Detailed review Nautitech Bavaria 46

[yeloya]

For those who wants to know more about Nautitech Bavaria 46, here are some notes that I’ve taken during the maiden trip from La Rochelle to Marmaris. (3.000 nm) . I have currently Orana, Helia , Catana and had a Lipari in ıour charter fleet. I have no commercial interest with Nautitech, actually we are a service point for FP for the East Med. You might have read many reviews on sailing press but as they depend on the advertising income from these yards , they are not always candid..
The Fly model is basically 1 ton heavier than 46 Open, has a slightly smaller mainsail (as a result of fly bridge) 4 cabins, 50 HP D 2 50 Volvo engines, folding props. We were only 2 on board and no A/C or genset. Those will be installed in our yard.
Despite my concerns after what had happened to Bavaria group, the boat was delivered at exact date , actually a day earlier in perfect shape, the hand over took just an hour.
The finish /overall build quality: for this price range of boat, I must say it's much better than I’d expected. The price that I’ve paid was 15 to 20 % lesss than what Helia or L 450 were with the same configuration. (Remember that N 46 is in reality a full 45 ft and not 46.)
The boat is quite stiff , no squaling whatsoever, the furnitures are perfectly fit, the deck equipment is probably best that I have ever seen on this category of cats but they seemed to me a bit underrated. As a result, top lift was ripped off from the connection to the boom, gib hallyard connection went down twice... The B&G electronics worked w/out any issue. The A/P held the course very well even on bumby seas. We also didn’t buy the chart plotter which was awfully expensive in the factory, this will also be installed in Marmaris.
No problem with the engine (apart being very noisy even at 2.200 RPM, insulation problem ?) except the port side clutch which was noisy when shifting from day one and will have to be looked at. For Fly version the levers are up in the fly, hence ZE electronics are used. That’s a real problem, sometimes the gear is engaged with a delay of 4-5 seconds (plus probably the props that are not opening timely or opening partly ..) and as a result, I hit the pantoon in Portugal on a relatively easy manoeuver..
Engine rooms are incredibly large and there are plenty of rooms for after factory fittings. However I didn’t quite understand why this space wasn’t integrated inside the boat to make it even more larger, seems like a waste of space..
Soft water pump in the starboard hull is annoyingly noisy and the fuel tanks which are supposed to be 2X300 lt are only 200 lt each. That’s more than enough but in all specs even on the tank, it’s marked 300 l..
The LED lightenings with dimmer everywhere are great, the fridges and the oven are all prime quality. The cockpit and flybridge cushions are made of special fabric that doesn’t stain, probably impregnated with a teflon or any other hydrofobic materiel. The end result is whatever liquid you pour on, suffices to wipe it off, nothing remains. I’ve tried with a red vine, it works ..Charter customers love to lay down on them with sunbath oils, we will see if it works with this as well.
There are sufficent amount of lockers, wardrobes and space in the galley, kitchen is well designed , admirals shouldn’t have problem. There is a standard 120 l fridge in the saloon + top cover one instaled in the kitchen 90 l and small one on the flybridge. These two latters are optional.

Performance: In calm seas, one engine q 2.200 is giving 6,2 kts SOG, 2 engines at same RPM close to 8 kts. I didn’t push harder as the consumption after this range is increasing substantially. We averaged about 3,1 lt/per hour, but we always motorsailed and when the wind was helping we reduced the RPM. Standart 40 HP engines would be too small for this boat. Under sail, the boat is very lively even at light winds; at 9-10 kts TW 4 to 6 kts were achieved. At 30 kts of true from 160 AWA, we reached 11 kts. The last 1/3 of the route, we had to make without the gib and with the mainsaiil only we averaged 5-8 kts of speeds. The basic problem is the very small self tacking gib..Once the wind is aft the beam, it dosn’t work at all, unless you have a 18 kts + true wind. IMO, a genneaker or assymetrical spinneaker is a must for this boat. Upwind performance seemed to me a bit better than Helia and L 450, probably because of better sheeting angle and slimmer hull beams.
Sail plan is perfect; fractional rigging with a mast a bit aft to open up a space to self tacking gib. All lines to helm station where there are three winches. The bigger and middle one should be electrical, mainsail hallyard, all reef lines (3 single lines) are coming to this winch. The one in starboard is for mainsail traveller and sheet but can also be taken on the electrical one. The one on port side is connected to nthe third reef, topping lift and gib furler that one rarerely uses. With this setup, ghe boat is very easy to singlehandle.
Overall: That’s well thought, well built , a lot of boat for that price range. Remember 4 cabin version hasn’t got a navigation table and the control panel is very low on the stairs of port side galley. (I hate that ..) The standard boat is supplied with 2X140 Ah AGM batteries and you can add a third one with an extra pack which includes a preparation for a laundry machine + 2.000 W inverter + upgraded alternators which is worth to spend. . But even then, for private use it’s not sufficient.
The black water tanks (which are undersized) are in the bilge one on each hull and to discharge them you need lay down, crawl a bit to reach the valves !!
Flybridge issue has been discussed several times and I won’t comment much on that. The ones who will go for Fly should definately have a repeater chart plotter and remote A/P control in the saloon. Otherwise going up and down each time for changing the course for two or thre degrees is a pain.
The bridge clearance is very good, Nonetheless while we were never slammed in waves coming from the nose of the boat (which normally is the case) we have been hammered heaviily by the waves coming from the aft quarter. Overall the bslimmer hulls cut the water very well.
Aeration of the boat is not great, particularly down in the cabins. There are enough lockers and wardrobes around the boat.
Cheers

