Bavaria Motor Boats 34 Sporttop

Those jolly Germans have a thing about tops. They love their frauleins in lace-up dirndls during Octoberfests; they embrace their sexy soft-topped sportscars with great passion, too. But it's the brilliant new appendage on one of their leading homespun sportscruisers that tops the lot.

Made by Bavaria-Yachtbau, one of Europe's biggest boatbuilders, the BMB 34 Sporttop is a cool summer conveyance and a smart craft, too. The boat does the impossible by offering wind-in-your-hair performance with good looks and must-have protection from the elements.

An integral part of the boat, the sporttop provides protection without relying on flimsy framework or flapping canvas. The moulded fibreglass top is strong enough to swing off, and what's more, it has been designed in such a way that it adds a splash of panache to the boat's styling.

Using pure sportscar logic, the top has a sliding sunroof so you can have your shade, fresh air and sun, too. Add clear storm covers and aft curtains - which come standard - and you have a sportscruiser you can use year-round.

But while the sporttop won my affection - I came away without sunburn, a parched feeling, or cataracts from squinting at white decks - there is a lot more to the BMB 34 than meets the eye.

BAVARIA ON THE MOVE
For some years now, Bavaria-Yachtbau has been riding a worldwide wave of demand for Euro-designed boats. Things like a favourable exchange rate and production efficiencies have helped the company stay competitive in a market established by US brands.

In fact, things are going so well for the German company that it's aiming to sell 1000 sportscruisers annually by next June. Naturally, America and the UK are Bavaria's biggest markets, but by the time you read this there will be 11 BMB sportscruisers in Australia and dealers set up in all states.

While there are currently six sportscruisers in the 29-38ft range, a three-cabin 45-footer with diesel shaftdrives is on the drawing board already. Across the range, BMBs have solid glass hulls below the waterline and foam-cored decks. The hulls are oven-baked for consistent curing (Germany is cold in winter).

While there are only 11 of them to date, the typical Aussie BMB buyer is said to be a successful professional over 40 years of age, or a company owner. Interestingly, half are virgin boat owners attracted to the German marque because of its refreshing design and features such as the sporttop.

The test boat was set up as a dayboat and overnighter, but there are options like generators, inverters and air-conditioning to make these boats more than a bed and breakfast. Certainly, the 34 is an advancement on the 33-footer, which was the first BMB to arrive here.

Compared to the 33, the 34 Sporttop has a bigger boarding platform, better walkaround decks, a forward sunpad and a cockpit sink and fridge. It also has a feeling of unity and stiffness when pushed hard at sea. All frames and furniture are now glassed to the hull, I'm told, and the hull is backed by a five-year warranty.

In keeping with the company's pitch, the BMB 34 is short on needless glitz. There aren't carpets in the saloon, for example, but an easy-to-clean mock-teak floor that can be mopped down. Outdoors, stainless steel features heavily, while a navy-blue bootline and deck stripe help create the Euro look.

DECK TOUR
I started with a tour of the decks, the place where most people will spend their time on a sportscruiser. Compared to a lot of mainstream boats, the BMB does things a little differently. Though I couldn't find a dirndl, I counted 55 drinkholders for your own private Octoberfest.

The foredeck has solid designer cleats and a walk-though bowsprit with a safety line so you can take passengers on board. There are trendy circular hatches and stainless steel is used for the hatch rims, as well as for rubbing strips and the stem fitting.

The foredeck and sidedecks are especially wide. Combining a high and safe bowrail with an intermediate wire and good non-skid, the BMB 34 is safe to get around. The boat has been designed for use from bow to stern, as evidenced by 23 drinkholders on deck.

The teak-topped boarding platform is big enough for a couple of director's chairs, which can be stowed in the engine bay. A hydraulic strut raises the cockpit sole to reveal the MerCruisers, room for a generator and more.

The engine room seemed to have a cleaner layout than I remember it on the 33. I spied a stainless-steel fuel tank, auto fire system and a dedicated resting place for the boat's cockpit table.

There was lots of servicing room around the twin 300hp MAG 350 MPI V8 MerCruiser motors. Options range all the way up to twin 8.1L Volvo 420hp models.

OUTDOORS ENTERTAINING
The deep transom helps convey a feeling of security offshore. It has a central storage locker and four fender baskets. There is a davit option and room for toting a RIB on the tail. The handheld shower has cold water only.

A U-shaped lounge can seat seven people around a removable moulded table. You can convert the lounge to a big sunpad. In fact, the boat's seating can be converted five ways. At anchor on a hot night you could even sleep outdoors under the stars and the sporttop.

A teak-laid cockpit floor is standard issue, unlike most sportscruisers. Other details of note include heavy-duty stainless-steel hinges on the lounge bases, a simple marlin door and a telescopic swim ladder.

The boat comes with a dedicated cockpit amenities centre with a Corian benchtop, a sink with hot/cold water, and a fridge. There is a storage locker under the lounge base that can presumably double as an icebox.

