Bavaria 50 Cruiser

When opportunity knocks, it is said, one must answer the door.

Opportunity knocked recently when I was invited to travel to beautiful Palma, Majorca to test the new Bavaria 50 Cruiser. I, of course, answered the door.

I've been to Majorca before and my recollections were of a fabulous city steeped in history with a lovely marina precinct opening onto a vast bay of Mediterranean blue with a fair breeze and cloudless skies. Why wouldn't I go?

On arrival, things were a bit different from the Palma I remembered. Leaving from an Australian summer I knew it'd be a bit cooler in Europe, but nothing could prepare me for what I encountered.

Just days before we landed, the city of Palma recorded snowfalls for the first time in the past 20 years.We were faced with temperatures of between four and nine degrees and to cap things off, it was cloudy with showers. And to further cap things off, there was no bloody wind! Not the ideal environment for a sail.

It seemed that the opportunity had, in fact, gone.

But we were determined. We fronted the offices of Yates Allemanes, the Bavaria dealers for Spain, on the allotted day, and were warmly welcomed back. The weather had eased a bit from the previous day but it was still very cold and there was still no breeze.

But we headed out, ever optimistic that our opportunity would again arise. By lunchtime, we decided to head in and have a bite to eat and see what the afternoon would bring. We dined well on some lovely local food and watched as the palm trees hung limp in the afternoon sun that had finally broken through.

 Then the opportunity arose. The breeze freshened from the north-east and we pushed the big Bavaria out of its pen and into the awaiting bay. It was getting better.

The breeze held at between 10–15kts and with its new suit of Sobstad sails, the 50 was in its element.

ROOM TO MOVE
The Bavaria 50 is a big boat, make no mistake. The cockpit seems similar, if not identical, to the 46 Cruiser but there is a difference in the beam and, obviously, the LOA.

The decks are wide and expansive with a broad foredeck and a lounging area forward of the mast.

The cockpit can fit eight adults with barely a squeeze and there's room on the cabin top and the decks for half a dozen more.

The traveller resides on the cabin top so there's a clear run from the swim platform, between the two big wheels, past the folding teak table in the centre of the cockpit to the companionway.

Two Lewmar 54 two-speed self-tailing winches adorn the gunwales and a pair of Lewmar 42s resides on the cabin top to take care of the halyards, outhaul, in-mast main furler and the main sheet.

There were no secondary winches on the test boat although there are mounting points for them and I'd reckon it'd be an idea to have them fitted if you wanted to run a geneker or a kite.

Looking up, the rig looks powerful. It's quite a small section given that it has an in-mast furling system. Selden has done a really good job here. The system works well and is not hard to get in or out either at the port-side cabin-top winch or at the mast where it is a little better geared.

There are four Spinlock jammers on either side of the cabin top that bring all lines aft so that the boat can be fairly easily run with a crew of two.

 Having said that, the genoa is big and can be a handful to get in during tacks. There is an option for electric primary winches which may advisable for short-handed cruising.

On the subject of sails, the main was interesting. It was a new Sobstad main with vertical battens that, according to Soren Hansen from Sobstad, was specifically designed for these Selden in-mast furling systems. When reefing, the main is wound in so that the first batten is on the roller, giving a number one reef and ensuring good shape with no wrinkles. Obviously, the second reef is at the second batten and so on.

I have never been a fan of in-mast furling but with this sail, and the Selden system, I'm starting to come around.

POWERING UP
The performance of the 50 in the light to medium airs was very impressive. I have sailed the Bavaria 49 which this boat replaces and I've got to say, the 50 felt lighter and more responsive. Admittedly, it was running light with no water in the tanks, no provisions and even no anchor chain, so I'd expect it to slow down a bit as it's loaded up.

That said, it's certainly no slouch - especially for what is marketed as a cruising yacht.

