Beneteau v Bavaria---advice please

Endorse the Bavaria recommendation. Not so sure the difference is £30k between a new Bav 38 and a Beneteau 37 when you spec them up to the same level. Last time I did this exercise it was less than £10k.

My 7 year old 37 has stood up to full time chartering very well, but so do Beneteaus so the difference is more to do with style than substance. Personally I prefer the more "boaty" wood finish of the Bavaria to the IKEA style that all the other builders tend towards. The gear is all much the same as is the sailing performance.

Having just looked at them all at the Boat Show, the new Bavaria 34 would get my vote as the best compromise and value (with reservations about the powered swim platform!)
 
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Having sailed a Bav, Ben and Jeanneau, I would definitely go for a Benetteau.

Preferable quality and straightforward gut feel, simple as that.

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I'm going to endorse Big Nick's comment. Not his recommendation to buy a Beneteau (even though a Beneteau First 40.7 is at the top of my wish list), but his recommendation to actually sail them all before you make a decision. Best way to do this would be to charter each type for a week or a weekend. You will spot things that you wouldn't otherwise have noticed.
 
"extra bits of kit that are not on the standard boat such as autopilot, heating, windlass etc etc"

Sorry did I hear you right? A WINDLASS is NOT a standard bit of kit? It's an EXTRA????
 
Just over six years ago I went through the same deliberations. After extended test sails (two in the bav), in lively conditions, I went with my instinct and paid the extra 10k for a Benny.

Sail them both, compare the weights, the Ben used to be a tonne heavier than the Bav, yet, superficially, looked to be a lighter fit out, and go with your instinct. They will both be good boats, so buy for the one that you feel most comfortable with.

FWIW, I have been more than happy with my Ben, but things have moved on.
 
In your deliberations, bear in mind that the buying cost isnt what the boat will end up costing. Since the arrival of boats like the Bav, the market has changed and you can expect the boat you buy to depreciate in pound note terms - somthing that didnt happen in the days of Westerly etc and still doesnt happen much to HR Najad etc. In part this is a social change - lts of newcomers to boating viewing boats in much the same way as cars - buy one new, chop it in after 3 years for the must have latest model.

Still wouldnt compensate for the extra cost of the HR but the difference in depreciation would reduce the difference in cost of ownership from what appears to be the case using brochure prices.

If that doesnt appeal then think seriously of a second hand boat of maybe 3 or 4 years use.

As to which brand - well I dont have either Benny or Bav so I guess I'm independant.I'm also less knowledgeable. But the rep of Bav isnt good whether deserved or not, and this will affect resale. So my leanings would be to Benny or one of the others like Hanse or the Polish boats.
 
We have a share in a Bavaria 36 which does most things well.
It's got inmast furling so is poor going upwind in a blow and of course it has no kudos.
We looked at various alternatives at Excel and found that Bavaria's compare rather well. The finish may not be brilliant but they've very good storage - some of the boats we looked at had nowhere to keep pots and pans etc and have opening ports in the coach roof - so many new models have fixed ports, presumably determined by looks rather than practicality.
 
We went to the So'ton show a few years back and spent some time going through all the boats around 32-33'. We went there rather open minded but had a few criteria that we thought were important

1. Headroom as I am over 6'
2. Storage as we were fed up with bags lying around and no space to stow everything
3. 3 cabin
4. Heads near the companionway, not up the front

We looked at the Bav30, Bav33, Benny something, Jennysomethig, Dufor 34, Hanse and Najad.

There were only 2 boats that ticked all of the boxes. Najad and Bav33. We found that headroom and stowage of the rest were below par (As far as we were concerned).

Settled on the Bav33 cos, even though the test sail on the Najad was great, the bank could not stretch that far.

Of course, if we were intending a circumnav or high latitudes we may well have chosen differently, but for what we wanted, the Bav has worked out great.

Price all up was still below the base price of most, delivery was fast, aftersales was great from Opal.

Have not regretted our choice one bit.

The bottom line is that we all have different criteria that we see as important. You need to make you own mind up by spending time on each type of boat. The most important thing, SWIMBO must make up her/your mind....
 
If its important, according to a recent thread on PBO, the Bavarias are the only boats, in the group you suggest, that have what is anything like a proper chart table.
 
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you're comparing a racer with a cruiser, comparing with the 343

gives 6100kg with 1543kg ballast

Clicky

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Thats a 29% Ballast ratio for the Bav and a 25% ballast ratio for the Benny. 25% that cant be right?????????

At least with the Bav there is a keel to fall off, the Benny hasn't got one has it?
 
...and for someone who was only going to watch as well......

Now shut up and go and get the ice creams/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
 
At the Excel show the Bavaria stand was busy despite the collapse of Peters Opal last summer. The revised interiors looked better than I remember (used to be dark stripey mahogany) but do you really want an electric tailgate on a 34? Just something else to go wrong imho. Have the customers caught up in the collapse got their money/boats yet?

Beneteaux and Jeanneaux looked OK, especially new First range. Hanses looked a bit gloomy inside and I'm not sure about the boxy styling of their new smaller models.

IMHO the new Dufour ranges (cruising and performance) are attractive inside and out and offer good value for money. They have been well reviewed in YM and ST. I would check out the 365 and also the 34 if you want more performance than a Bavaria.
 
You've certainly opened a can of worms here!
I agree with most of the advice given so far. The main thing you must do is go for a test sail in all the boats you are considering. A few years ago I bought a Beneteau and the salesman was amazed when I demanded a test sail. He said that the vast majority of customers don't have a test sail!
I bought the Beneteau but sold it again after a couple of years because we didn't like it. The kids were sick on it and it didn't sail well enough for me.
There are a lot of Bavarias in our yacht club and all the owners swear by them so they have got to be pretty good.
Personally I would expect a boat to have ahigher ballast ratio than most of the modern boats. 25% is much too low for a boat to be able to drive through a seaway IMHO. Perhaps that is why they all go to windward under engine. Thats the only way mine would make any good progress.
I agree with one of the earlier posts who said that the depreciation on a more expensive boat such as a Najad or Hallberg Rassey will be much less if not zero. If you can afford the extra capital outlay one of the better quality boats may well be better in the long run.
Make sure that when you buy you get the full cost of the boat with all the extras you want including commissioning charges before you sign on the dotted line.

Good luck and happy sailing.
 
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