Why Are Bavaria Yachts Not Well-Liked Here ?

[jyoung]

i have to wonder, i always read about different types of boats, but why does nobody ever refer to catalinas? do they suck as blue water cruisers or what?

[Otia]

So much bashing here...
I thought I'd throw a bone to the wolves...

I own a 2004 built Bavaria 38 - put in service in 2005 so it's almost 10 year old now.
Great value - despite its name the 2004-05 B38 is actually a 40ft boat (12.3m).
Like any boat it has it's weaknesses. For one you must check your rudder bearings. My boat is used extensively in moderate seas in winds of 20-30kts. I changed my bearings 2 years ago.
Also, it's a fin keel; there are pros and cons, I won't get into this debate.
The boat is sturdy. Very solid built, Kevlar reinforced. After 9 years it feels like when it was new.
I've been through rough stuff with her. Again it's a fin keel... Though she spirts "the deep keel" option, which makes her better when the tough gets going.

Would I like an Oyster? You bet!
But I can't afford one
I sincerely love my B38; and I can afford her!

[Coops]

This is an old thread that you have replied to. You must have gone searching for it.

Coops.

[Otia]

WTF? So its old!

[JazzyO]

Originally Posted by Otia

WTF? So its old!

Language....


Onno

[hoppy]

As the op I'm glad to see it revived just to read my posts as it was started just before I bought my Jeanneau

Originally Posted by hoppy

I like the lines of Jeanneau Sun Odyssey more. So tomorrow I will take a flight to look at a Jeanneau SO40 that ticks all of the boxes.

it was a flight worth taking.

[crewtv]

I have a Bavaria 46 in charter in Sweden and I must say its a fabulous boat with a great level of comfort and a good build. Guests love it and its really fast as well. Its the most common charter boat in existence and a well proven model. Don't knock Bavaria´s until you own one. The most sold boat on the planet and for a reason. Great value for the money.
www.sailingsweden.com

[Oceans247]

In 2004 my dad bought a 2-3 year old Beneteau Oceansis 411 Celebration. I was about 22 at the time. It was a lovely boat to sail and to live on. My longest trip on the boat was about 3-4 months.

Shortly after purchase we decided to reinforce all the cleat mountings as many of them started to have some movement. We bought longer bolts and added plywood backing plates and extra large washers. After that they were rock solid.

I also remember that the door from the saloon to the main cabin would not close properly if we had sailed on a specific tack. We always had to finish the day's sailing on a specific tack to get the door to line up.

I think we may have reinforced a couple of other things to like the anchor winch mounting.

Apart from the above, the boat was perfect.

I was happy enough with beneteau that I am now looking to buy a Beneteau Oceanis 343 or Oceanis 37.

I have also picked up a general dislike for Bavaria's. No specific reason springs to mind. I think most peoples negative comments about Bavaria relate to them being built to a price for the charter market. But I have not heard any specific issues.

[Eleuthera 2014]

Lazarus is that you??? This 4 year old news!!

:-)

[SimonV]

There's nothing wrong with pulling up an old thread, there will always be someone who wants to get on your case for bringing up the old thread and if not some other job will chime in for you to learn how to use Google search. This thread was a great read and I hope others will contribute on the Bavaria I am looking at Bavs 44 to 50 2000 plus.

[AKA-None]

Originally Posted by SimonV

There's nothing wrong with pulling up an old thread, there will always be someone who wants to get on your case for bringing up the old thread and if not some other job will chime in for you to learn how to use Google search. This thread was a great read and I hope others will contribute on the Bavaria I am looking at Bavs 44 to 50 2000 plus.

I just found it and got quite a bit out of reading it. Also I think sometimes it's handy to find out what happened afterwards. As in what was bought, did you sail there, did it work out like you figured it would?

If no one ever came back and added this then you still miss the story. Although I suppose you could open a new thread and ask ;-)

My "cruising" consists of the 2 days a year that Lake Pepin on the Mississippi is actually open water.

[Jim Krause]

My quick Bavaria story: I've sailed and chartered many different boats over the years (Catalinas, Beneteaus, Sabres, Sea Sprites, Island Packets, etc.) always thinking about my next boat purchase. My wife and I chartered a 2001 34' Bavaria out of Bellingham, WA and fell in love with her. The woodwork inside "Firefly" was gorgeous, she was fast, light & easy to sail, she was robust and mechanically sound, and the Volvo saildrive was really quiet. Once departing the dock the fellow next to me said "Aren't you gonna start the engine?" She was already running! Another time were were in the middle of nowhere and due to bad fuel or improper maintenance I had to change fuel filters and bleed the fuel lines. 3 side access to the engine made working on her a piece of cake- much easier than my Catalina at home. We almost put an offer on Firefly but she was just too small. A few years later a 2001 37' Bavaria came on the market. I was pleased to find that she was a big sister to the Firefly- same beautiful woodwork and quick and light. We're on our 3rd year with her and still love her!

[Dr. Sea]

Originally Posted by Eleuthera 2014

Lazarus is that you??? This is 4 year old news!! :-)

,

I'm not Lazarus, but the points of view expressed in this thread are just as valid and relevant now as they were 5 years ago when this thread started. I gained some good insight on whether "pedigreed" Water boats">blue water boats are worth their extra cost, but the reason I came to this thread was the discussion of spade vs. skeg-hung rudders, which is frequently a distinction between high production boats and limited production boats. More boats are abandoned at sea due to damage or loss to a rudder than holing a hull. I was hoping to be convinced that a spade rudder, which seems by consensus to be acknowledged as a more efficient rudder, was just as safe as a skeg-hung rudder. No such luck. The skeg-hung rudder is safer for crossing oceans, no matter how well built and well maintained the spade rudder is. That's going to cost me.

[Eleuthera 2014]

My earlier comment was very much tongue in cheek as I owned a very nice 97 Bav 46 Exclusive for many years. She was quick, comfortable and mostly dry and she was well built with hardware selected to go the distance. Its rudder is blade and it was much more efficient than the Amel. However, our plan is to RTW and we wished more comfort and safety afforded by a specific "cruiser designed" Amel. We are getting "long in the tooth" and we expect 7-10 years at sea... Amel made more sense.

Good luck Dr Sea :-)

[K_V_B]

Originally Posted by Dr. Sea

I was hoping to be convinced that a spade rudder, which seems by consensus to be acknowledged as a more efficient rudder, was just as safe as a skeg-hung rudder. No such luck. The skeg-hung rudder is safer for crossing oceans, no matter how well built and well maintained the spade rudder is. That's going to cost me.

Far more accidents happen with four wheeled cars than with three wheeled cars. Does that mean three wheeled cars are safer? Spade rudders are the norm on production boats nowadays, even high end ones. So it's no surprise that most rudder failures are on spade rudders.

If properly designed, build and maintained a spade rudder is as strong as a skeg hung rudder. That is something that most naval architects seem to agree on nowadays.