Baba 30
Built 1978–1985 by Ta Shing Yacht Building (Taiwan) for Flying Dutchman International; first ~30 by Shing Sheng
About the Baba 30
Researched from public sources for this model. Any individual boat may have been modified or repowered — confirm before relying on any figure.
- Built
- 1978–1985
- Builder
- Ta Shing Yacht Building (Taiwan) for Flying Dutchman International; first ~30 by Shing Sheng
- Designer
- Robert Perry
- Length
- 29.75 ft
- Waterline
- 24.5 ft
- Beam
- 10.25 ft
- Draft
- 4.75 ft
- Displacement
- 12,500 lb
- Ballast
- 5,000 lb
- Hull
- fiberglass
- Hull / keel
- full keel
- Rig
- cutter
- Propulsion
- inboard
- Fuel
- 35 gal
- Water
- 80 gal
- Stern thruster
- none
Sources disagree on number built — left blank rather than guessed.
Full keel with attached rudder; solid hull, cored superstructure. Sold by Flying Dutchman International; also called the Flying Dutchman Baba 30. Sailboatdata lists iron ballast and notes boats were delivered with Westerbeke, Yanmar and other engines.
Known problems for this model
-
Teak overlay decks on early boats deck
Early boats have teak-overlaid cored decks; neglected teak can let water rot the core and weaken the deck, so inspect closely (later boats had teak only on the cockpit seats).spinsheet.com
-
Corroded chainplate bolts rigging
Owners reported corrosion of chainplate bolts, which are visible from inside for inspection.practical-sailor.com
Engines & parts
Volvo Penta MD11C/D / MD17C/D parts: limited
Factory standard engine — you entered “Volvo Penta MD11C”
Produced 1975–1984 and developed from the MD2B/MD3B, sharing many internals but with cylinder liners. European specialists (Poseidon Marine) sell overhaul kits, liners, piston rings, bearings, gaskets, water pump kits and fuel parts; genuine parts are listed by Volvo dealers. Some items, such as original injector fuel lines, are discontinued.
Parts sources: Poseidon Marine (MD11/MD17 parts), Power Products Systems (genuine Volvo Penta parts), US Boatworks (NLA Volvo parts)
Common problems (2)
-
Leaking injector lines with discontinued replacements fuel
Owners find the high-pressure lines from injection pump to injectors leaking and genuine replacements no longer available, forcing custom-made lines.facebook.com
-
Saildrive parts hard to find running gear
MD11C engines paired with early saildrives have parts that are difficult to locate.cruisersforum.com
Model sources (3)
Other Baba models
- Baba 40 (Panda 40 / Tashiba 40) 1980–1982
Researched from public sources. Spotted an error? The sources are listed above — tell us what they got wrong.