Bavaria 46 advice

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tonyliv

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I like the 8 berth internal layout of this boat and am thinking about buying one as a coastal cruiser. I would be grateful to hear from any owners or anyone who has chartered on their experiences or views. No old chestnuts about Bavaria please; the analogy with "Skoda or Ford Focus" v other boat "Mercedes" has been well documented. Volkswagon own Skoda and as I understand it, most people who can't afford Mercedes get by happily with their reliable Ford. I would also like to hear if any owners have adapted the boat into e.g. a cutter for more deep water cruising. Any takers?
 
I bought a new Bav46 last February and am delighted with it. The boat is very well equipped (from the factory) and of course I added my own electronics in the form of plotters, radar, VHF etc. We cruised it last summer for about seven weeks and I can't honestly say that we had any serious complaints. The boat is as well finished if not better than any of its contemporaries and is the best value on the market by a country mile.
 
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yeah, from the forum it seems they are such good value that tonyliv is gonna buy two of them! Flash git :-)

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Three - you've clearly missed the one in PBO /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif
 
Is a little small for coastal cruising, especially in the Solent Sea. A very sensible choice of boat for one of the most tidal Islands in the world. I am looking at the 67ft version, it draws 11 ft which is perfect for the UK.
 
those could easily be new ex vat, not sure, but i thought them shockingly cheap yet all v nice inside.

There again the ones in the boat shows are usually offered very cheap on account of the very very short masts. perhaps it's those?
 
SIBS prices as follows;

Boat 107,489
Delivery UK 5,493
Commissioning 2,500
VAT 20,209
Tot 135,691

To this needs to be added safety/nav/comfort gear, say £20k.

Bingo, total around the £155k mark.
 
Apparently good value, but very, very, plastic. Look very closely at lockers, hatches, etc, and all the plumbing and wiring. Ask a couple of surveyors what they think.

I sailed one for a few days in pretty brisk conditions and it was OK but not stunning.

I would very definitely buy a secondhand boat of much better quality, and get all the safety kit thrown in (which happens if you get a good deal on a well-equipped used boat). I wouldn't buy a Bavaria.

For that money, you'll get a youngish boat by a very much better manufacturer, and you won't be locked into whatever happens in the medium term with used Bav values.
 
I can't agree with you Oen. The Bavaria is anything but plastic, have you not noticed the amount of wood used in the fitout? Other cruising boats of its type have a lot more plastic moulding to save on cost. The joinery is excellent and every locker and door works perfectly. All the hatches work well, they do not leak, and they open and close easily. These boats are very thoroughly finished.

Be specific regarding the wiring and plumbing. This is the fourth cruising boat that I have owned and I have never had anything like this standard. (My last boat was a Dufour.) I have been completely through the boat and did some of my own fitout. I have compared the wiring and plumbing to its contemporaries and can’t see an appreciable difference. I have not had an ounce of bother from the plumbing or wiring nor does it look as if I will.

We had the boat in boat in winds up to 40 knots and she handled just fine. She can make 8-9 knots under full sail and handles as well as any cruising boat. I also have a racing boat so I'm conscious of the feel and performance of both.

A friend charterer had a Bavaria partially wrecked last summer in France through a navigational blunder. His comment to me was that most other boats he has in his fleet would not have put up with the hardship of the wrecking. They would have been in small pieces on the bottom. This boat was recovered without having sunk, repaired and is now back in commission. He was seriously impressed with the basic strength of the build.

When you come to the point of buying a new or second hand boat the decision is personal. Its a little like buying a new house or car - some people like to take the bigger step.

Resale value - in a lifetime of owning and sailing many, many boats I can't say that I have lost money of any consequence when the time came to part company. Usually one makes a little on the purchase price but has a lot of fun in the interim.

All the indications are that a privately owned Bavaria which is properly cared for and fitted out will hold its value as well as any other boat of its type.
 
I can't agree with you Oen. The Bavaria is anything but plastic, have you not noticed the amount of wood used in the fitout? Other cruising boats of its type have a lot more plastic moulding to save on cost. The joinery is excellent and every locker and door works perfectly. All the hatches work well, they do not leak, and they open and close easily. These boats are very thoroughly finished.

