BAVARIA 34

[Quinton Nelson]

Question
I have come across an early (2001) bavaria 34 that appears to have either had a grounding or more likely an early owner had discoverd a weakness in the hull allowing the keel to move or maybe a bit of both.
The boat has had grp reinforcing done apparently in early life which has sufficed up to now, as the boat has a new owner. The boat is now being hauled out on a trailer with its full weight on the keel and the hull is distorted upwards at the aft end of the keel quite noticably where an internal box frame has cracked and the front end of the keel joint has opened , Have any owners come across this in early boats. There has been all sorts of chat on them being weak, not to be resting on the keel alone and if so, what is the remedy. thanks

 

[Tranona]

Question
I have come across an early (2001) bavaria 34 that appears to have either had a grounding or more likely an early owner had discoverd a weakness in the hull allowing the keel to move or maybe a bit of both.
The boat has had grp reinforcing done apparently in early life which has sufficed up to now, as the boat has a new owner. The boat is now being hauled out on a trailer with its full weight on the keel and the hull is distorted upwards at the aft end of the keel quite noticably where an internal box frame has cracked and the front end of the keel joint has opened , Have any owners come across this in early boats. There has been all sorts of chat on them being weak, not to be resting on the keel alone and if so, what is the remedy. thanks

Welcome.

Little to do with the age of the boat and more to do with the grounding and bad handling by taking the weight of the keel.

Yes, what you see is typical of damage from heavy grounding or dropping or resting on the keel - not just off Bavarias but on many boats that have this type of construction. The grid is designed to absorb the forces of grounding.

As to the remedy, that depends on the extent of the damage and whether the front of the keel can be resealed. The keel was originally glued to the hull as well as bolted so resealing without removal is a challenge. The boat will have to be supported in a way that allows the hull to revert to its natural state before the internal grid is repaired. This is however just a general picture of typical repairs and the owner really needs a surveyor or a competent repair yard to look at it.

 

[doug748]

You may have seen but there are a couple of YouTube videos showing sort of work required:

This one ongoing:

If you are thinking of acquiring the boat, the price can't be too fancy, you may want to pay less than the scrap value.

I don't know how strong the initial build was and some of the more lurid stuff may be the usual web fluff but mending this type or rather feeble construction will be a lot of work and expensive.

.

 

[Tranona]

While that example is similar there is much more information available that is specific to Bavarias. Googling Bavaria keel repairs will bring up several sources. This one for example covers most of the basics Keel damage; What to do? For a yard with the right equipment it is not a difficult job. The biggest challenge is usually removing the keel as it is attached using an adhesive sealant. Unlike the example above there is usually no need to remove any of the internal furniture, although in severe cases there may be damage to the glassed in ply bulkheads around the rear end of the keel grid. There is a good service bulletin from Bavaria on how to re-attach the keel.