Bavaria 390 Lagoon 1994 - your sailing experiences please

[jwdorst]

Hi all,

We're looking at a 1994 Bavaria 390 Lagoon with furling mainsail. Love everything about it. We believe it fits our bill nicely.

However, we have not been able to sail with it for anything more than a short test drive. And they're not available for hire (although perhaps we should ask the seller to let us have it/hire it for a couple of days).

Would anyone care to comment, from own experience, on the under water hull shape of this boat and the way it behaves on the water? In particular its propensity to slam in short steep seas resulting from a fairly flat hull shape at the front?

All comments appreciated.

Thanks,
JW

 

[photodog]

Ask for a test sail! Maybe make a offer conditional upon a satisfactory survey and test sail??

My experience of mid-late 90's bavarias of that size is that they are steady solid machines, with a reassuring feel versus flighty.... I had a 38 from about that era out for a week or so and I did not find any real vices... certainly not given to excess slaming...

 

[jwdorst]

Thanks for your comments PhotoDog. Problem with test sail is that the conditions I would like to test the boat in occur infrequently. Plus the boat in question is moored about a days sail from open water to start with.

So, I'm counting on input from forumites!

JW

 

[Tranona]

You may get a response from Tigawave on this forum, who always says complimentary things about his Bavaria 390.

These boats have a good reputation (as do most Bavarias). As to your specific question about slamming, it will obviously slam more than a traditional spoon shaped bow and V sections forward, but I guess no more nor less than many other boats of the same shape. In my experience with my slightly later Bavaria, you just try to avoid the situation by not driving head to seas, but always try and keep the waves on one side or the other.

I think you will find for a cruising boat it will be very comfortable. The furling mainsail, although losing out a bit in overall sail area allows you to trim the sail both in size and shape (with the clew outhaul) very effectively to suit conditions.

Good luck with your purchase and I am sure you won't be disappointed.

 

[BoyBlue49]

In particular its propensity to slam in short steep seas resulting from a fairly flat hull shape at the front
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Many modern AWB's have a tendancy to slam when going directly into a sea, just head off a little.
Bavarias sail well, are well constructed and give the owner many years of sailing pleasure, if the boat has been looked after you should have no worries.
They are one of the few boats reinforced with Kevlar in the bow section.
Good Luck.