BananaBelt Broker Recommendations -Anacortes

I'll be travelling to Seattle to look at trawlers. Looking at Bayliner 4788. Any personal recommendations on a good broker at BananaBelt that can add value to my search? Other Seattle broker recommendations welcome if they have experience in trawlers or Bayliners.

Banana Belt is owned by John Ripley, a long-time Bayliner guy and formerly of Olympic Boat Centers before he started BB, which is now run day-to-day by his daughter Amy and her husband Matt.

I'd recommend talking to John if he's available, based on his knowledge and experience with big Bayliners.

chinacowboy said:

I'll be travelling to Seattle to look at trawlers. Looking at Bayliner 4788. Any personal recommendations on a good broker at BananaBelt that can add value to my search? Other Seattle broker recommendations welcome if they have experience in trawlers or Bayliners.

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Suggest you contact TF's own Kevin Saunders. He is our go to guy for the 4788 and knows Anacortes area well.

sunchaser said:

Suggest you contact TF's own Kevin Saunders. He is our go to guy for the 4788 and knows Anacortes area well.

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His username is ksanders. If he dosent pipe in, send him a private message.

BananaBelt stores their boats on the hard like a used car lot and are open from 9 to 5 like a car lot. We called ahead a few days before dropping in a few weeks ago, but it really wasn't necessary. It was a different way to present the stock, that's for sure! I like seeing boats in marinas or at docks, but it's also nice to see the underbody and running gear like at BananaBelt.

They have a hydraulic lift like a trailer that lets them place the boats just a couple of feet apart and allows them to quickly launch for seatrials: IIRC we were quoted $90 for a launch and recovery.

Anyway, it's more of a yacht store than anything else and drop-ins are welcome at anytime.

I don't trust salespeople very much. Sixty eight years of purchasing things has taught me that many of them care only about the size of their commission, or a quick sale or worse yet don't know their product and are afraid to admit it so they feed me BS.
I just bought a 4788 from Bananna Belt. I had been dealing with Amy on a number of prospective boats for over a year and the longer I dealt with her the more I respected her honesty, knowledge of boats and incredible patience. An added bonus is she's happy and unpretentious. Definetly someone you can trust

Ive been to Bananna Belt Boats, but didnt buy from them. They have probably the best setup I have ever seen to look at boats and compare.

Gotta say that I love Anacortes.
The town just has a great hometown feel.

As for the 4788, Great boat!
We’ve had ours since 2011 and think it is a fantastic cruising platform.

We have made the trip from Anacortes to Seward Alaska in our 4788 and can’t wait until retirement so that we can cruise her back south, slowly this time and enjoy all cruise exploring has to offer!

We just came back from a socal vacation and can see ourselves taking the boat along the California Coast, and possibly down the Baja coast.

When loking at 4788’s there are not allot of “gotcha” type issues. The biggest one that I know of is that many boats will exibit signs at the aft salon valances of past water leaks. This is not something that results in Damage, just a PITA.

I found on mine that the interface from the radar arch to the salon was the source of the minor but persistent leaks. Once I got that sealed up, no problems at all.

Oh almost forgot. If you look at one with the Cummins engines just be aware that like many boats the 4788 was propped on the edge of overpropping from the factory. The OEM props were 24X24. If the boat you like otherwase is propped less than 24” all the better, as the Cummins engine is not hapy being overpropped. If you are looking at a Hino equipped one, this is not a problem, the Hino engine is basically bullet proof.

Lastly, if ther boat you like does not have a center hatch between the engines, cut one in. It’s a easy (or cheap) job and changes the whole dynamic of the engine compartment.

good hunting!!

Many Thanks For All The Great Advice

Thanks to you all. Such great advice and comments. Most appreciated.

Ken E. said:

Banana Belt is owned by John Ripley, a long-time Bayliner guy and formerly of Olympic Boat Centers before he started BB, which is now run day-to-day by his daughter Amy and her husband Matt.

I'd recommend talking to John if he's available, based on his knowledge and experience with big Bayliners.

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Amy at Banana boat is very well versed in the Bayliners as well. If i were looking for a bayliner in the Anacortes area, I would certainly use her as a resource. She know the boats, the motors, and all of the issues each model has. Their yard is full of them BTW, as I was out there last Saturday.

Just a follow-up for future boat buyers in PNW. We met with Amy at BananaBelt Boats and she surpassed the glowing reviews already posted. From our initial experience she is a straight shooter, has a very impressive knowledge of bayliners, an excellent framework for matching your mission needs to a boat, and is great at winning reluctant wives over

Love the facility too, great way to check out a variety of platforms quickly.

I live in Anacortes, and Banana Belt has a good reputation. We are fortunate that our town has quite a few honest, reputable yacht brokers.