Yeloya

[Thalas]

I wish the economics supported a sail magazine with this kind of authenticity in reviews. The worst critiques I seem to read are “the sugar-scoop based helms are not ideal for true blue water cruising”... ya don’t say!

Very surprised that you feel the upwind performance exceeds the Helia. I understand about the narrower hulls, but with more windage, less sail area, and almost 2T more weight, I would not have expected that.

Thanks for the detailed review!

[LeeV]

Hi Yeloya,

Thanks for another fine contribution. So "if" we were interested in either a new or used Nauti 46 Open (NOT the fly), and were looking at the comparable boats you mentioned, which would you go to first as a retirement cruiser for couple?

Best regards,

[yeloya]

Originally Posted by LeeV

Hi Yeloya,

Thanks for another fine contribution. So "if" we were interested in either a new or used Nauti 46 Open (NOT the fly), and were looking at the comparable boats you mentioned, which would you go to first as a retirement cruiser for couple?

Best regards,

There are more than one answers;

-Nautitech for more sailing, less motoring and paying a bit less when purchasing
-Helia for more space and comfort
-Catana for extending period of cruising with peace of mind paying even a bit more than Helia.

It all depends on yr budget and preferences.

Cheers

Yeloya

[LeeV]

Originally Posted by yeloya

There are more than one answers;

-Nautitech for more sailing, less motoring and paying a bit less when purchasing
-Helia for more space and comfort
-Catana for extending period of cruising with peace of mind paying even a bit more than Helia.

It all depends on yr budget and preferences.

Cheers

Yeloya

Just what I expected! I'd actually like to talk the Admiral down from the H44 to an Open 40 as I think it would be plenty of room but the outside helms are proving to be an obstacle! :-)

[Augi]

"......We were only 2 on board and no A/C or genset. Those will be installed in our yard....... "

Yeloya,

Excellent review. Thanks!

Was the main reason price that you chose to install the genset and air conditioning at your yard? Or was it some combination of price and yu wanted components not offered by the factory? What model and make of air conditioning and genset will you install?

Isn't installing the ducts and vents for the air conditioning difficult after the boat has been built?

When installing the genset in your yard how much of the other electronics do you have to change to accommodate the genset?

Is it a factory option(and is it a good option if available?), to have the factory to do the part of the job that is easier while the boat is being built(for example ducts and vents for air conditioning), and speced(electronics to accommodate the genset), rather than doing the entire job at your yard?

[iliohale]

We did a seven day charter on an O46 last year in Croatia, here is my review of the boat:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-4XJgavUhOs&t=1062s

Gary

[Augi]

Originally Posted by iliohale

We did a seven day charter on an O46 last year in Croatia, here is my review of the boat:

Gary

Hi Gary,

It is interesting that in your review that was of a much lower hull# you had concerns about quality, fit and finish of the furniture. In Yeloya's review he was Ok with the quality, fit and finish of the furniture.

What is interesting is:

Has Nautitech / Bavaria improved the quality, fit and finish of the furniture or is it just two different people giving honest reviews that have different standards and expectations of what is acceptable.

Does anyone know if the furniture being installed on the Nautitech 46's is still the same furniture used on the Bavaria line of boats at the Bavaria factory in Germany?

