New design Bavaria 32 - an above average AWB?

J

Jabahutt

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www.abrewloose.co.uk
I saw one of these recently (SBS) and it seemed a helluva lot of boat for c £80k, new but fully loaded with stuff. Furthermore it's reasonably well built and has that neat swimming platform at the back, er, stern. Not too many used ones for sale in the UK at the moment. Happy purchasers? Would appreciate v much comments from any owner on thoughts to date...
 
Here we go again, the Average White Boat vs. Manky Auld Boat debate.

If the OP is looking at AWBs then why try to persuade him his choice is wrong and that he ought to shoe-horn himself and perhaps his family into a cramped boat designed over 40 years ago.

I agree that Contessas are pretty boats and I love looking at other peoples. I'd never buy one though, and YM could hardly stick the boot in a sailing classic could they? It would be like kicking a puppy.

Each to his own, and for what it's worth I saw the Bavaria Cruiser 33 at Interboot2012, and very nice it was too.

Where the Contessa excels - getting intimately aquainted with the elements ....

concerto_boat.jpg


Where the Bavaria excels - family fun, comfort and space ....

33cruiser_badeplattform_01.jpg
 
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awol said:
Is this one much different from the one that YM decreed was inferior to an aged but refurbished Contessa 32 (except for the heads)?
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They are different boats and should not really be compared. The Contessa is narrow wine glass shaped , low freeboard has little internal volume. Effectively old fashioned. While with a low freeboard it is a "wet" boat it has an excellent AVS and is the only boat of its class to survive the 89 Fastnet storm although we cannot judge whether the skipper and crew has superior sailing ability to others.

If you want to cross oceans and can only afford a small boat get a Contessa. If you want to go weekend cruising with the family and don't intend going if its a F9 then the Bavaria is as good as any of the production boats.

One big difference is whether SWMBO enjoys going out in a boat. I am sure that old dark interiors designs is the cause of many sailing couples ending up with mostly the man going out on the boat and SWMBO only doing it under sufference!
 
As Sailfree has said, the comparison of two such different boats, designed forty years apart, for different markets, is a bit daffy. Tho I expect it sold a few mags.

I have sailed a bigger, older Bavaria and liked it. Looking at the new 32 I must say the interior fittings look spartan, sharp and caravan like. Still I guess that is partly how they get down to the price point. In a recent post one of our Archdeacons of all things modish said that he would think twice about updating his AWB for that very reason.

There is a Sailing Today review, I expect you may have seen it, available through the excellent Clipper Marine website, here:

http://www.clippermarine.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/bavaria-32-test.pdf

As you say though, a big package.....as a girl I knew used to say.
 
Looked very seriously at buying the boat at the show to replace my 37. Has a lot going for it, but the package on offer has for me a rather odd mix of "extras". That boat is the last of the current model and was specced up with lots of overpriced options, but included in the base price. If that mix is what you want it is a really good buy. A "new" 33 - which is essentially a face lift of the current one would come out about £13k more to a similar spec. Still well priced against its competitors.

Anybody interested in buying one should look to Europe as there are some as new boats at well under £60k in Holland and Germany.

Agree with Sailfree. Complete nonsense to try and compare these boats with a Contessa 32. Designed for completely different purposes - the only thing in common is the notional hull length, and even that is misleading. For example the LWL of the Bavaria is nearly 2m longer than the Contessa. If you express boats in terms of cost, the Bavaria is less than half the price of a new Contessa, so nobody shopping for a new boat would have the two on their short list.

The only valid comparisons are against either the design brief or the suitability for your intended use. Either boat under discussion would score well on both counts.
 
I said it at the time and will say it again (as others have) you simply can not compare the two as they are designed for completely different things. Remember the Co32 was designed more than 40 years ago for a very different market.

Equally you can not compare the price now. The Bav is mass-built in a factory while a new CO32 is hand build to a very high standard in the UK.

For some, nothing but a Contessa will do (even with the compromises that have been discussed to death) but for everyone else there is a huge range of boats to consider. Bav have done a great job at designing for their market.