The up-and-down breeze gave us a fairly good idea of performance with about six knots of boat speed from ten knots of breeze at 50 degrees. As the breeze increased so did the boat speed and the pointing ability. In 13–14kt at 40 degrees true, we were getting along at a healthy 7.5kt.

We were even pretty quick downwind in the light stuff with six knots SOG in nine knots true.

The boat looks good on the water, too. Its lines are clean and it has the ability, with a slight heel, to carve through the water in a way that belies its boat speed. Very elegant, I thought.

Under power, the big 75hp Volvo combined with the four-blade folding prop push the 50 along effortlessly. At 1500rpm we were doing 5.3kt SOG. At 2000rpm we were showing 6.8 and by 3000rpm we were boot-scootin' at 8.9.

LUXURY LIVING
The first thing I noticed when climbing down the companionway stairs on the Bavaria 50 Cruiser was the fitout.

This is different from all the Bavarias I have been on in the past. The fitout is in solid light mahogany. This, combined with the two skylight windows in the roof, gives a very airy and spacious feel to the interior.

The saloon is dominated by a three-metre, C-shaped settee to port with an extending-leaf table and a two-seater lounge. All-up you could probably seat 10.

There are two opening ports on each side of the cabin for light and ventilation, a big opening hatch in the centre of the saloon, and fixed ports in the hull for yet more light.

Across from the dining area is the galley which is very open and features a front-opening fridge as well as a top-opening fridge/freezer. I thought that in a boat of this calibre, the top of this fridge should have been on struts, not just a lift-off lid. There's a two-burner gas cooker with oven (that should be a four-burner in my opinion). And there's a double sink with covers that give more bench space should it be required. There's adequate storage in the galley without it being excessive and there's more storage under the central lounge that you could use as a wine cellar or similar.

Aft of the galley is the nav station that has a wrap-around feel with a fairly comfy seat with storage under.

One thing I did make note of was a lack of handholds in the main saloon. The boat is very beamy at 4.49 metres and when it's on a heel, there's a long way to travel from one side to the other. I'd have overhead handholds fitted and to hell with the aesthetics.

The two aft cabins have loads of room with little lounges and cupboard space. They have opening ports to the cockpit and hull ports for more light.

A hatch in the portside cabin leads to an insulated generator space all set to mount the gennie of your choice. This can be added as an option from the factory.

There is a head either side of the aft cabins. The heads are more spacious than those on the 49 and although the test boat had only the port side head connected to a holding tank, we're told that the Australian-spec boats will have all heads connected to tanks.

The third head is forward in the owner's suite so there'll no squabbling in mornings over whose turn it is.

 The forward section of the boat can be partitioned off with a door. In this section there's a double-bunk cabin with comfortable bunks for kids or adults. The cabin has a smallish cupboard and additional storage can be found under the lower bunk.

The forward cabin is very spacious with a little desk to port and a stool. A big island bed dominates and there is access to the head which is on starboard. Cupboard space abounds, as well as further stowage under the bed.

Ventilation is provided via four opening hatches. It's light and airy and not a bit squeezy or claustrophobic.

With little effort, the bunk cabin could be turned into an on-board office or a utility room which could further enhance the versatility of the layout.

VALUE
If there is one thing about the Bavaria 50 Cruiser that stands out, it's value for money. At the time of writing, you could order one for a smidge under $500,000 and for that you not only get a very big boat, but a lot of goodies as well. While the list of standard equipment is not comprehensive, it is sufficient for you to sail away with a fair amount of confidence.

Standard fare includes Raytheon tridata and ST60 wind instruments, Icom M45 VHF and a CD stereo with both indoor and outdoor speakers.

Standard, you don't get the in-mast furling with the tricky main but you do get a fully-battened main with luff car system, lazy jacks and boom bag, an adjustable backstay and a roller furling system with a large #2 headie.

I'd add a plotter, perhaps a generator, have a good look at the electric winch option, pack a geneker for the light off-the-wind days - and head off for the cruising division of Hammo Race Week.


HIGHS