Bavaria 34, The ideal starter yacht according to YM

johnalison said:
A used Bav 34 is surely the kind of boat that many people will be thinking of for their first cruising yacht. Even the cost is not going to be very different from the £2400 that I paid for a new 22' Westerly Cirrus in 1971. The arguments for and against starting with a much smaller boat are complex, and my own opinions are bound to be coloured by my envy of a later generation, but I suppose we can be thankful that cost is no longer a factor keeping anyone off the water - if they are keen enough.
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Hmmmmm. Just paid £2400 for my (not very posh) marina berth for my 28 footer. So probably not the capital cost that is the issue. Its the running costs. I am in the Forth so if I was on a tidal mooring would never use the thing.
 
Whatever happened to the old adage that the fun you have in a boat is inversely proportional to its size?
 
Kelpie said:
Whatever happened to the old adage that the fun you have in a boat is inversely proportional to its size?
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Often used as a put down for those who choose to buy larger boats. The reality is that you can have "fun" at all sorts of levels and none are intrinsically superior to others.
 
roblpm said:
Hmmmmm. Just paid £2400 for my (not very posh) marina berth for my 28 footer. So probably not the capital cost that is the issue. Its the running costs. I am in the Forth so if I was on a tidal mooring would never use the thing.
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A fair point.

Any middle class'ish family can now afford to buy a boat up to 45foot, running it is another matter. It is now possible for a handy person to have a workable 30 foot boat for little more than the annual cost of a South Coast marina berth. I think this may well spell further changes in the market.

I can certainly see, the way prices are going, that in the future larger used boats will be as cheap or cheaper than smaller ones. There is little that a 38 foot boat can do that the smaller one can't, in a handier, more affordable, package.
That Bavaria may be a better long term bet than something approaching 40ft, a type which will be flooding the brokers in future years.
 
awol said:
Is that the Bavaria that came a poor second to a Contessa 32 in a YM comparison test a couple of years ago? LTBTARI
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I am not particularly a Bavaria fan, but I would think that for the vast majority of people a used Bav 34 of the generation tested is vastly preferable as a "starter boat" than a Contessa 32. Indeed pretty decent boat for most coastal cruisers.
So the YM conclusion seems pretty sound to my mind
 
dunedin said:
I am not particularly a Bavaria fan, but I would think that for the vast majority of people a used Bav 34 of the generation tested is vastly preferable as a "starter boat" than a Contessa 32.
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...and another 1,000,000,000 post thread is born :D
 
doug748 said:
I can certainly see, the way prices are going, that in the future larger used boats will be as cheap or cheaper than smaller ones. There is little that a 38 foot boat can do that the smaller one can't, in a handier, more affordable, package.
That Bavaria may be a better long term bet than something approaching 40ft, a type which will be flooding the brokers in future years.
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It is a matter of personal preferences but I tend to agree with you - and have put my money where my thoughts are.
I prefer a high spec / high performance medium sized car (fully loaded big engined BMW 3 series etc) to a bigger and cheaper car. That's why things like the old Ford Granada / Scorpio and Vauxhall Senator have died a death.
Similarly for coastal cruising two up I think 36-38 feet is a sweet spot, and we avoided the hordes of much cheaper bigger Bav / Ben / Jan's in the 42+ size bracket which were available. Not saying they are not great value boats, just some of us prefer to invest in things other than size. And in many small harbours / anchorages, excess length, beam or indeed depth over 2.0m are a liability.
 
dunedin said:
I am not particularly a Bavaria fan, but I would think that for the vast majority of people a used Bav 34 of the generation tested is vastly preferable as a "starter boat" than a Contessa 32. Indeed pretty decent boat for most coastal cruisers.
So the YM conclusion seems pretty sound to my mind
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[confused] IIRC the YM conclusion was that the CO32 beat the Bav hands down in all categories except the minor matter of toilet privacy[/confused]
 
awol said:
[confused] IIRC the YM conclusion was that the CO32 beat the Bav hands down in all categories except the minor matter of toilet privacy[/confused]
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Still bringing up that old chestnut. that article was years ago when a senior staff member did indeed own a CO 32 and no one of the staff have ever owned a modern boat - the current editor owns an even more ancient design. Biased or what?

The reality is that the world (and boat owners) have moved on and boats like your beloved CO 32 are now a minority interest. They were the best available in their day - you just had to look at the alternatives at the time to see why they were so attractive. However only 800 or so were ever made - not many more than Bavaria 34s made in one year. Now as you can see from the prices and difficulty of finding buyers there are no longer even 800 who are prepared to actually own one of those outdated boats.

Nostalgia will forever give them a place in peoples' minds, but only while the oldies are still with us. In ten or twenty years' time nobody will have direct memories of them in their heyday and they will slip into history along with Bullnose Morris and AEC RT London buses.
 
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awol said:
[confused] IIRC the YM conclusion was that the CO32 beat the Bav hands down in all categories except the minor matter of toilet privacy[/confused]
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I don't know the particular model of Bav involved, but it must be a dog in that case.
The Co32 is really quite a slow boat, we had to give them significant time when we had an Impala 28.
The Contessa is a nice enough boat to sail 2 up and it's looks, although not my taste, tend to set it apart from the AWBs. Which is worth something to some people.

It's like comparing a Renault Espace with a Triumph Spitfire.
The spitfire looks better is more fun, until you're the third passenger on longish trip....
 
dunedin said:
I prefer a high spec / high performance medium sized car (fully loaded big engined BMW 3 series etc) to a bigger and cheaper car. That's why things like the old Ford Granada / Scorpio and Vauxhall Senator have died a death.
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Interestingly, the current Mondeo is longer, wider and higher than the old Scorpio. Cars have changed.
 
Can we have a moratorium on car similes?

If I hear another - "It's like having a four wheel drive and a......."

- my scrotum will explode.
 
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awol said:
He is obviously not qualified to comment. He thinks a Sadler 32 is pretty!
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Ah, obviously part of the conspiracy to blacken the name of our Teutonic chums.

Simile or Metaphor, any mention of motor cars should be henceforth reportable for moderation and a month fitting out.
 
To anyone who doesn't think that a 10-15 year old 34 footer is not a typical "starter boat" (i.e. first family cruiser).

What planet are you living on?
 
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