[iliohale]

It is possible the quality of the boats has improved, it has been two years since I did a tour of the Nautitech factory where they were working on hull No. 20 at the time. I was not impressed with the factory at all, it was extremely dirty, disorganized, and clearly a 180 degree contrast from the FP factory I toured the same week. At the time I visited Nautitech, they were still very much in the process of integrating with Bavaria and new management had come in. They also had significant expansion plans and clearly needed more space. I have spoken to at least 6 owners of the boat with half of them unhappy with the quality of the boat and 1 in particular who indicated that he had significant structural issues with the boat. His boat was in the low 20's in terms of hull numbers.

Gary

[Factor]

Originally Posted by LeeV

Just what I expected! I'd actually like to talk the Admiral down from the H44 to an Open 40 as I think it would be plenty of room but the outside helms are proving to be an obstacle! :-)

And the O40s aren't as quick as some would have you believe. One near me is consistently slower over a WAGS (beer can race) course than almost every other cat, from Seawind 1000s and upward.

[yeloya]

Originally Posted by Augi

"......We were only 2 on board and no A/C or genset. Those will be installed in our yard....... "

Yeloya,

Excellent review. Thanks!

Was the main reason price that you chose to install the genset and air conditioning at your yard? Or was it some combination of price and yu wanted components not offered by the factory? What model and make of air conditioning and genset will you install?

Isn't installing the ducts and vents for the air conditioning difficult after the boat has been built?

When installing the genset in your yard how much of the other electronics do you have to change to accommodate the genset?

Is it a factory option(and is it a good option if available?), to have the factory to do the part of the job that is easier while the boat is being built(for example ducts and vents for air conditioning), and speced(electronics to accommodate the genset), rather than doing the entire job at your yard?

I don't know why but in almost all of the manufacturers option lists', the price for A/c and genset are outrageous.. We normally install Fisher Panda 8 KW in large boats or 6 KW in smaller ones. The A/C is a local one and we didn't have any problem so far. (we installed more than 20 units ) The cost is a bit more than 50 % of what the factories are quoting.
In a cat of 44-45 ft, there are almost always enough space to install those units and we are experienced in where to and how to run the air ducts, control units, etc..

Cheers

Yeloya

[yeloya]

Originally Posted by Augi

Hi Gary,

It is interesting that in your review that was of a much lower hull# you had concerns about quality, fit and finish of the furniture. In Yeloya's review he was Ok with the quality, fit and finish of the furniture.

What is interesting is:

Has Nautitech / Bavaria improved the quality, fit and finish of the furniture or is it just two different people giving honest reviews that have different standards and expectations of what is acceptable.

Does anyone know if the furniture being installed on the Nautitech 46's is still the same furniture used on the Bavaria line of boats at the Bavaria factory in Germany?

I haven't seen the earliest hull # of these boats,hence I cannot compare. The guy who was making the handover on behalf of our dealer has said that they had 30-40 points to be corrected before handover to customer in the earlier hulls while they have less than 10 points nowadays. Mine is #77.
BTW, having seen quite a bit of #1 hulls, (We did a lot of warranty works on Orana #1, I owned Helia #1 and we serviced Outremer 51 #1) I should say that not only Nautitech but all of the manufacturers have improved their quality over years. (their prices as well..)

Cheers

Yeloya

[Nils Gruttner]

Yeloya,

I really appreciated your open, honest and non-biased opinions. Facts and nothing but facts. How I wish there was more of that on forums of all kind.

[Alanvkrasno]

Dear Yeloya
Thanks for your honest review. I am particularly interested as I have just had a Survey done on an Open 46 I am buying. I sailed one in The Grenadines on Charter and found she sailed very well with Speeds over 9 knots on a Reach with genoa and Main. I am interested in the idea of Retrofitting a Generator and Reverse Cycle Aircon in the Saloon and Owners cabin. Any suggestions on makes and costings would be appreciated. The boat is in Sardinia and will be heading to Greece next year. Or I might see how I go as it has 900kW of Solar panels.
Sounds from your review that I am not making a wrong decision.

Alan

[yeloya]

Retrofitting 8 KVA Fisher Panda genset + A/C all around the boat would cost close to 25.000 €.
The A/C's that we are installing are locally made, have been used in all of our charter boats without any issues for many years.


The most criticaol ones are the water makers. We have been installing and servicing many local and international brands. Most of them have their own problems, thus it's crucial that you pick up the right one for yr needs and have them mounted properly.


Cheers


Yeloya


Cheers


Yeloya