First post in Yachting page...Bavaria Cruiser 36 or Jeanneau 36i

vandy

vandy

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Hello,
About us; 10year+ powerboat owner in various waters but based in the Solent (the lake:rolleyes:)
Been sailing on/off on other people's boats so can workout sailing quite well and I will most likely get some proper training as day skipper.

We are looking for our boat, and have shortlisted Jeanneau 36i and Bavaria 36 Cruiser (both 2011). our sailing will be initially coastal (south coast) but we will want to be able to do cross channel once we have enough experience on sailboats.

1. Any views on these two boats? any owners here?
2. Choice of mainsail, furling or traditional?

looking forward to be on this forum!
 
I don't know anything in particular about those two boats ..... but welcome to the wonderful world of sailing either way. ;)

I have a mainsail with lazyjacks and stack pack which I have always been happy with, although, if I was given the choice, I would probably go for in-mast furling as I'm not interested in racing so the absence of horizontal battens would not worry me.

Richard
 
I have a 2014 Bavaria Cruiser 37 (same hull as the 36 but different superstructure and interior, and twin wheels). The hull is very good, it sails well, it's easy to handle. I have in-mast furling and it's a doddle to use. The 2-cabin version is the one to choose as it has a proper chart table.

I think the main problem with the Cruiser 36 is the rather unfortunate "gunport" windows in the coachroof. To be honest, it's not the prettiest boat. In comparison, the Cruiser 37 is quite sleek. If you look at the early Cruiser 37s, you may find they're not too far away in budget terms.
 
Both have eggbox inner mouldings: the 36i was one of the first Jeanneaus to do so. Personally I prefer non-double-skin construction, but it's a fact of life now in mass-market boats. Overall I feel Jeanneau hulls are just that bit stronger moulded than Bavarias, but there's not that much in it. I rather like the Cruiser 36 cockpit, and the Farr hull though I'm not enamoured of the square windows: apart from anything else sharp edges increase the risk of stress cracks starting. I quite like both interiors though I'd prefer more curved edges, but they cost money so few production boats do this now.
 
jwilson said:
Overall I feel Jeanneau hulls are just that bit stronger moulded than Bavarias, but there's not that much in it.
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What do you base that opinion on? The Jeanneau hull (without ballast) weighs about 4100kg; the Bavaria hull (without ballast) weighs about 4900kg. They both have similar rigs, engines and interiors. Why is the Bavaria so much heavier if the Jeanneau has a stronger hull?
 
Like pvb I own a Farr designed Bavaria, but a 2015 33 having previously owned a 2001 37 from new.

The Farr designed boats like the 36 you are looking at are very well engineered and built, but like the others I am not so keen on the styling particularly the superstructure of the BMW styled ones like the 36. The revised models from 2013 or so are much better in my view.

However, TBH there is little to choose between the major brands in terms of quality and performance and the choice is often personal, or with a used boat how well it has been looked after. The only major difference between the two brands is that Bavaria use Volvo saildrives and Jeanneau use shaft drive Yanmars. While some people have a preference for one rather than the other in practice both work well in this type of boat.

Personally I would go for an in mast, which both my boats have had, but this is mainly because I sail mostly on my own. Conventional sails give a bit extra on performance and more opportunity to tweek but are a bit more faff to raise and to reef. If you are active sailors and have a crew that participates the type of sail is not a deal breaker if the rest of the boat works for you.
 
I had a 2010 36i from new until Autumn 2016. It was the rarer two cabin version with classic mainsail.
I like to sail efficiently my so I tricked it out with upgraded sails, cordage, winches and d contest, as well as necessaries to keep the c-in-c happy such as Webasto 5kw heating and a full cockpit enclosure.
It was comfortable ,had reasonable performance, motored well, but on the whole thought it slightly inferior overall to the 1989 Sunshine 38 I previously owned for 10 years.
 
What engines are in them?
The Bav is nearly 1.5 feet longer. It's odd why Bavaria do that but all the ones I've looked at are always longer that the name suggests so it should have just a bit more space.
 
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Spyro said:
What engines are in them?
The Bav is nearly 1.5 feet longer. It's odd why Bavaria do that but all the ones I've looked at are always longer that the name suggests so it should have just a bit more space.
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For engines, see post#6

Not all Bavs are longer than the length used in the model name, although most of the J&J design ones were but Jeanneau often are shorter than the model name suggests. The current Bav 34 for example was originally a 32, then, 33, all with the same basic hull which is 9.99m long.

However the LOA is not really a good indicator of room in relation to accommodation. LWL is usually more useful. For example my current 33 has the same LWL as my old 37 (which was 38'6" LOA!) so the usable hull volume is similar. However the space is used rather differently so the boats have very different accommodation.

