Any opinions on a Legend 356 and Bav 36

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Dyak

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I'm looking at upgrading to a slightly larger cruising yacht from my current cruiser racer. I'm looking at either the Legend 356 or the Bav 36. They are very similar in price and the build quality of the Legend looks far better.
I'd be grateful of any comments and opinions on good or bad experiences of both yachts.
PS. Anyone want to buy a Beneteau First 310S?
 
You have probably given all the Bavaria haters a great opportunity to jump in! I assume you are talking of second hand boats as the Bav 36 has been replaced with the 37. Second hand the choice will probably depend on condition, level of equipment and price. You will need to have a sea trial to see how well each boat sails, but I suspect that the Bavaria 36 will out-sail the Legend. IMHO the Bavaria has deck fittings of about the minimum sizes, and the standard engine was 19hp with 29hp as an option, so it might be worth looking for a boat that was supplied with the latter. The coach-roof winches particularly struck me as being on the small side, and a boat with the optional spinnaker winches would be desirable as they are expensive items to add. Bavarias were cheap if you just looked at the list price, but Opal had a pretty long list of optional extras, so in general you need to look for a well specified boat, with things like a hot water system, fridge, electric anchor windlass, amid-ship cleats, and some extra instruments.
 
I've no intention of starting the Bavaria discussion again. My opinion is that they are suitable AWB's for what you pay for and don't have any concerns on the keel issues, however I agree that the deck hardware is under spec'd compared to the Legend. Apart from that both boats are pretty similar on their spec.
I should have been more specific in my post and asked for any idiosyncraties (?) in their sailing ability considering the Legends lack of backstay and what appears to be a dissproportionate amount of prebend and rig tension (far too much on both). However the interior fit out appears far better on the legend and as the boats I'm looking at are 2002 and 2003 respectively I'm also looking for comments on the interior to stand wear and tear.
 
I have a 2002 Bav 36 and am very pleased with it. Strangely enough the keel has not fallen off, the interior has not broken up and the deck gear is perfectly adequate for what I require of it. I really do not understand what people are on about when they say the deck gear is "undersized". It is a great boat and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to anyone who wants my type of sailing (i.e. South coast, cross channel etc). If I was in the market I would certainly buy another Bav. The only thing I would do differently next time is buy the 29hp engine; the 19hp is perfectly adequate but the 29 would give a little extra grunt.
 
Legends, even with deepest reef, tend to develop unmanageable weather helm when broad-reaching in winds of F7 or above. The biggest single factor seems to be that the aft shrouds are so far aft that the sail has to be strapped in far too tightly. Whatever one's criticisms of the Bavaria may be, they arre at least boats that can be sailed on any point of sailing in any reasonable wind without losing control.
 
I've no idea what model of Leg End it was I sailed on the Clyde once, but I was miffed that it wouldn't go upwind convincingly. The triangulated rig prevented us from getting the genoa luff to stand up straight, and so we were sailing a quite a broad angle to the headwind. A proper adjustable backstay or good runners would have been nice. It was very comfortable down below though.
 
Your reply and the posts below it appear to back my view that the Bavaria 36 will sail better than the Legend. I think that too much was made of the keel incident with one of the match series boats. For coastal sailing and short sea passages the Bavaria is a perfectly adequate boat, but the comments I made on deck gear are made by reason of direct comparison with other boats of similar size, at various boat shows, when I was seriously considering buying a new boat of that size. I also received a reprint boat test from Opal, which made good comments on sailing ability, but commented specifically that the cleats were at the smallest end of the expected size range. Your comment on the engine bears out my own experience of the same 19hp Volvo in a smaller and lighter Jeanneau 35. It was adequate for manoeuvring the boat, though somewhat rough running, but where you really need a good engine is the day you have to run for shelter against a rising gale and a choppy sea. Under such conditions the 29hp engine would definitely be preferable.
 
I have a 2004 Bavaria 36 and there is nothing wrong with the cleats. If you want to bob about in comfort, buy the Legend, if yo want to sail buy the Bavaria. Quite frankly, I can find nothing wrong with the interior of the Bavaria at all, the accommodation is generous and really well thought out, In fact the Bavaria has been well thought out all round, the cockpit lockers are large, tons of cupboards etc. Take a look at the tops of the stantions on a Bavaria and you will see that they have rounded them off so that the Genoa will not foul them, it is a small detail but they are a better design than most boats. I have no problems with the winches they are all adequate.

Comments:-

The standard plough anchor is 17kgs with 50m of 8mm chain (is the heavy enough?)

The furling line comes threaded through a channel at the bottom of the stantions, change this and install some blocks as the friction is too high.

Fit a cleat to tie off the furling line, the standard jammer is a poor choice and I have had mine let go under load.

Overall we are very pleased with our boat and it is really well specified and good value for money. I have a proper main with lazy jacks and the sail shape is excellent and it is very easy to put the sail away, personally I would not buy one with an in-mast main.
 
As others have said when buying secondhand the condition and list of extras is an important factor.

To broaden available choice I would also include Dufour and Jeanneau of similar size.
 
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