Bavaria 39 keel problems

One of the things that put me off Arcona boats was that it was built around a galvanised steel frame.

"Built to order in Sweden, each yacht is handcrafted to the highest standards. A galvanised steel frame bolted to the main bulkheads, takes all the dynamic loads from the keel and rig, distributing them to the hull."
 
but to others - and clearly the designers/builders it is considered a benefit. Otherwise they would not use it and make a big thing about it. They are not the only builders using this method which is designed to take the loads away from the hull structure, which as is known with some designs to create other problems.

Suppose the question is what will the boats look like in 30 years time. Will the frame still be sound and doing its job?
 
A galvanised frame could last for many years but....

It is common for hot-dip galvanized steel to perform flawlessly in harsh water environments such as seawater for eight to 12 years.

I accept the frame isn't going to be immersed in Seawater and the chart at the following site suggests a minimum of 20 years.
http://galvanizeit.org/about-hot-di...phere/service-life-time-to-first-maintenance/

However, as is often the case the facts won't matter so much as expectations and peoples perceptions.
If peoples expectation is that at 20 years it requires maintenance then an Arcona at 15 years of age could suffer severe depreciation. It would only take one case of an Arcona with a badly corroded frame to severely dent the boats reputation. The cause of the corrosion would be lost. i.e. boat could have been severely damaged earlier in its life and suffered a constant leak that ate away at the frame. Much in the same way Bavarias are knocked for keels falling off.
 
Maybe someone has mentioned in the later pages but if not , there is a Bavaria users forum (free to use) with 39 owners listed.
 
My doors are 40mm thick solid ply. Weigh a ton! I would need a battering ram to get through these. But my boat was built in 1980 when boats were made of solid stuff. There must be 2 tons of solid teak down below!
 
Boats these days seem to be manufactured using flat pack techniques, hardly a patch on a more robust approach of yesteryear. Alas! Cutting corners can go too far, as is clearly demonstrated.
 
tchin tchin said:
Boats these days seem to be manufactured using flat pack techniques, hardly a patch on a more robust approach of yesteryear. Alas! Cutting corners can go too far, as is clearly demonstrated.
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If your boat is such a POS why did you buy it?
 
tchin tchin said:
Ignorance
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Well let me educate you a bit then....

Most fin keel boats will flex a bit when being lifted...and when settling on their keel. Mine does, and has done since we bought it eight years ago.

It's a rare boat indeed that doesn't get any water into the bilge. Mine does. Always has...

Most new boats, never mind if you spend 80k or 800k, Will come with some snags. I have had a table on a almost new Élan 333 fall apart after I leant on it, On our £135k boat we bought in 99 we had a list of snags as long as my right arm.... from electrical issues, engine control problems, canvas issues... You name it. This was not a Bavaria BTW....

Your boat is far far removed from the Match that had a problem... Many boats have lost their keels... More still their rudders... and in reality Keel loss is not a problem on Bavarias.

It's not something which I even remotley worry about, despite the flexing, despite the water in the bilge.... Despite the Match.

you bought a nice boat.. Get the door fixed and go out and use it and enjoy it.

If you get all warped about normal stuff you are NEVER going to enjoy a boat, cause they all do things like that.

And if you come on a public forum and start on about how **** your boat is, without understanding if you actually have a proper issue, Then all thats gonna happen is you will end up selling it for a lot less than you bought it for to someone who will know better and will go out and enjoy themselves.
 
Re hull flexing, my Westerly Fulmar had such a ridiculous arrangement of floors that the first time I put it's weight on the keel the bottom flexed so badly the floors broke.I then had the boat suspended on the slings for about two weeks while I built a decent web of frames on the bottom using epoxy and rovings over wooden formers.Even so and despite the bottom laminate being extremely thick there's still flexure.The bottom is so flat in the way of the keel that it would be very difficult for me to completely eliminate flexing.
 
Thanks for the "heads up" , as it where, no pun intended. Quite refreshing. A little bit of frankness don't do any harm...

Just to get things into perspective, I spotted that someone had experienced an issue with a fin keel on a Bavaria boat, same as myself, apparently. Surveyor has been inspecting the boat today, I haven't got the result back yet but I'm hoping that it's all just a little hill of beanz.

Whilst I recognize that there are issues with the boat, it does actually sail extremely well, has some really nice features and is quite attractive, so much so that it garners a lot of positive comments from the sailing community in my area.

Just a shame that stupid little silly things let the build quality down. I'm sure it'll all get resolved in the end though.

The boat ain't on the re-sale market...

Cheers! And thanks for the comments.
 
tchin tchin said:
I get the impression that there was a satisfactory conclusion to all the snagging, albeit after several months.
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If you're referring to us, then yes. The Jeanneau importer was responsive and resolved all issues adequately. I don't know how much of that was down to him expecting to sell us the next upgrade. As it worked out, we went to Beneteau - not particularly because we believed them to be significantly better than Jeanneau - they simply had the design we wanted.
 
Keel Issue Resolved

Update on keel issue on new Bavaria 32 Avantgarde: It was determined by the surveyor to be a cosmetic problem insofar as the joint surrounding the keel at the juncture with the hull was originally a hard compound material which had cracked causing water ingress to the area, no explanation for the cracking being offered. The old material was removed and the oxidation treated before being sealed with a more flexible compound. The keel bolts were also checked and found to be in perfect order and that any water that was discovered which surrounded them was determined to be in keeping with normal bilge behaviour. So, panic over! Thanks to everyone for their interest and contributions, much appreciated.
 
Was your boat was shipped overland with the keel detached for delivery in the U.K.? - if so it's probably the comissioning company who used the wrong compound. Either way, glad to hear you got it sorted out. I think it's part of owning a boat to worry about every problem and expect the worst - I walked away from a couple of boats when I first went looking, only to find out later that they're all like that or that the problem was a maintenance issue that could easily be rectified.

Enjoy the summer!
 
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They come with the keels attached from the factory - big thing in the Bavaria promotional video showing the laser driven jig that is used to align the keel. The ones that went without keels were too tall on the truck to clear bridges to the location where they were launched. No such problem for a 32 coming to UK.
 
Tranona said:
They come with the keels attached from the factory - big thing in the Bavaria promotional video showing the laser driven jig that is used to align the keel. The ones that went without keels were too tall on the truck to clear bridges to the location where they were launched. No such problem for a 32 coming to UK.
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I once had to refit the keel on an Eygthene 24 that had lost the keel and a fair portion of the bottom in a grounding.I did it by eye and it tracked perfectly.
 
Re: Keel Issue Resolved

tchin tchin said:
Update on keel issue on new Bavaria 32 Avantgarde: It was determined by the surveyor to be a cosmetic problem insofar as the joint surrounding the keel at the juncture with the hull was originally a hard compound material which had cracked causing water ingress to the area, no explanation for the cracking being offered. The old material was removed and the oxidation treated before being sealed with a more flexible compound. The keel bolts were also checked and found to be in perfect order and that any water that was discovered which surrounded them was determined to be in keeping with normal bilge behavior. So, panic over! Thanks to everyone for their interest and contributions, much appreciated.
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Comment removed............

Blinky
 
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Re: Keel Issue Resolved

Some years ago now. 2008. My 4 year old Bavaria 44 had a loose keel. We discovered that the hull had delaminated around the keel. Repairs cost about £7,000 at that time. Bavaria ignored my emails and as I was selling I paid for the repairs myself. You need a good surveyor to specify and inspect repairs.
 
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