Bavaria Yachts 38 Match

Here is Australia's first full view of the 38 Match cruiser/racer, launched recently by major German pleasureboat builder, Bavaria Yachts.

To see the new boat we joined a long line of boating writers and Bavaria distributors from around the world, all travelling to the Mediterranean island of Mallorca to test sail the first boat off the production line.

We also visited Bavaria's impressive new facilities in Germany (see separate story in next month's Trade-A-Boat), where another four 38 Match hulls were progressing along the production line, including the first of six destined to reach Australia before Christmas.

Bavaria Yachts has enjoyed rapidly growing success as a builder of comparatively low-priced cruisers for family and charter sailing. Several years ago it expanded the range to include powerboats under the BMB banner. Now it has embarked on another bold path, to market a series of performance-orientated cruiser/racers.

According to Roland Herrmann, Bavaria Yachts' sales and marketing manager, the cruiser/racer scene accounts for only a small percentage of the overall production sailboat market - perhaps as little as 15 per cent (although in the case of Australia and New Zealand you'd have to consider that a serious understatement).

Nonetheless, it's a logical next step for the company to allocate a portion of its recently expanded production capability towards the cruiser/racer market. That way it covers more bases in the sailing scene, and has something to offer the owners of Bavaria cruisers who get bitten by the racing bug and want to try something with higher performance.

There's also no denying that the racing scene attracts the marine media attention, the magazine covers and "the buzz" that can generate a higher profile for boat manufacturers. Witness the phenomenal success of Beneteau's First 40.7 cruiser/racer in IMS and IRC fleets around the world, and the corresponding boost to the French company's image.

In launching the 38 Match, and announcing details of two more cruiser/racers - a 34 and a 41 - to follow over the next year, Bavaria has fully declared its hand as a major player across the international production yacht market.

DESIGN TEAM
Bavaria has enlisted a heavy-hitting yacht design name in the form of Doug Peterson for the new Match series. One of the most successful designers during the IOR era of yacht racing in the 1970s and '80s, Peterson has more recently figured as an America's Cup Class designer, with Team New Zealand in 1992 and 1995 and Prada in 2000 and 2003.

He is credited with the design of the 38 Match alongside J&J Design, the company responsible for the design of Bavaria's entire cruising yacht range. J&J is headed by the two Jakopin brothers of Slovenia and specialises in the development of new production yacht designs from concept studies and drawings to moulds and tooling. According to the company, it has provided design services for the production of some 12,000 yachts built to date by 24 yards in 14 countries.

In other words, there's some significant experience and pedigree behind the design of the new Match series.

If it weren't for the signature blue stripes, you probably wouldn't pick the new 38 Match as a Bavaria. Compared to the German builder's latest 38 cruiser, it looks a lot racier. The rig is bigger for a start (and yes, the one in the photos is carbon fibre), and then there's the straight stem and transom, narrower beam with a firmer turn to the bilges, and higher-lift keel and rudder profiles.

CONSTRUCTION
Bavaria builds all its boats in solid GRP up to the waterline, with GRP/closed cell foam sandwich topsides and deck. Aramid cloth is included in the layup of the forward sections for additional strength. A structural grid incorporating a stainless steel frame plus GRP stringers supports the rig and keel loads, and all the bulkheads are glued and glassed in to strengthen the overall structure.

As you'd expect with a racing project, the 38 Match is lighter than its equivalent cruising Bavaria, with an estimated weight of 5900kg (including 2200kg ballast) compared to 7000kg (including 2100kg ballast) for the standard Bavaria 38.

Weight savings can be noticed in details such as the internal frames and bulkheads, which are mostly a sandwich of high density foam and plywood rather than solid plywood.

However, don't imagine that this is a stripped-out racing boat. The interior is both functional and pleasantly comfortable, with timber veneers and plush furnishings. The IMS and IRC international handicap systems insist that cruiser/racers carry things like saloon tables, galleys and cabin doors (otherwise the race crew would have all those things off the boat and on the dock in a jiffy). Besides which, as Andrew Parkes of the Australian Bavaria importer North South Yachting points out, "All boats have a shelf life as race boats, but the timber interior will give it resale value."

ON DECK
The most eyecatching feature of the first Match 38 is its carbon fibre mast, demonstrating how great a departure the new model is for Bavaria. Both carbon fibre and aluminium rigs are available, with the carbon rig adding about $40,000 to the base price of $285,000 in Australia.

North South Yachting says it will offer both versions here, believing that the aluminium rig version will appeal to club racers moving up from boats like J35s, Cavalier 35s and Farr 11.6s, while the carbon rig will attract the more serious IMS and IRC racer.

Unlike its cruising cousins, the 38 Match rig is keel-stepped and includes stainless steel rod standing rigging in the standard package. North South Yachting says the rod rigging is over-specified to avoid additional insurance costs.

In keeping with modern trends, the fractional rig is supported by two sets of swept-back spreaders and no running backstays, while the topmast backstay has a 96:1 block and tackle arrangement which works very effectively and can be easily trimmed by the steerer or the mainsheet hand.