BTW - that's my Co32 in the pic but under the previous ownership. I was racing against Co32 No1 recently (Contessa Catherine), she looks great and certainly shifting down the Solent in 25-30kts with the spinnaker up!
 
doug748 said:
Looking at the new 32 I must say the interior fittings look spartan, sharp and caravan like. Still I guess that is partly how they get down to the price point.
There is a Sailing Today review, I expect you may have seen it, available through the excellent Clipper Marine website, here:

http://www.clippermarine.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/bavaria-32-test.pdf
.
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Thanks for that. I like the review's 'cheerful minimalist' look and the lighter interior. It also seems to sail quite well - easy to singlehand and putt about in marinas. And much less expensive than the alternatives.
 
I'm sure people will like it, who like that kind of thing :)

My kidneys are smarting already at that chart-table corner.

Pete
 
prv said:
I'm sure people will like it, who like that kind of thing :)

My kidneys are smarting already at that chart-table corner.

Pete
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It's ok, there is a nice sharp corner the other side so you will have a matching pair of broken ribs.

Ok, no everyone wants to sail offshore as I do but even in the Solent you can be thrown around the inside of a boat on a breezy day. Have a thought Mr Bav designer...
 
Georgio said:
even in the Solent you can be thrown around the inside of a boat on a breezy day.
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Very true - one of the things I'll miss when we make the step up in boat size is the 2-foot-square cabin sole that means I can't possibly fall over - I just bounce off the sturdy rounded edge of the chart table or off the heads door, and carry on with what I was doing. And I sail mostly in the Solent these days.

On the other hand, how much time will the target marina-hopping audience spend below while sailing anyway? Nights alongside, days happily bashing along in the sunshine on deck, lunches either pre-prepared sandwiches or taken at anchor. The accommodation is not designed to be used at sea, merely transported to the next stop for use overnight.

To be clear, I'm not knocking the boat. It's horses for courses, and this horse will fit many people's course very well.

Pete
 
We bought a new 36 and love it. Yes, as I have said in other posts, there are many better boats for going across the Atlantic in, but that is not our intention. Coastal sailing and a few cross channel jaunts. For the money, its a great package that we use as an escape. It sails well enough, has the same kit as many more expensive boats and well equipped. It has comfortable accommodation and is easy to live with. At the recent show we looked at higher class boats such as Rustler, Southerly etc and these are in different league, granted - but price-wise they are eye-wateringly more expensive - getting on for 3 times the price.
 
Ripster said:
We bought a new 36 and love it. Yes, as I have said in other posts, there are many better boats for going across the Atlantic in, but that is not our intention. Coastal sailing and a few cross channel jaunts. For the money, its a great package that we use as an escape. It sails well enough, has the same kit as many more expensive boats and well equipped. It has comfortable accommodation and is easy to live with. At the recent show we looked at higher class boats such as Rustler, Southerly etc and these are in different league, granted - but price-wise they are eye-wateringly more expensive - getting on for 3 times the price.
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Fantastic, I'm pleased you are enjoying the boat. No boat is ever perfect but the most important thing is that you are out using it.
 
Georgio said:
I quite agree, I'm sure they will sell lots. It just seems that avoiding pointy corners is such an obvious thing...
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Think you will find them common on many other boats that are "styled" in this way. Not sure it is cost cutting as with their CNC machinery it costs no more to do curves than straight lines. My 2001 Bavaria is one of the early ones built in the mass produced way and there is not a sharp corner anywhere. All nicely (machine) moulded curves.

If the interior was finished in the same way as my existing boat, I might have been more keen to buy it - but then it would be at odds with the exterior. Perhaps I should take the plunge, spend more than twice the money and buy a Sunbeam!
 
I had a look at the new 32 at the show. I was impressed at the price tag...and that's about it. I'm sorry, but holy cow it's ugly.

No, I'm not suggesting buy a Contessa and ask your crew to leave the forepeak when nature calls during the night! I appreciate that space and comfort are important...to me the previous generation of Bav32 looks like a far better option.

I didn't like the caravan, rather than boat feel below, the lowers could not be more in the way if they tried, the square windows just don't look right, and the lack of traveller thanks to the permanent table arrangment just doesn't seem right. Call me old fashioned (and I'm not...) but the lack of chart table is also a big minus for me.

Unless there is a massive improvement in performance (which I doubt) the old version just seems a far better boat IMHO...
 
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