The Bayliss May Be Big Bucks, But It Delivers in Every Way

What kind of boat takes 40,000 man-hours to build over 20 months; has interior veneers made from the same tree, so the peaks in the grain on each and every cabinet match; features teak trim that has no seams, because it's also cut from a single tree; and includes hatches, cabinets, and doors made to exacting 1/16-inch tolerances?

You know the type of boat I'm talking about – one that costs more than $3 million and causes jaws to drop when it pulls into the marina. There are only a handful of companies that do this – and one of them is the Bayliss 65.

Though the price tag insures that this is not a boat for the masses, the Bayliss 65 can accurately be described as the ultimate in fishing boats. The same acute attention to detail paid to the woodwork is applied to every part of the boat. This is a cold-molded hull, built with triple-planked okoume plywood encapsulated in fiberglass. The wonderful feeling this form of construction gives when you're in heavy seas can't be overstated.

When I ran this boat, all 70,000 pounds of it felt like it wanted to leap across the three- to four-foot seas we experienced on test day. It cleaved them open without any hesitation or vibration for two hours straight, as we ran to the edge of the Continental shelf to hunt yellowfin tuna. Cold-molds feel firmer, yet somehow fleeter, than common molded fiberglass boats do. Case in point: We cruised across the riled ocean at more than 30 mph, yet were able to sit in the salon and drink coffee without spilling a drop all the way out. Look to the classic fishboat builders like Rybovich, Merritt and Whiticar, and you'll note that all use the cold-molded method.

COLD MOLDING

What about the usual downsides to building with wood – won't these boats rot? Aren't they heavy? Isn't maintenance a chore? No, no, and no. Every inch of the ply is fully encapsulated in fiberglass, so it essentially acts as a core material. It's lighter and stronger then fiberglass – some molded fiberglass boats in this class weight as much as 35,000 pounds more than the Bayliss – and exterior care is exactly the same as for an all-glass boat. The only real downside to the cold-molded construction method is the increased time and cost to build the structure with wood.

Just as the general construction of the Bayliss 65 reflects great attention to detail, so, too, do the mechanical systems. Climb down into the engine room, and note that all water intakes come via a pair of seachests, which minimizes through-hull fittings and the drag that goes along with them. That means more speed and more efficiency. Engine-driven crash pumps allow you to employ both engines for evacuating water, in the unlikely event you're taking any on. All fuel lines are loomed in place and clearly marked. The oil-exchange system is easily accessible; washdowns in the cockpit, on the bridge, and in the engine room have quick disconnects; and the steps from the salon to the staterooms are on hydraulic lifters, so you needn't stretch while accessing the attics. Nothing has been overlooked – even the scuppers are special, with custom-made baffles, so you don't hear the slosh of water as you back down.

OWNER'S CHOICE

As is often the case with boats of this size and cost, you can pick and choose what goes into it as it's being built. Naturally, since the Bayliss 65 was born and bred for fishing – builder John Bayliss captained sportfishermen such as the famed Hatterascal for many years before starting his own yard – the cockpit is decked out.

Kite reel and electric deep-drop reel plugs are installed under the gunwales. Both electric and manual teaser reels are inset into the bridge-deck overhead. The bait freezer under the port-side mezzanine holds more ballyhoo than the average Florida bait and tackle shop. Rod holders line the gunwales and the bridge-deck wings, plus a half-dozen rocket launchers reside on the bridge deck. Running a dozen-line spread won't just be possible, it'll be minimal. There's dedicated gaff stowage under the gunwales, gobs of tackle stowage, and a drink box under the step to the cabin. Flip up the hatch next to it, and you'll discover an ice dump, fed by a massive ice machine below decks, that provides a seemingly endless supply of chipped ice. Chipped ice is better than cubes for making an icy brine in the fishbox – there are no details are overlooked on the Bayliss.

