Baja Boats for Sale

From a roller rink in Bucyrus

Baja started as Aeroglastics Inc., a fiberglass shop incorporated on February 5, 1970 by Neil Baker, Charles Coulter and John Sears. It moved into boats in 1971, working out of a former roller skating rink on Jones Street in Bucyrus. Doug Smith, who later ran the company, built and assembled his first Baja there.

The early years were rough. A fire on September 20, 1976 gutted the Jones Street plant two weeks before the Chicago boat show, and another fire hit in November 1977. The company moved to a new plant at the Bucyrus Airport Industrial Center and kept growing. By 1987 Baja reported $32 million in sales and 360 employees, and at peak it built 55 to 60 boats a week. Powerboat magazine named the Baja Sport 250 its full-size boat of the year in 1989.

In January 1994 the bank froze the company's assets after missed loan payments. Brunswick bought Baja in 1995 and ran it alongside Sea Ray and Bayliner until 2008.

Who built your Baja

This matters for parts and warranty questions. There are three main eras:

• Bucyrus, before and under Brunswick (through 2008). Most used Bajas on the market are from this period.
• Fountain (2008 on). In May 2008 Fountain Powerboats bought the tooling, molds and trademarks for the Outlaw (20, 23, 26, 30, 35, 40), Performance (Hammer X, 245, 278, 335, 415) and Islander (192, 202, 247, 277) models and moved production to Washington, North Carolina. Brunswick kept the warranty obligations on boats it had built, and kept the rights to the other Baja models.
• Custom Marine Group (2016 on). A partnership of the Ross and Wortley families bought Baja Marine along with Fountain, Donzi and Pro-Line.

The model families

Outlaw boats are Baja's go-fast V-bottoms, from the 20 up to the 40. The bigger ones usually run twin big-block sterndrives. Islander boats are the family bowriders and cuddies, 19 to 27 feet. Performance covers the cruisers and the Hammer. You'll also see older Baja Sport models from the 1980s and 1990s.

What to check on a used Baja

Engine hours and history. Performance Bajas tend to get run hard. Ask for hours, service records, and whether the engines have been rebuilt or modified. A compression and leakdown test from a marine mechanic is money well spent on any twin-engine Outlaw.

Drives. Many Outlaws run Mercury Bravo One drives or higher-performance units. Check for play in the gimbal bearing, oil in the lower units, and corrosion on the outdrives.

Transom and stringers. Older Bucyrus boats used wood in the transom and stringers. Look for cracks around the transom, and push on the drive to check for flex. Soft decks are a warning sign.

Gelcoat and hull. Look for spider cracks, stress cracks around the deck hardware, and any sign of hull repairs.

Parts availability. Model-specific trim, windshields and hatches for older Bajas can be hard to find. Price that in if anything is broken or missing.

Trailer. Bigger Outlaws are heavy. Make sure the trailer is rated for the boat and check the brakes, tires and bunks.

Water test. Run it at speed. Watch for chine walk, porpoising, overheating and any warning alarms. Check the steering for play.