# Bristol 29



## Lenoroit (Aug 29, 2007)

Hi, 

Could someone provide some information about the Bristol 29.

Seaworthy, up to the task for offshore work?
Well built?

I'm looking for a boat small enough for ease of handling but strong enough for occasional passage up to a hundred miles for shore.

 Lenoroit


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## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

Lenoroit,
I have a Bristol 29 (hull 130), and love it. I have sailed it on the Chesapeake Bay for 4 years and think that it is certainly up to the type of sailing that you describe. It is stable, fairly heavy, and very pretty (if thats important to you. it is to me). It can be a bit tender, but then settles in nicely and sails well in light or heavier air. Cabin is good for a boat that size and would accomodate weekends or even a week long cruise for a couple. Some take them much farther than that. I have reconditioned mine and added roller furling, new sails, repaired decks, rebedded fittings, updated electric and motor. Bristol is known as one of the really good early glass boats with a hull that is strong even after all these years. Did I mention that my B29 is for sale? I am upgrading this year and looking for a good home for Black Pearl. PM me if you would like more info or just to discuss the boat.

Best,
Freeman


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## sailingdog (Mar 19, 2006)

Yes... very seaworthy... in fact, believe it is one of John Vigor's 20 small sailboats to take you anywhere...


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## Lenoroit (Aug 29, 2007)

Hi,

Thanks everyone for your informations.

Bardo, I can't send you a PM now. Not enough posts. I need ten.

The Bristol 29's deck is cored or solid fiberglass?

Someone has some experience with these boat in a quartering sea with 30-35 knots of wind?

Dry or wet on a tack in a chop?

Thank you


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## sailingfool (Apr 17, 2000)

Lenoroit said:


> Hi,
> 
> Thanks everyone for your informations.
> ...The Bristol 29's deck is cored or solid fiberglass?...


99% of ALL sailboats have cored decks, and almost the same have used balsa as the core material. It is a question that doesn't need to be asked.


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## merlin2375 (Jul 12, 2007)

Lenoroit said:


> Could someone provide some information about the Bristol 29.
> 
> Seaworthy, up to the task for offshore work?
> Well built?
> ...


FWIW, I have sailed one once, and thought it to be a well laid out boat for it's size. Supposedly it could sleep 4 but the 2 aft sleeping berths would probably be small for a taller person

The owner said he used it for a lot of coastal cruising and some offshore stuff. He had nothing but good things to say about it.

Also, don't know if you've seen this but there may be some good info there:
http://bristol29.com/


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## camaraderie (May 22, 2002)

*and almost the same have used balsa as the core material.
*I gotta diagree there...recent boats have a lot of airex foam cores and lots of boats used marine plywood instead of balsa. some even used regular plywood. (AVOID THEM!)


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## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

The deck is balsa cored. And why should he not ask the question? Should newbies not come here? I thought that was the whole point, sailingfool.


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## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

Lenoroit,
to answer your question about sailing qualities of the B29, the boat is dry in the cockpit in most conditions, including following and quartering seas. Of course any boat of that size will ship some green stuff if its blowing hard enough. I don't typically sail mine in 30+ knots. Not that the boat couldn't take it, but I don't have the confidence in my own skills yet, to willingly go out in more than about 20-25 kts. I will PM you with my email in case you have more questions.

Best,
Freeman


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## Lenoroit (Aug 29, 2007)

Bardo,

I have some more questions. 
Send me a PM so I can answer you. One day , I'll be old enough to do my own.

Thank you


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## Lenoroit (Aug 29, 2007)

*About cored deck*

Hi,

According to what I've learned lately, boats are not all cored deck.

The Kings Cruiser, (Todd Sungren's design, the artchitect who designed the Marieholm, kind of folkboat) scandinavian made during the 60's, has a solid fiberglass deck. The fiberglass version of this sailboat was built according to the Lloyd's 100A specifications.

Lenoroit.


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## sailingdog (Mar 19, 2006)

Nauticats have a solid fiberglass deck IIRC... Many boats didn't have cored decks, as cored laminates were developed until fiberglass had been around a while. 

End-grain balsa is only one of many materials that are used for core material. Airex, Divinylcell, cork, plywood—both marine and non-marine have all been used as a core material IIRC. The advantage of a cored deck is that it is lighter and stiffer than a solid fiberglass deck.


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## Lenoroit (Aug 29, 2007)

Hi everyone, 

Does someone has some experience with both Alberg 30 and Bristol 29?
I would like to have some kind of overview about there dfferences and similarities.

Thank you


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## jslloyd (Aug 21, 2002)

*Rigging a preventer*

Does anyone have any advice on how best to set up a preventer on a 32 foot Bristol. I have a "plan" but wanted to learn from those with experience.
Janet


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## sailingdog (Mar 19, 2006)

Janet-

You really should have started a new thread on this, rather than hijack this thread. BTW, I would rig a boom brake, rather than a preventer, as I believe it is a better solution...and safer.



jslloyd said:


> Does anyone have any advice on how best to set up a preventer on a 32 foot Bristol. I have a "plan" but wanted to learn from those with experience.
> Janet


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## sharkbait (Jun 3, 2003)

1


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## WattsIsland (Mar 4, 2009)

*Bristo 29 sale*

Hi,

Bristol 29s are great little boats -I have decided to go ahead and sell mine Hull # 52 on eBay. So if some interested Bristol 29 buyer would like to see what it is out there.

