Baba Sailboats and the Seattle Importer Who Created Them

Flying Dutchman International and the import era

In the mid-1970s American sailors were buying traditional-looking cruising boats from Taiwan in large numbers, and Seattle yacht broker Bob Berg wanted his own line. He and two partners set up Flying Dutchman International to commission and import them under the Baba name. Berg recruited Bob Perry, already known for the Tayana 37, and asked for something smaller that would sail faster and cost less than a Westsail 32 or Valiant 32. Perry drew the hull and rig, while Berg laid out the interior himself with long-distance cruising in mind.

For a builder Berg picked Ta Shing, later explaining that the yard ranked with the best anywhere, that its labor was inexpensive and that the exchange rate worked in his favor. That choice is the main reason the brand is still respected.

Why the Ta Shing name matters

Ta Shing went on to build Mason, Panda, Tashiba and Taswell yachts, a list that reads like a roll call of well-finished Taiwanese cruisers. Buyers who know that history give Babas the benefit of the doubt on joinery and hull layup, and decades of ownership have mostly justified it.

The line grew beyond its first model. The Baba 35 reached more than 50 hulls and the Baba 40 more than 150. The 40 lived on after the Baba name faded, reworked first as the Panda 40 and later as the Tashiba 40, so the three are close relatives.

How the Baba 30 fits the family

The smallest Baba, the Perry-designed 30, is the subject of our separate model review, which covers its rig, displacement, interiors, engines and production history. Here the key point is timing. It came out in 1977, entered series production the next year and stayed in the catalog until 1985, when the market moved toward lighter, quicker designs. It is the purest expression of the Berg and Perry brief: a little boat meant to cross oceans comfortably rather than win races.

Reputation, resale and ownership without a factory

Practical Sailor has singled out the Baba 30 for exceptional resale, and the reasoning applies to the whole family. Sailors who want a small, proven bluewater boat have few options, and Ta Shing work ages gracefully. Flying Dutchman sold through dealers on both coasts, on the Gulf, around the Great Lakes and in Canada, so Babas are scattered across the continent.

Nobody supports the boats at a factory level now. Owners lean on surveyors, riggers and active owner groups. Expect the big bills to come from the teak decks and the original steel fuel tanks.

• Teak decks, including plugs, seams and any leaks below.
• Whether the steel fuel tank has been renewed.
• Chainplate bolts, viewed from inside the hull.
• The bowsprit, bobstay and spars, particularly original spruce.