Bahia 46: Headroom Specs

[ME Salty]

Many of you are Bahia owners so this should be easy. I'm recently in the market for a cat and really like the Belize and Bahia more than any other boat. I am 6'5" so headroom is a big concern. I chartered a Belize about 5 years ago but I don't recall the headroom. So, I.m looking for headroom in the hulls and in the salon, including in the galley area, for the Belize and Bahia. Thanks for the help and any other comments that owners might have in regards to purchasing either of those boats. I'm also going to look at a Casamance next week.

[DotDun]

I saved this years ago....can't vouch for it's accuracy.

[ME Salty]

Thanks for the great link. Unfortunately the numbers aren't very encouraging. There is a definite disadvantage to being a tall sailor. I really don't care for the style and interior of Lagoons but that may be the way I have to go so I can stand up straight.

[Bill4]

I'm 6'3" and I have a Bahia 46. This sounds like a confession at an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting

The numbers on that pdf document are wrong! I'm onboard now and just checked the measurements:

Zone 1: 6'2" Never realised it's only 6'2" but then I don't walk up or down stairs bolt upright.

Zone 2: 7'3" unless you go up or down stairs at a strange angle, in which case, if I measure diagonally backwards: 5'11"

Zone 3: 6'6"

Zone 4: 6'2" Never realised - this is facing the fridge/freezer/worktop area so head and eyes are usually down.

Zone 5: 6'2" Again, I never realised - usually in sitting down/standing up mode.

Zone 6: 6'5"

The headroom in the hulls is about right on that pdf.

What I would say is, get on a Bahia (or any other boat) and try it for real, rather than just going by the numbers. You might find your ideal boat that you would otherwise discount. Good luck.

[ME Salty]

Thanks so much Bill4. We chartered a Bahia about 4 years ago and I don't recall the feel of the headroom. So far in my boat shopping I haven't been aboard a Bahia and I won't rule it out until I get on one again. Do you have any comments, positive or negative, about the Bahia?

[Bill4]

Originally Posted by ME Salty

Thanks so much Bill4. We chartered a Bahia about 4 years ago and I don't recall the feel of the headroom. So far in my boat shopping I haven't been aboard a Bahia and I won't rule it out until I get on one again. Do you have any comments, positive or negative, about the Bahia?

We haven't owned ours for very long so take everything that follows in that context but from our perspective here are the Bahia 46 pros and cons:

PROS

* Excellent compromise between performance, comfort and price. It took us seven years of searching to find the best compromise for us in a Bahia 46.

* Really good bridgedeck clearance - amongst the very best for this size range. I can easily get our 3.8 meter rib with 20HP outboard under with room to spare.

* Solid glass and foam core for the hulls, deck and bridgedeck - no balsa core anywhere (a key criteria for me).

* Engine rooms completely separate from the main hulls.

* Keels laminated separately and fixed into recesses in the hulls. Damaging a keel should not result in any water ingress.

* Foam buoyancy compartments fore and aft are a bonus but wouldn't have stopped us buying if this wasn't a feature.

* Generous sail area and SA/D (watch that weight!)

* Tons of storage space with lots of good sized lockers.

* 4 cabin / 4 head models offer good value and provides the option to convert 2 heads into a dedicated shower room and laundry room.

CONS

* Rounded seating in saloon and cockpit not to everyone's taste and not the most practical. Having said that, we're getting used to it and have no plans to try to change it.

* Galley is a generous size overall with good storage but poor use of worktop space with fridge and freezer under main area of work surface. We are considering changing this at some point.

* Aft cabin athwart-ship berths mean one person has to climb over the other if getting out of bed first. We might consider changing this at some point to a fore-aft berth - similar to the owner's version - if we decide we can't live with it long term.

* Too much storage space! Temptation is to use it and slow the boat down. I am considering sealing up several lockers so my partner can't put 'stuff' in there [joke].

