Anyone got a Bavaria 38 or 39 or similar fitted with a 29hp engine?

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asteven221

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Hi folks.

We are looking buying such a thing and 29hp strikes me as being a bit underpowered for a near 40 footer. Fine for a nice flat calm day but how does it cope in a bit of a chop?

If anyone has similar setup I would appreciate your comments.

Thanks.
 
Having sailed a lot with a 3GM on a Lightwave 395, it's fine generally, provided it's working as it should, the prop is correct and the hull is not badly fouled.
Motoring into a gale was not great, better to use the sails.
But if you lean towards the faction of cruising sailors who motor everywhere they can't get to without tacking, then maybe you will be happier with a bigger engine.
 
Sounds rather light as they fitted the 29 hp as an upgrade to the 2001 34 Bav . We had the 19 hp as standard fit but if I was buying now would try to get the larger engine . I don't know the hourly rate for fuel a 29hp but you might want to consider the marginal higher fuel rate . Clearly a lot also turns on prop but I would have thought a 40hp might be more suitable. It's certainly enough for our 41 Moody but if you look at current Bavs they seem higher than this. I am sure much more learned views though on Bav owners website though on extra grunt of larger unit.
 
That engine (2030) was quite normal in the late 90s and early 2000s 38 and 40, although the 2040 was an option on some models. I had a 37 from that era and the 2030 was more than adequate. From memory the larger, heavier boats had 3 blade props compared with the 2 blade on mine.

Should be no problem getting up to hull speed and cruising comfortably at around 2500rpm. would probably benefit from having a good 3 blade folding or feathering propeller.

The latest 37 which has a displacement somewhere between the old 38 and 40 has a 30hp engine.

Engine size would not be a deal breaker for me - much more important to look at overall condition.
 
I have no problems with the Volvo D1-30 on my similar sized Hanse 385. I have a Gori 2 blade folding prop and at max revs (2,900rpm) I get 7.8kts on flat water. At 2,200rpm on flat water I get 6.5kts.

Having said that, I do all that I can to minimise engine use and would rather stay in port than set out on a passage with insufficient wind. I have 280 engine hours with 5,000nm logged and over that time I have averaged 1.8l/hour.
 
We used to have a Bavaria 38 which had a Volvo D2-55 fitted, personally I found it to much power for the boat, if you went over 2,000 rpm the stern would dig in and it delivered no more speed. Friends who had the 40hp engine seemed much happier
Our current boat, a Bavaria 33, has the D1-30, 29 HP. Much happier with this combination, seems about right. I suspect the same engine on a Bavaria 39 may be a little under powered, but a test motor may be the best way to tell
 
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I have a Moody of 38ft, rather heavier than a Bav, powered until recently by an old 30hp engine. Giving 6.4kts in calm conditions (with a clean hull) it never felt seriously under-powered though with a new 35hp engine I can now do 7.2kts.

I'm not convinced by the argument that one needs a more powerful engine so as to be able to drive directly into a full gale. My 30hp engine was quite up to this in sheltered water, still making good between 4 and 5 knots. In open sea, waves make forward motion all but impossible, and unbearably uncomfortable. The normal strategy then, for maximum progress to windward, is to 'tack' as one would under sail. A storm jib or triple-reefed mainsail can be used at the same time, and will help steady the boat. It's not a situation one expects to be in often, but the 30hp engine did do this on a few occasions.
 
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I would say that it will be fine, unless you intend spending your life pushing into 30kt winds and 6kt tides.

My old 36ft Bene had a 19hp engine and that was perfectly acceptable.
 
Quite a surprise that some of our learned members gee people up to put unnecessarily large replacement engines into small boats and yet now we hear that 29hp is fine on a 10 ton boat.

In fact I agree, unless you have particular requirements in terms of generating capacity or prolonged coastal trips in rude conditions, then you should be fine. In most circumstances engines are a poor substitute for sail for anything except getting into port.
 
doug748 said:
Quite a surprise that some of our learned members gee people up to put unnecessarily large replacement engines into small boats and yet now we hear that 29hp is fine on a 10 ton boat.

