Bristol Channel Cutter for Sale, a Buyer's Guide to the BCC 28

Bristol Channel Cutter for sale, and why so few come up

If you are hunting for a Bristol Channel Cutter for sale, start with the math. The Sam L. Morse Co. built only 128 BCCs in California between 1976 and 2007, and roughly 30 to 45 more were completed in Vancouver by Steveston Fiberglass and G and B Woodworks. Many owners keep them for 20 or 30 years, so in a typical year only a handful of US-built boats reach the brokerage market.

That scarcity changes how you shop. Set up saved searches on every listing site under Bristol Channel Cutter, BCC 28 and Sam L. Morse, tell brokers who specialize in traditional boats what you want, and be ready to travel. A good BCC often sells to someone who was already waiting. If one is listed for months, there is usually a reason, and the survey will tell you what it is.

Expect three broad price tiers. Early California boats needing rig, deck or engine work ask around $60,000 to $90,000. Sound mid-production boats with a healthy Yanmar and newer sails sit around $90,000 to $130,000. Late hulls with fresh refits can reach $150,000 to $175,000. Canadian-built boats from Vancouver usually trade below comparable Morse boats, so confirm the builder from the hull identification number and documentation before you compare prices.

Lyle Hess, the Renegade and the Pardey connection

Lyle Hess drew the BCC from his earlier Renegade design, the same family of hulls that gave cruising legends Lin and Larry Pardey their small wooden cutters and inspired a generation to go voyaging in modest boats. The fiberglass BCC took that philosophy, heavy displacement, a long keel and a big, simple cutter rig, and turned it into a production boat built to yacht standards.

Cruising World summed up the type as a cruising philosophy in which solid construction, first-class workmanship and enough displacement to carry gear and stand up to a gale at sea reign supreme. That remains the right lens for judging the boat.

The Costa Mesa build standard

The hull is laid up by hand in up to 10 layers of mat, roving and cloth, from about 3/8 inch at the sheer to between 1 and 1.5 inches at the bottom, with three coats of epoxy barrier below the waterline against blisters. The pre-cast lead ballast is set in the keel, bedded in epoxy and completely encapsulated with roving, so there are no keel bolts. Bulkheads are glassed to the hull with five layers of mat along their full length.

The hull-to-deck joint is an inward-turned flange bedded in 3M 5200 and through-bolted on 5 inch centers, then covered by a teak plank and a teak rubrail. The deck is plywood-cored, which is the one structural element that ages badly if fittings are not kept bedded. Interiors were finished to a very high standard, and original Morse joinery is part of what buyers pay for.

• Hull up to 1.5 inches thick below the waterline
• Lead ballast fully encapsulated, no keel bolts
• Three epoxy barrier coats from the factory
• Hull-to-deck bolts on 5 inch centers

Fourteen thousand pounds on a 28 foot deck

The BCC measures 28 feet 1 inch on deck, but the waterline is 26 feet 3 inches because the stem is nearly plumb and the transom carries an outboard rudder. With 10 feet 1 inch of beam and 14,000 pounds of displacement, it carries more volume than most 32 footers. The displacement to length ratio is about 345 and the ballast ratio 0.33. Hull speed is about 6.9 knots.

Those numbers explain the boat's character: lots of load-carrying ability, a motion that stays gentle in a sea, and a boat that can carry a cruising couple's gear without sinking to its boot top. They also explain why it is not a light-air performer.

A big rig on a small boat, and what it costs at the dock

Total sail area is about 673 square feet, or 556 square feet with a 100 percent foretriangle, carried on a long bowsprit and a boomkin that stretch the overall sparred length to 37 feet 9 inches. The cutter rig gives a wide choice of sail combinations, from a big genoa or yankee in light air to staysail and reefed main in a gale.

The practical consequence is marina billing. Many US marinas charge on overall length, so a BCC can cost as much to berth as a 38 foot boat. Ask about end ties, mooring fields or marinas that charge on length on deck before you buy. A removable or reefing bowsprit arrangement helps in tight slips.

Reaching machine, tiller workout

Reaching is the BCC's forte. Practical Sailor found the boat surging along at 4 to 5 knots to windward in 7 to 10 knots of breeze, which is better than its reputation suggests. Off the wind in a breeze it settles in near hull speed and stays there for days.

The trade-offs are real. The rudder is unbalanced and the tiller can be heavy, sweeping much of the cockpit. Most owners let a wind vane or autopilot steer and trim the sails for balance. Light-air performance is slow, and maneuvering in reverse with a full keel takes planning. Under power, Practical Sailor saw a comfortable 5.5 knots at 2,500 rpm on a boat repowered with a Beta 25.

For a couple, the most valuable upgrades are a servo-pendulum wind vane, a roller-furling yankee and a staysail that can be handled from the cockpit. With those, the boat is far easier to sail than its traditional rig suggests.

A yacht-finished cabin for two

The interior is built for a couple, with four berths: two settees in the saloon, a pilot berth and a quarter berth. Headroom in the main cabin is generous for a 28 footer, quoted at 6 feet 1 inch to 6 feet 3 inches, with 6 feet 6 inches offered as an option, though you will stoop to reach the forward cabin, which is essentially the head and stowage.

Tankage is about 30 gallons of fuel, 64 to 70 gallons of water in the keel depending on the source, and a 15 gallon holding tank. Cruising World noted three basic layouts and plenty of semi-custom variation, since the interior is built by hand without liners. Engine access, especially to the transmission and stuffing box at the rear, is tight and demands some flexibility.

Pixie and the case for a small, simple ocean boat

Bill Norrie's 1994 BCC Pixie, hull 102, completed a one-year singlehanded circumnavigation, and her Beta 25 repower went from 52 hours when he bought her to about 350 hours after the voyage. That is a nice illustration of how this boat is meant to be used: sailed most of the time, motored only when needed, and kept simple enough for one person to manage and repair.

Running costs are modest for the quality, around $6,000 to $14,000 a year depending largely on how your marina bills for sparred length.