A second, crescent-shaped lounge is opposite the skipper, who gets to ride on a single pedestal seat with a lift-up bolster. This lounge is big enough for four people. It takes the boat's seating capacity to 10 plus the skipper (certified carrying capacity is 12).

The sporttop allows for seats that are bathed in sunshine and others that are pleasantly shaded. It also carries courtesy lights for night boating or dining and speakers for the sound system when it's time to don the lederhosen.

WOODEN WONDER
The BMB 34 has generous accommodation in a heavily timbered interior with mahogany and birds-eye maple. The ambience is nautical and, the more I see it, the more I like it. Headroom is around 1.80m only, but ventilation is assured via opening portholes and hatches.

Back aft is a serious guests' cabin with a double bed sufficiently large to sleep an adult couple. There is room to sit up and read in bed, while hatches and/or opening portholes supply cross-flow ventilation. Double-toothed door locks prevent rattles at rest or underway.

There is enough room at the entrance to the aft cabin to dress behind a closed door. The quaint little chaise longue or loveseat will be handy when it's time to pull up your socks. Storage for the Sunday best hides in three shelves, a hanging locker and a built-in linen press that could be used as a dirty-washing basket instead.

The forest of timber that lines the saloon is a match for the thick, pleated, blue velour-like material covering the U-shaped lounge to port. It has room for four people around a dinette with folding table leaves with, you guessed it, bottle and drink holders.

Other forms of entertainment can be found on a (standard issue) 12V flat-screen television, with a DVD that's wired to the boat's CD sound system. Storage exists in timber lockers and under the lounge bases for board games, bootleg and books.

The galley opposite has blue counters topped with some kind of laminate. A deep circular sink and yacht-style icebox are recessed into the counters. There are lockers for crockery and glasses, a dedicated cutlery drawer, underfloor hatches for storing pots and pans, and a cupboard with a concealed garbage bin.

This boat had a Sharp microwave oven/grill (shorepower only) and a two-burner combo electric/spirit stove, plus a 12V fridge hiding behind a heavy-duty timber facia. These things are fine for overnighting, but a genset would assist with weekends away.

Owners get an offset island double berth in the bow, flanked by hanging lockers, seven timber storage lockers, and cool stainless-steel reading lights. The white-and-blue bedding was simple but stylish and the mattress long enough for a couple to sleep soundly.

While the boat has just one bathroom, it's near the companionway and therefore handy for guests. Blue Corian counters, stainless fittings, timber lockers and a mirror add to the feel. There is a handheld shower but no clip from which to hang it on the wall.

For serious cruising the boat needs more power (read a genset). But its 250lt water capacity is almost twice that of similar length US-built boats. Despite its volume, the boat travels like a sportscruiser and not a bus.

HEADS TO HEAD
I couldn't find the autobahn, so I high-tailed it down Sydney Harbour and across the Heads instead. The Porsche-silver dash and timber wheel are there to remind you that you are driving a sportscruiser.

The dash has auto-style switch panels, Quicksilver engine gauges (all future boats will be fitted with Volvo motors and gauges), and a handy BMB trim tab sight indicator. The windscreen has high-quality stainless-steel framework, but the tinted safety glass with wipers isn't so good when salt-splattered.

During my drive, the boat was dry and offered good views. The double props gave awesome grip and tremendous cornering. I put the boat and drives through their paces, arcing into nice big bends, buttoning down the throttles and accelerating like a whip. The Bravo III sterndrive legs also made this boat almost nimble around the marina, too.

The hull is responsive to both trim and the wheel. Actually, the steering is so light you need to take care not to overdo it. But I like the fact that a quick flick is all it takes to put the hull back on an even keel. And while it's no rocketship in a straight line, the twin 300hp MAG 350 V8 MerCruisers generate 30kt pretty effortlessly.

With the bow buttoned down a bit, the hull cut the swell without shedding huge plumes of water or banging on its wide midsections. It felt comfortable and solid enough for port-to-port coastal cruising.

Between 2000rpm and 9.3kt and 2500rpm and 14.5kt, the hull shifts to planing speed without wallowing. Low-speed cruising with a crowd will be most comfortable at 21.5kt. However, the hull didn't falter when marched across the Heads at 29.6kt, and I reached 32kt on one eye-watering run.

There was excitement on the harbour in the form of the 3500t Type 42 destroyer HMS Nottingham - the Pommy ship that hit the bricks off Lord Howe Island. It was being loaded onto a carrier to be transported back to Britain for repairs.

I went in for a look in my German-made boat and got ushered away. Don't mention the war, said one of the crew. But what stands out about this outing was the German ingenuity and stealth.

No bimini can provide the rigidity, practicality and sheer integrity of the BMB 34's fully moulded appendage. Why haven't summer-loving Aussie boatbuilders invented the sporttop? And as a beer-drinking nation, surely we can do better than a paltry 55 drinkholders on a boat?