Opinions on Bavaria Yachts

[seagypsy50]

I have a 2008 Bavaria 50 Vision and have had a 2005 Bavaria 39 Cruiser. Both fantastic yachts with great gear - all Lewmar and Selden, two of the leaders in their field. The 50 Vision outperforms any similar offering from the French due to it's deep heavy keel giving it a 37% ballast/displacement ratio and it also carries a lot more sail than it's French competition. I love the quality of the hull's and as for the interior, it's a fresh change to see solid timber in a lot of other places that others use veneers. Love the plastic wood used for the nav table instrument mounting personally. I've done ocean races in both yachts including in the far south off Tasmania. These are stiff seaworthy yachts and I constantly laugh at the comments I see form rank amateurs with clear ill-informed biases. I would highly recommend a Bavaria to anybody. As far as keel failures go , yes the very small number of Match series (42 and 38) had too narrow keel mating surface for the hull thickness and are ENTIRELY different build to the remainder of the Bav fleet. Look no further than the Bene First 40 keel losses over the years to see that the others (inc Jene) also have these issues. Sadly a lot more people have lost their lives on Beneteau's from keel looses than Bavarias.

All yachts have some issues and many issues are created by the owners themselves. CArs have issues and being a 3 decade pilot and aircraft owner, be assured that aircraft (even big ones) have far more issues that any yacht I've ever seen.

[Steadman Uhlich]

Howdy and Welcome to posting in this forum.

I see this is your first post and you are a new member here.

The Bavaria line has its supporters here too. Thanks for posting your owner's view of that yacht/brand. I was impressed by seeing a video of the production line (factory) where the boats are built.

[martyn]

I have a 2002 bavaria 36 and have done crossed the atlantic four times the med in and out and solo circumnavigation and all with just normal maintenance.So having sailed in all conditions I have complete faith in my bavaria

[Fluer de Mer]

SeaG and other owners...since you own one, what do you think of the newer Vision 42 and 46? I was on the SF Bay over Memorial Day weekend and sailed alongside a Vision 46 and she had beautiful lines and seemed to sail pretty well in and around extremely strong gale force Golden Gate winds. I only saw one person on the boat at the helm for the entire 2 hours we sailed together so she was clearly designed for singlehanded sailing. I looked up the configuration of the boats and think that the layout and design is rather innovative - I like the off-center companionway and several other thoughtful elements/features.

[Bill_Giles]

The Bavaria 36 in the UK was used extensively as a charter boat and school boat, I've owned one for 12 years (never raced except gently by me!) I have found it roomy, comfortable and easy to sail. It has Harken hardware, Selden spars and a Volvo engine so no complaints about the quality of the equipment. At the end of the day it is probably the 'Ford Motor Company' car equivalent of the sea and the better for it. I think that there was a period when the boats were built down to a price which led to some suspicions as to the quality but the more recent boats are rather more expensive and the better for it. Finally one only has to look at the ARC list to see how many people are taking their Bavarias across the 'Pond'.