In fact I agree, unless you have particular requirements in terms of generating capacity or prolonged coastal trips in rude conditions, then you should be fine. In most circumstances engines are a poor substitute for sail for anything except getting into port.
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I would expect a Bav 38 to be under 8 tonnes fully loaded?
A lot of people are very happy having a bigger engine, they enjoy quieter cruising at low rpm knowing they have plenty of power in reserve.
I'm not going to tell them they are wrong, because it seems to work well for a lot of people.
Personally I would prefer to prioritise good performance under sail, including a nice large chute or two.
Sailing is a broad church.

As a side issue, a smaller engine is more sensitive to having a poor choice of prop, or falling off of performance due to e.g. exhaust elbow clogging.
That's going to be less of a worry if you have a few spare HP.

Buying any used boat, you have to look at the whole package and make compromises.
 
We have a Bav 350 with a 3gm30 engine which seems about right. One problem with having too big an engine is not using it hard enough. this can result in coked up exhaust systems and glazed bores. Diesels like to be run fairly hard to stay efficient. There have been many posts about blocked exhaust bends recently.
Previously we had a Hanse 301 which had a 10 hp Volvo in it, many people said that it would be underpowered but it ran faultlessly whilst we had it, easily pushing the boat along at 6 1/2 knots as long as the underside and the prop were kept clean. Yes it wasn't great pushing into a head sea but with even with more power it would have been most unpleasant. So we didn't. We found it better to just use the motor to get us in and out of port and to get somewhere on a windless day.
 
Bavaria 37 with a VP D1-30 here, seems perfectly adequate - with the standard VP 3 blade folding prop.
 
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lw395 said:
I would expect a Bav 38 to be under 8 tonnes fully loaded?
A lot of people are very happy having a bigger engine, they enjoy quieter cruising at low rpm knowing they have plenty of power in reserve.
I'm not going to tell them they are wrong, because it seems to work well for a lot of people.
Personally I would prefer to prioritise good performance under sail, including a nice large chute or two.
Sailing is a broad church.

As a side issue, a smaller engine is more sensitive to having a poor choice of prop, or falling off of performance due to e.g. exhaust elbow clogging.
That's going to be less of a worry if you have a few spare HP.

Buying any used boat, you have to look at the whole package and make compromises.
Click to expand...

The design displacement of the Bavarias in question is between 7500-7900kgs, so in cruising trim 9 tonnes+ would be typical. Displacement is arguably a much better determinant than model size when it comes to engine power. For example the 37 I had displaced 5700kgs and the 30hp engine was more than enough. Cruised comfortably at 2400rpm. The new 33 I have displaces almost the same at 5500kgs and I chose the optional 30hp which allows cruising at lower rpm. The latest 37 displaces the same as the old 40 and also has a 30hp.

One of the constraints for Volvo engined boats is the limitation of the range with 10hp increments. So going from 20 to 30hp is a 50% increase in power. A 25hp engine would probably be more appropriate for my 33. However there is no problem with underloading the engine if you have the correct prop.

The temptation with the larger engines is to run at higher speeds. So, you could cruise at 6 knots instead of 5.5 at the same rpm and burn more fuel, or run at lower rpm to achieve the same speed.
 
I've got a 2000 Bavaria 38 with a Volvo 2030. It's fine for the boat, moving it at 6 knots or so at just over 1900 rpm. That's with a Brunton Autoprop fitted: with the original Volvo two bladed egg whisk it needs a lot more revs to keep moving at the same speed. The boat is fitted out for liveaboard use so it probably weighs in at close to 8.5 tonnes. As Tranona says, I'd be looking closely at the condition of the boat rather than the engine size. The smaller engine is adequate but it'd be a bonus if the boat had a 40hp engine fitted.
 
We have a Bav 39 fitted with the 40hp engine. It’s fine in most conditions but underpowered motoring into strong wind and waves- that’s partly the hull shape!
We have friends with a Bav 36 fitted with a 19hp engine which is woefully inadequate.
Personally I wouldn’t to go less than 40hp on a B38/39.
 
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