Anyway I posted her, here is the link FYI:

Bristol 29 - Herreshoff Design NO RESERVE:eBay Motors (item 170395051735 end time Oct-25-09 18:15:00 PDT)

Thanks

John


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## johnshasteen (Aug 9, 2002)

Lenoroit, ehttp://www.bristolowners.org/xcellent boat. Go the the Bristol Owner's Assoc site - lots of info about Bristols and a huge contact list of Bristol owners. 
Bristol Owners' Association Home Page


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## johnshasteen (Aug 9, 2002)

Lenoroit - The 29 is an excellent boat. Check out the Bristol Owners Assoc site - lots of info about Bristols and a contact list of Bristol owners.
Bristol Owners' Association Home Page


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## mitiempo (Sep 19, 2008)

Most boats have a cored deck and most cores are balsa - although some have used foam, exotics like honeycomb, and yes even some with plywood. The purpose of the core is to separate the 2 skins to create a stiffer structure without any or much added weight. Balsa excels at this and plywood because of weight doesn't. End grain balsa will limit water travel in a deck because of its grain structure. Plywood when wet will enhance water travel because of the horizontal grain - not good. Honeycomb is just too expensive for most builders except those producing spare no cost racing boats. Pearson originally used balsa that was in plank form but switched to end grain when it became available. Any core can become an issue if water gets in because of fittings not properly attached and sealed. A friend has a Spencer 35 built in 1966 (same as the late Hal Roth's Whisper) and ther deck is solid glass with no core. Plenty strong enough but it flexes a small amount as you walk on the middle of the foredeck. Later Spencers were built with a core to eliminate this. Here's a few links to Maine Sail's tutorial on how to bed fittings properly to eliminate future problems.
Sealing Deck Penetrations to Prevent Core Rot Photo Gallery by Compass Marine at pbase.com
Re-Bedding Hardware Photo Gallery by Compass Marine at pbase.com
Brian


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## SOUNDBOUNDER (Dec 16, 2008)

I have a 1972 Bristol 30.
I have owned it for 4 years and am very happy with it.
Very well built!!!


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## steve.rizzo (Feb 25, 2013)

Does anyone know if an owner's manual is available for the Bristol 29? I'm restoring a 1969 and would love to see how some things work, especially the abandoned fresh water system, but many other things as well. thanks and fair winds, Steve


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## Jeff_H (Feb 26, 2000)

To the best of my recollection, there was a water tank in the bilge. A hose came out of that tank and there was a tee. The Galley water supply was a water line that ran under the deck through the bilge and turned up into the cabinet below the sink. That was probably 1/2" house. The sink had a hand pump. There was a door on the cabinet below the sink that provided access to that water line and The drain came out of the bottom of the sink and there was a seacock almost straight below the sink that the waste water ran to. The Head had a fold down sink with a hand pump. The water line ran from the tee at the tank under the deck and ran up the bulkhead in plain sight. The basin was emptied by tilting it up and the water in the basin drained into the head to be pumped overboard. Both drain and the water supply were visible on the bulkhead. 

The intake and discharge for the head were on either side of the head, with the intake forward and the discharge aft. The early boats did not have a holding tank. I think that the later ones had a holding tank under the vee-berth. 

I am doing this from memory, but that is my best recollection. 

Jeff


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## steve.rizzo (Feb 25, 2013)

Jeff H. You have a great memory. That makes perfect sense. I can see all of the lines you mentioned although many are disconnected. for example, there is nothing going to the sink and the pump is missing. The drain line is as you say. The Tee from the top of the tank is missing the hose from it to where the pump would be. The head sink is connected, but untested. The head itself has been disconnected and a porta potty is in its place. I can not get either port off of the fresh water tank to inspect/clean. I might just fill it up, get a new hand pump for the galley sink and see what happens. My fear is that if I fill the tank and it's not usable. it may be hard to empty. I might be able to remove the plastic Tee and stick a pump down there though. I appreciate your help. You know your boat well.


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## Jeff_H (Feb 26, 2000)

I never actually owned a Bristol 29 and have only sailed on them a few times including an overnight cruise in the early 1980's. But I did help that owner make some repairs to that boat. 

As far as opening the ports, the o-rings tend to stick. You can typically break them lose by placing a short length against the fins on the porch and tap it lightly with a hammer alternating one side then the other. With any luck you should be able to get it open.

Jeff.


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## steve.rizzo (Feb 25, 2013)

Can anyone tell me how this roller furling for a hank on jib works? It came on my Bristol 29, but was not connected. It has a second swivel for the top as well (not pictured) that hanks on to the forestay at the head. Does it need a second forestay to hank on to? I'm quite certain that I don't want to twist my forestay. As a second question, what does you tack for your jib look like? I see a lot of them in pics that are extended from the tack to the deck to elevate the foot of the sail to the level of the bow pulpit. The jib that I currently have is 100% and does not go to the top of my masthead rig.


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## Lonnie Spangler (Jun 20, 2015)

Hello, I have a 
Bristol 29.9 and my centerboard cable broke and I have to run a new line thru the conduit and out the bottom of the keel to attach back to the centerboard and I want the boat to remain in the water. I also was thinking of using dyneema rope or allsteel? Any Infor or Ideas?


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