Bavaria Motor Boats 380 Sport

Elsewhere in this month's Trade-A-Boat you will find a boat review espousing the virtue of sail. Most often, the attraction for blow-boaters is the journey along the way. There may well be a destination at the end of it all, but it is the travel that appeals.

With powerboats, it is usually quite the opposite. That is, it is the destination that counts. And on this particular occasion, a rare one when I was playing with a yacht and a sportscruiser both from the stable of German boatbuilder Bavaria, I made some interesting comparisons.

By the time the yacht had set its sails and ghosted about 400m down Pittwater, the 38ft sportscruiser had run the length of the waterway and reached its destination. What's more, the travel wasn't half bad, either.

I threw the BMB 380 Sport into tight turns, leaving an S-shaped wake behind like the imprint of a snake on soft sand, and the boat didn't falter. I trimmed the motors right out so we reached full speed ahead and it didn't feel too flighty. And I reset the motors a little deeper, backed off the throttle and enjoyed a very pleasant cruise.

Having taken pleasure from the sporty drive, I then set anchor in a clandestine cove on the western shore of Sydney's Pittwater. Our destination was surrounded by tall gums and sandstone cliffs and had a beach within dog-paddle distance. While I didn't dive in - forgot the togs, darn it - I sat on the boarding platform and contemplated the sportscruiser spirit.

The BMB 380 Sport, only the second model from the German Bavaria factory to arrive in Australia, has its sight set on capturing the imagination of the powerboat market. Unlike the popular Bavaria yachts, however, the importers are pitching the sportscruisers at the luxury end of the business.

BUILD QUALITIES
There are no prizes for beating a yacht off the mark. But accolades are warranted for the BMB 380 beating quite a few other sportscruisers on the race track. Though it is only early days, the factory seems to have secured an excellent hull and power combination that really works.

Bavaria is aware that the stresses on a sportscruiser are quite different from those on a yacht. This is why it builds the BMBs with a stiff structure and glasses in all the bulkheads.

The factory appears to be refining things as it goes. The BMB 380 Sport was certainly stiffer than the 33ft BMB I tested for last month's Trade-A-Boat. There were less rattles - partly due to better fitting doors with double-locking catches - and an overall feeling of uniformity not apparent in the first model shipped here.

Below the floor, the BMB 380 has a solid hand-laid fibreglass hull, backed by a five-year osmosis warranty, that has been oven-cured like a good frankfurter. The furniture and bulkheads are cut out using routers. The boats are made using robotics, and every day up to 10 BMBs roll off the production line bound for worldwide distribution.

Aesthetically, the mouldings appear to be nice and fair, the non-skid is a good grade and the deck gear is generally heavy-duty. However, the styling of the stainless steel is a little staid - the bowrail bears no resemblance to the sleek rail shown in the line drawing of the BMB 380 Sport.

The interior finish could also be improved. I noted the odd daggy silicon wipe and some of the joinery and timber panels were rough cut and not exactly well sealed behind cupboards and in the engineroom.

The ambience down below is certainly refreshing. Bavaria has created a salty atmosphere from its generous use of mahogany panelling with birdseye veneers on the doors and overhead lockers. I quite like the look; our photographer thought otherwise. You be the judge.

GARNISHED WITH A GARAGE
The local importers had the good sense to add teak decks to the BMB 380 Sport. The boarding platform is a big one, big enough to sit on and dangle the toes at rest, with a concealed swim ladder, handy grabrails, cold-only cockpit shower and a simple but strong stainless steel framed transom door.

The main feature is a central garage that opens with the push of a button. Hydraulic struts lift the sunpad to reveal a moulded space big enough to store a 3m ducky and/or lots of watersports gear.

Press another button and the garage floor rises to reveal the engineroom. It has sufficient space for mounting a genset and air-conditioning units and has lots of servicing room around the diesel Volvos. Fuel and water tanks, 1100lt and 25lt respectively, are mounted forward of the motors.

The BMB 380 Sport comes with an 80lt holding tank for harbour use, while the folding targa arch will allow southern Queenslanders to sneak under the tightest canal bridges.

Above the garage is a useful two-person sunpad bordered by rails so you don't roll off when underway. The sunpad is accessible via teak walkways on both sides. There are several handy storage pockets and storage holds nearby.

THE GOODS FOR DAYBOATING
For dayboating, the BMB 380 Sport is well-equipped - better than some, not quite as good as others. Seating comprises a big circular lounge for, say, six, set around a moulded lunch table. The marine vinyl on the lounges is a thick grade and the backrests are pleasantly firm.