So, comparisons using model size are only partly useful. No substitute for actually inspecting the boats to see where the similarities and differences are - if this is important to you.
 
pvb said:
What do you base that opinion on? The Jeanneau hull (without ballast) weighs about 4100kg; the Bavaria hull (without ballast) weighs about 4900kg. They both have similar rigs, engines and interiors. Why is the Bavaria so much heavier if the Jeanneau has a stronger hull?
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Seen both brands hulls with holes in them. Also seen a Bavaria's hull deflect when pressed really hard against fenders. Don't get me wrong: if buying new now and price-constrained I'd probably have a Bav.
 
jwilson said:
Seen both brands hulls with holes in them. Also seen a Bavaria's hull deflect when pressed really hard against fenders. Don't get me wrong: if buying new now and price-constrained I'd probably have a Bav.
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There is some truth in that for some older J&J designs, where the bulkheads were rather far apart and some flexing between them was not unusual, but the Farr designed boats such as pvb and I have are a very different proposition. Much stiffer, and the hulls are now (since late 2015) all vacuum infused, so a bit lighter but still stiff. Despite the flex, the old boat stand up very well - mine survived 7 seasons of charter use in the Med, including the bumping and boring berthing at crowded town quays, without any problems.

Even if not price constrained (within limits!) it was still my choice against a Jeanneau which was a bit more expensive and a Hanse which was very much cheaper (partly because the model was running out).
 
Bav 32 owner here, not much I can add between Bav and Jeanneaus...obviously Bavs get a huge slagging off about keels falling off and shoddy workmanship...and that's why numerous charter companies run them as dependable durable workhorses, innit.

What I would say though is in mast furling is not for me. I chartered a Bav40 years ago in the med and the system was a PITA. I kind of get the feeling with a nice new stiff main it probably works very well, but with an older leech that flaps and motors a bit it seems very easy for the sail to fold over and jam, and then you might end up in the nightmare scenario of not being able to do anything with your jammed main in a squall. To confirm my views I was motoring up the Hamble on Sunday morning and there was someone up their mast trying to sort out a jammed main.

Stack pack and lazy jacks every time for me thankyou.
 
Iain C said:
Stack pack and lazy jacks every time for me thankyou.
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18 years with in mast and never had a jam. Jams are almost always operator error or as you say worn out sail. You just have to learn the basics of how to operate them.

90% of HRs over 38' have in mast (same Selden system as on Bavaria). Not sure they would buy them and go ocean cruising as many do if they were unreliable.
 
vandy said:
Hello,
About us; 10year+ powerboat owner in various waters but based in the Solent (the lake:rolleyes:)
Been sailing on/off on other people's boats so can workout sailing quite well and I will most likely get some proper training as day skipper.

We are looking for our boat, and have shortlisted Jeanneau 36i and Bavaria 36 Cruiser (both 2011). our sailing will be initially coastal (south coast) but we will want to be able to do cross channel once we have enough experience on sailboats.

1. Any views on these two boats? any owners here?
2. Choice of mainsail, furling or traditional?

looking forward to be on this forum!
Click to expand...

I have a Beneteau Oceanis 361 so cannot comment on the models you have shortlisted. Either will be fine I guess.
I have in mast furling. I have been using it for 10 years, I have learned how to use it correct and it never got stuck. It doesn't look cool (it's just a piece of cloth coming out of the mast in comparison to a nice looking full batten main sail) but it's extremely easy to use, day and night, and I NEVER hesitate to unfurl and furl it even for a few minutes. Another big plus is the unlimited options of reefing.
Beneteau uses the sparcraft mechanism. I think Jeanneau too. Although I don't have much experience with Selden I find the sparcraft easier. It works just like a furling genoa.
 
I have a 36i and have sailed a C36. Much of a muchness really and if I were choosing I'd be more swayed by the specific boats available. I havea 3YM30 and have never felt the need for more powee. Another model I considered at purchase was the Oceanis 37 which I did think had inferior build quality.
Despite Tranona's dogged support for in mast furling, avoid it like the plague. A well set up fully battened main on Selden cars lets you drop the main into the lazy bag from the cockpit without the embarassment and poor performance of hanging a bedsheet from the mast.
 
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A friend had two Bavaria’s both berthed on a semi drying pontoon. Bit keels detached from the hull. He must have been unlucky but he never bought another. The old moody he has now has been on there twice as long, that hasn’t suffered at all. Once bitten I suppose with the Bavaria’s
 
On the furling thing, if you search here there's plenty of cases of furling that has got stuck. And as everyone knows, a disaster is usually a combination of little things rather than one big catastrophe. So it's possible singlehanded you don't get your boom angle/wind angle/topping lift tension/outhaul tension all spot on and make a hash of it and things escalate from there. I'd have in boom furling, simply because if I'm on my own and in the sh1t I can run along the boom with a bread knife and pull the rest down by hand, and potentially even be able to get the sail repaired afterwards, but not having that option would worry me for an in-mast system.

Although...let's be honest, if you find "the" boat at the right price that's clearly been loved, and has all the right gear, good condition sails and a strong engine with in-mast furling, clearly you'll probably buy it over the same boat at the same price that has slab reefing but needs a load of time and money spending elsewhere. All I'm saying is that given the choice between two identical boats bar the reefing system, I'd take the one with slab reefing all day.
 
If I was going Jeanneau, I would rather the Sun Odyssey 35 than the 36i that replaced it just to avoid the egg box hull construction which can be costly to repair from even a light grounding.
 
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