Be specific regarding the wiring and plumbing. This is the fourth cruising boat that I have owned and I have never had anything like this standard. My last boat was a Dufour. I have been completely through the boat and did some of my own fitout. I have compared the wiring and plumbing to its contemporaries and can’t see an appreciable difference. I have not had an ounce of bother from the plumbing or wiring nor does it look as if I will.
We had the boat in boat in winds up to 40 knots and she handled just fine. She can make 8-9 knots under full sail and handles as well as any cruising boat. I also have a racing boat so I'm conscious of the feel and performance of both.
A friend charterer had a Bavaria partially wrecked last summer in France through a navigational blunder. His comment to me was that most other boats he has in his fleet would not have put up with the hardship of the wrecking. They would have been in small pieces on the bottom. This boat was recovered without having sunk, repaired and is now back in commission. He was seriously impressed with the basic strength of the build.
When you come to the point of buying a new or second hand boat the decision is personal. Its a little like buying a new house or car - some people like to take the bigger step.
Resale value - in a lifetime of owning and sailing many, many boats I can't say that I have lost money of any consequence when the time came to part company. Usually one makes a little on the purchase price but has a lot of fun in the interim.
All the indications are that a privately owned Bavaria which is properly cared for and fitted out will hold its value as well as any other boat of its type.
 
Thanks to everyone for the (sometimes conflicting) advice! I'd like a boat able to cruise the Med in the Summer, and return for Coastal/Ireland cruising. I'm not too bothered about keel depth, as I thought I could anchor and use an inflatable to get in to shallow harbours, although I'd appreciate any views on this subject.

Sailors more experienced than me sometimes take their boats to the Carribean, and they have to be rigged accordingly; I was interested if anyone had made any such alterations to this boat's basic spec for serious long term cruising - inner forestay for a storm sail, how it feels with a fully battened mainsail, any adaptations to rudder, anchors etc.

Cheers
Tonyliv
 
If you've set your heart on a mid-40s size boat then so be it.

BUT if you are still open-minded and don't have a family the size of an army then think on. I used to be of the opinion that I wanted the biggest boat I could afford to do all my sailing. That's natural right? After all, bigger is better isn't it? But I've since changed philosophy to owning the smallest boat I can get away with for doing what I want to do. Within reason of course. That doesn't mean breaking records for being a contortionist but taking a good hard look at whether upgrading in length really gives you much more. Earlier this year I came VERY close to swapping out my 35 ft coastal cruiser (a kiwi design but akin to a Bav 36 if you really want an idea) for a 46 ft offshore centre cockpit ketch. It wasn't money that stopped me but purely realisation that other than giving me an extra 11 ft length, for my predicted usage in the next couple of years it really wouldn't open any new doors to me.

OK, when I do finally sail away from NZ and head off up to the islands I will make the jump from 35 ft to 45-ish, mostly for reasons opf liveaboard space and storage capacity for a family of 5. But for what I do today (the odd couple of weeks coastal cruising here and there) I find my 6 berth 35 footer (1.8m draft) is more than sufficient and doesn't warrant replacement just for the sake of going bigger.
 
I've a Bav40 and, prior to my transat, spoke to some folk about fitting a second forestay. Although not impossible, it was actually quite complex in terms of sub deck stregthening, given the forces involved. I was quoted about £2K (if I remember rightly) so opted instead for relying on the double foil on the headsail for the trades and the third reef on the mainsail for stronger winds. although I had no reason to use it on the trip, I would have preferred to have had an additional track fitted on the mast for a tri-sail.
 
We keep our Bav46 in the Med. When we bought we took the fully battened mainsail option with lazyjacks. We decided against the in-mast furling offered with a vertical battened main. The fully battened main performs well and keeps a lovely shape, it stows easily and is simple to reef using the single line reefing system.
We also took the larger engine option of 75hp and bow thruster for marina manoeuvring (its a lotta boat to manage without it).

I decided against a cutter rig, a friend fitted it on his Bav42 but he rarely uses it.

The anchor supplied is a CQR lookalike and is not good on the Med hard bottom. We added a German Bugel anchor and are very happy with it.

We took the deeper/heavier keel option for stability, it makes the boat very stiff - SWMBO prefers it.

Why don't you join the Bavaria Owners Association (http://www.bavariaowners.co.uk) for stg£15. They have a very good website and there is lots of good advice to be had on it.
 
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