Is a 44 Bavaria suitable for sailing in rough seas?

[bcboomer]

As I understand it, G10 board is a very dense laminate. It is translucent to at least 1 inch thick.

[n13L5]

So, new or old, you have to get a full survey done on any boat you buy.

Like buying an old car, I guess, only with much greater problems when something goes wrong.

[Polux]

Originally Posted by Neptune's Gear

Absolutely. Mine is pretty transparent without paint. And is, has been, and will be, sailed all around NZ, the South Pacific (Incl below 40 deg), Indian ocean etc.. She is not a Bravaria though.

There is a lot of emotional nonsense on this site. I'd have no issues with the boat proposed following, as has been said, a good survey and a thorough inspection by myself.

Every design ever produced in any numbers has specific vessels with issues.

Some good builders even use non colored gelcoat on the bottom for increasing the visibility in what regards inspections regarding any possible damage (after taking the anti vegetative). That increases translucency. It is very interesting to look at one hull treated like that, before the the epoxy is applied. They have a strange glowing look if there is a strong light above even with the interior bottom epoxy paint already applied..

[SofiaB]

Strange that the debate of old versus new, classic versus production, heavy versus light keeps coming up. Opinions vary regarding boat selection, otherwise there would be only one boat design. Production methods change to suit buyer demands for lower prices. If we could all afford 1 million dollar boats, they would all have 1" thick hulls and have solid wood furniture/fixtures.

Personally, I like production boats that are built in hundreds of hours instead of thousands of hours. I like robotic precision and modern styling. I also like that my boat will never depreciate 500K dollars but does sail extremely well, single handed.

Would I buy a Bavaria 44 - absolutely, if it performs under sail as well as my Bavaria Vision 46. Not that I wouldn't buy an Irwin Ketch; great boat, classic live aboard and build like a brick sh*thouse. Just not my style which is modern and lots of light.

Polux, keep up the fight regarding the quality of new, production boats. I love your posts; to the point and informative.

We all have different styles. If the OP wants any specific information regarding my 46' Bavaria, please send a message. I would be happy to answer any questions.

[Polux]

Originally Posted by SofiaB

...
Polux, keep up the fight regarding the quality of new, production boats. I love your posts; to the point and informative.

We all have different styles. If the OP wants any specific information regarding my 46' Bavaria, please send a message. I would be happy to answer any questions.

Sofia, it is not a fight and all production boats are not the same, not even regarding price. I agree also with some here that say that people don't look at how boats are built, just to the interior and off course if that is the way people buy boats than the builders concentrate in making better and better interior at the expenses of other and probably more important parts (if we consider sailing), like sail hardware and even structural strength.

Just to give you two examples of two great cruising boats, probably the best you can have in what regards sailing and built quality/strength for the price, that sell very little: The Varianta 37 (made by Hanse) and the Maxi 1200 (made by Delphia). They are what many on forums like this says that they want as a cruising boat...but it seems that those are not buying them and the others want jus something else, with more interior space or a better finish.