Whilst accepting that there is no such thing as a perfect boat our Bahia 46 is the perfect compromise for us.

Hope that helps. There are several other Bahia 46 owners on Cruisers Forum and they may be able to add a 'long term owner' perspective to the above, if they read this...

Any questions, feel free to ask. We love our Bahia!

[Freedom fighter]

I am 6'5" and a good friend of mine has a Bahia 46 and he told me it had heaps of headroom, he changed his mind once I got on the boat! Nobody gets it unless your over 6'4"
I was heading towards the Lagoons primarily due to headroom (HR). I like the lagoons especially the 52 however financially it was the 450 I was set on, that is until I got on a Helia 44, it has more HR everywhere and in the saloon looking towards the cockpit you don't have to bend down to look under the high cupboards, you can stand tall and have a clear veiw aft. Multihull Solutions Mark Elkington went above and beyond to put us on both the Helia and the L450 and in the end due to the layout and height friendliness we put a deposit on a new Helia 44 Evolution, however with the release of the New 47 we have secured to the first in the Southern Hemisphere

[Catnut]

Originally Posted by Bill4

We haven't owned ours for very long so take everything that follows in that context but from our perspective here are the Bahia 46 pros and cons:

PROS

* Excellent compromise between performance, comfort and price. It took us seven years of searching to find the best compromise for us in a Bahia 46.

* Really good bridgedeck clearance - amongst the very best for this size range. I can easily get our 3.8 meter rib with 20HP outboard under with room to spare.

* Solid glass and foam core for the hulls, deck and bridgedeck - no balsa core anywhere (a key criteria for me).

* Engine rooms completely separate from the main hulls.

* Keels laminated separately and fixed into recesses in the hulls. Damaging a keel should not result in any water ingress.

* Foam buoyancy compartments fore and aft are a bonus but wouldn't have stopped us buying if this wasn't a feature.

* Generous sail area and SA/D (watch that weight!)

* Tons of storage space with lots of good sized lockers.

* 4 cabin / 4 head models offer good value and provides the option to convert 2 heads into a dedicated shower room and laundry room.

CONS

* Rounded seating in saloon and cockpit not to everyone's taste and not the most practical. Having said that, we're getting used to it and have no plans to try to change it.

* Galley is a generous size overall with good storage but poor use of worktop space with fridge and freezer under main area of work surface. We are considering changing this at some point.

* Aft cabin athwart-ship berths mean one person has to climb over the other if getting out of bed first. We might consider changing this at some point to a fore-aft berth - similar to the owner's version - if we decide we can't live with it long term.

* Too much storage space! Temptation is to use it and slow the boat down. I am considering sealing up several lockers so my partner can't put 'stuff' in there [joke].

Whilst accepting that there is no such thing as a perfect boat our Bahia 46 is the perfect compromise for us.

Hope that helps. There are several other Bahia 46 owners on Cruisers Forum and they may be able to add a 'long term owner' perspective to the above, if they read this...

Any questions, feel free to ask. We love our Bahia!

Fully agree with Biil4's comments. We bought our Bahia last year and love it. It is an owners version and gives us acres of space for living on for 5 months of the year.

One thing i would like to add (which was a bonus as I wasn't expecting it based on other comments I had previously read on CF) is the good support I have received from FP. They have supplied me with new stanchion bases, which I thought were going to be a night mare to find and yesterday and again today have given me telephone support and good advice on a problem with my rudder.
Great to see a manufacturer stand by his older models

Tony

[Robinski]

Hi bahia owners. We have been looking for over 6 months for the right cat you us and have settled on the Bahia (we think) the last thing that will help is decide is the interior space. The other boat on our short list was the lagoon 440. Does anyone have any interior measurements for us please please please. We live in the UK and there are no boats near by to look at unless we spend a small fortune travelling out as winter flights are more expensive and less regular to the med.
Any help much appreciated.
Thanks all