and shallow-water capability.
src:
SYS Yacht Sales; Technomadia Great Loop blog
Engines
The engines research is part of the full profile inside the
product. It covers factory options, tested performance and the engine-specific
questions in our members' dossiers, and it travels with every dossier and survey brief
built on this model.
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