Take the Bayliss offshore, and there's a good chance you'll need all that ice, too. On test day we ran into a wide-open bite, eventually gaffing 15 yellowfin tuna in the 30-pound range. The truly amazing part, however, is that they all fit into the Bayliss's fishbox, integrated in the transom – and there was still room for more. In fact, crack the tail, and you could stuff a 300-pound bigeye in there. Now, take a close look at end of that fishbox. See those fittings? The box is plumbed to double as a giant livewell, and those fittings plug into custom-fitted tuna tubes, in case you decide to live-bait for granders with skippies or bone-heads.

Fishing may be job number one, but yachts like this must also ensure comfort. You plan on trolling under a blazing-hot Florida sun, and are afraid you might actually sweat? Banish the thought! Cockpit misters, installed in the flybridge overhang, will keep you cool even as you struggle to tame that world-record blue marlin. If you'd like to drop the hook and enjoy a nice lunch at a restaurant on a nearby island, there's dedicated stowage for your inflatable and a four-horse Yamaha outboard beneath the cockpit sole. Even better, you won't have to experience the drudgery of filling up the gasoline powerplant with cans. You can fuel the deployed dingy via the Bayliss's integrated 18-gallon fuel tank.

MANLY COMFORT

When it's time to retire for the evening, the Bayliss's interior rivals that of a Manhattan condo. Words like detailed, artistic, sophisticated, elegant and even cushy are all accurate descriptions. One word you won't use, however, is feminine. Unlike many yachts in this size and price range, the Bayliss doesn't lose sight of its testosterone-driven fishing mission. There are no violet drapes or peach valences. The colors are muted earth and wood tones, the walls are bare, and nothing is overstated. In fact, despite its elegance, the cabin is downright spartan in some ways. Guys who have three mil to toss around without the wife's approval, rejoice.

The 65's lower cabin has a three-stateroom layout, with the master stateroom and head forward, a triple-berth guest stateroom with head to port, and a third stateroom to starboard. There's a day head, too, so everyone has privacy. Fold down the berth in the third stateroom, and you expose a tackle locker long enough to house eight trolling rods. Naturally, you'll want more weaponry than that; good thing there's also a dedicated, lit rod locker for 14 more big rigs.

The salon and galley on the port side of the main cabin feature Ultraleather and granite, and the dinette to starboard seats four. Press a button, and a flat-screen TV silently pops up out of the countertop. Naturally, there's a full entertainment center with surround sound, too.

PERFORMANCE POINTS

If you're the kind of person who drops major-league coin on a boat like this, you won't want to be the last guy to arrive at the fishing grounds. Don't worry, the engine room houses 3,300 snorting diesel horses, and they'll drive the 65 to 45.4 mph (see performance box), maybe more. When I tested the boat, Bayliss believed that it could gain 2 or 3 mph by swapping out the props. Cruising speed is a cool 40 mph at 2100 rpm, and with the monstrous 2,300-gallon fuel capacity, you can go more than 600 miles at this speed between fill-ups. And you can do it through seas snotty enough that much of the competition will still be sitting in the marina, wishing for better weather. Of course, filling the tanks costs as much as four months of mortgage payments for the average American. You play, you pay.

Controls are again spartan but classic, with two single shifters and a wheel mounted on a teak pod. The ladder-back helm chairs, also teak, provide one of the few areas of this boat with room for improvement, in my opinion. Like the rest of the boat, they're works of art, but I'd rather sit on a thick cushion over shellacked wood any day of the week.

At the wheel the 65 is surprisingly nimble, carving out turns and spinning in its own length. Shift in reverse, and you can chase down greyhounding billfish at 9 knots. Listen to the turbos whistle, catch a whiff of the diesel exhaust, and revel in your manliness. Navigation is simplified thanks to the electronics flat, which houses three 15-inch screens plus full engine instrumentation. There's also an overhead box, with room for another screen plus dual VHFs and an SSB radio. Both white and red lighting is built into the overhead, as are the stereo speakers.

Of course, many people who buy a boat of this nature hire captains – and why not? That means you'll have that much more time to admire the symmetrical woodwork, gaze at the seamless teak trim, and revel in the fact that you own what is arguably the ultimate in sportfishing yachts.

Lenny Rudow was senior technical editor for Boating magazine for more than 10 years, and is currently the electronics editor for Marlin and GoBoating magazines.

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