There is an amenities centre to starboard with some blue Corian bench space, a sink and fridge (Aussie spec) and some trick designer drinkholders. Stereo speakers are recessed in the targa arch, but there is no helm remote for the sound system.

Ahead of the co-pilot, who sits near the leaning edge of the lounge, is a perspex drinkholder. The skipper's helmseat has a lift-up base to create extra driving room. The sports wheel and Volvo electronic shifts fall nicely to hand and the big stainless framed windscreen is nothing if not solid.

Access around the sidedecks is really quite good. There is a sunpad that slips in travellers on the foredeck, drinkholders and a high split bowrail that lets you access the boat from a jetty.

To operate the windlass and set the anchor you need to plug a remote into a socket at the helm or a similar attachment in the bow. This is not as simple as a dash-mounted rocker switch. Also, the boat needs a bimini top. The factory-made sport top, a hard fibreglass top with a sliding roof section, may well be a better option than canvas.

The dash is a moulded module finished in Mercedes-silver paint. A spread of analogue gauges are recessed into it, with a flight of rocker switches near the wheel, along with plenty of room for flush-mounting an autopilot and GPS.

Framed by heavy-duty stainless steel, the windscreen works a treat. In fact, it is so effective you may need to stand and drive for air. Personally, I would prefer clear rather than tinted glass, so you can optimise your vision in low-light conditions. At least a windscreen wiper is provided.

SALTY TASTES
Like oysters, the interior of the BMB 380 Sport elicits a love-hate response. There is a forest of varnished mahogany timber and birdseye veneers, soft-touch liners, moulded ceiling panels and some pearls of wisdom in the design.

The saloon is surrounded by a treasure trove of timber lockers and enough glass and bottle holders to stage an Oktoberfest. A U-shaped lounge clad in buff suede leather is set beside a dinette that doesn't convert into an impromptu double berth.

In the galley, blue formica benchtops provide sufficient food-preparation space to cater for a small crowd, and there are lockers for carrying a weekend's supply of food, crockery and cutlery. On the Aussie boat, you also get a microwave. This is just as well, as the boat has a pretty basic electric/metho stove.

Other amenities include a fridge, garbage bin tucked neatly behind a cupboard door, sink with hot water, and cutlery drawer. There was no extractor fan, though there are opening portholes and three deck hatches.

GERMAN SLEEPER
Typically for a sportscruiser, the BMB 380 Sport comes with two cabins at either end of the boat. Unlike some open-plan designs, its 11.92m overall length allows it to implement full bulkheads and, thus, lock-up cabin doors rather than mere privacy curtains.

Full credit to the designers for devoting as much space as they have to the aft cabin. With an infill you can turn the single berths into a full-sized double big enough to sleep a couple of German frankfurters. There is room to dress near the doorway, a separate little lounge and storage in a variety of cupboards.

One cupboard on the furthermost wall panel reveals coded wiring looms and circuit breakers. Another hatch proved hard to get at without shifting the mattress. It was good to find big hanging lockers, though there are few portholes or opening hatches and therefore limited opportunities for creating crossflow ventilation in the aft cabin.

The master cabin in the bow has a terrific island berth with a useful amount of room to move around it, twin hanging lockers (in need of lights) and a good dose of headroom.

I thought the BMB 380 Sport had a nice head, with twin doors allowing it to function as an ensuite. A blue Corian vanity and easy-clean moulded liner looked smart. There was plenty of room to sit on the loo and take a hot shower -you even get a water-temp gauge on the shower tap - behind a sliding screen. The loo is a manual one, there was no privacy screen over the ceiling hatch, and I failed to note an extractor fan.

SUPERCHARGED
After spending time at anchor at our initial destination on Pittwater, I cruised around West Head and then on in search of the perfect boatshed, which I had been told lived in Lovett Bay.

All the while the BMB 380 exhibited lovely handling. It has tremendous hole-shot - helped by the superchargers on the Volvos - and a smooth cruise of 24kt. It turns tightly thanks to the Duoprops, so tightly it can defy expectations, and has a top speed estimated at well nigh 30kt.

While the twin diesel inboards with Volvo legs are nice motors, you could save a packet by going for petrols without creating any more maintenance. With the change, you could turn the BMB 380 Sport into something special by adding such things as a sub-woofer, sound system remote, air-conditioning, generator and so on.

We idled back to the marina and parked the German sportscruiser with ease (no need to call on the bowthruster). The Bavaria yacht wouldn't have completed the same course before mid-afternoon. Indeed, the greatest asset of this German sportscruiser is the way it travels. It is a top performer.