The standard specification includes Spectra halyards leading back along the coachhouse to Spinlock clutches and a pair of Harken 40 STQ Quatro winches, which also provide service for spinnaker sheeting.

The primary winches mounted on the cockpit coamings are a pair of Harken 44 STAs. Genoa sheeting includes barber haulers on the cars. A Furlex roller reefing system for the headsail is supplied in the standard package, although our test sail was conducted using a non-furling, laminated 135 per cent genoa from the Elvstrom Sobstad loft in Denmark.

Both the mainsail and genoa were the fully-laminated Genesis Lightwave products, representing the highest performance of four packages offered by the Elvstrom Sobstad loft for the new model.

Also supplied was a neat furling gennaker, which came with its own roller furler unit and set from a deck-mounted, retractable bowsprit supported by a Spectra bobstay.

When it comes to cockpit space, Australians have been spoiled by the locally bred Sydney 38s and Northshore 371s, but there's a trade-off in interior space, as nothing comes for free on boats - particularly under 40ft - and if there's one term that spells compromise it's "cruiser/racer".

With the 38 Match, Bavaria has studied the market and come up with what appears to be a well balanced mix of cockpit and interior space. The transom seat lifts right out and can be left on the dock (like the IMX-40's stern locker) to reduce weight and add space aft.

The extended entry to the companionway also serves as a type of quasi-bridgedeck, allowing crewing duties to be carried out from there without getting in the road of the sail trimmers in the cockpit.

The test yacht was set up with a mainsheet traveller at shin height across the cockpit immediately in front of the steering pedestal, and a block and tackle mainsheet system including both coarse and fine tune sheets and no winches. There is talk, however, of replacing this with the so-called "German system", seen on most racing yachts in the 40ft plus range, which is a double-ended mainsheet led forward along the boom and back along the deck to winches on the cockpit coamings next to the mainsheet trimmer.

The cockpit has a self-draining gas bottle storage locker on the port side aft, near a neat little moulded hatch in the cockpit floor which hinges up to reveal the telescopic stainless steel transom ladder.

On the opposite side of the cockpit are the controls (throttle, rev counter and fuel gauge) for the engine, a Volvo Penta MD 2030 saildrive with three-bladed folding prop. There is also one of those nifty new Plastimo 1038 bilge pumps with a pull-up handle that - all of a sudden, it seems - can be found on just about every new imported yacht.

Along the centreline in the aft cockpit is a raised moulding that serves as a cover for the backstay control lines and also a handy footrest for the steerer when the boat is heeled. This has been added since launching and could become a standard feature.

You've gotta love a big composite steering wheel - I know I do - and the 38 Match is equipped with a beauty. The wire cable steering system is by Whitlock, and the pedestal includes a stainless steel mounting for the Raymarine ST 60 Tridata (echo sounder, log and speed) instruments and Plastimo Olympic 135 binnacle compass, all included in the standard package. The command unit for an optional autopilot could also be fitted here.

Keen racers are more likely to want their electronic instruments mounted below the gooseneck on the mast, like the Raymarine ST290 system on the test yacht, and may decide to do away with the stainless steel structure in front of the wheel.

The cockpit also features big cockpit lockers in the teak-topped seats on both sides, particularly the one to starboard which is big enough for an adult to climb into. This is a feature of the standard two-cabin 38 Match, but not the optional three-cabin layout.

BELOW DECKS
The companionway provides an easy climb down into the saloon, which gives an initial impression of uncluttered space. There are lots of mahogany veneers on cupboards, doors, etc, and the floors are finished with hard-wearing teak/holly "look" synthetic coating, but there are also several plain white surfaces, and the upholstery features off-white woven cloth and leather panels, which adds to the bright, fresh look (but in my opinion is an impractical colour).

The standard layout incorporates a forward cabin with full length double vee berth with open storage space underneath for sails and so on, plus wardrobes with hanging space and shelves in both aft corners.

The saloon features a central table with drop leaves, settees both sides and storage cupboards along the hull walls behind. (Whether the upward-opening doors on these cupboards - as per all the current Bavaria models - are practical in rough weather is a question I haven't yet been able to put to the test.)

Under the starboard settee forward are the Bosch batteries and a Tecpro II battery charger, while fuel tankage is under the aft end. The deep area under the U-shaped settee on the port side is completely allocated to storage. The settee squabs simply velcro into place and are easy to move around.

At the aft end of the saloon is the galley to port, opposite the navigation station to starboard. Neither area is large but both are quite adequate for coastal passages and short stays onboard.

The L-shaped galley has an oven and two-burner stove, twin sinks, a refrigerated top-opening icebox, storage above and below the benches, a dedicated garbage bin locker, and covers for the stove and sinks that maximise galley bench space.

The nav station has a long, shallow chart table, a padded bench seat that houses storage space and a fire extinguisher, and a cabinet with mounting space for a chartplotter, etc. There's a 12V circuit breaker under the table and the electrics panel can hinge out if required. The electrics include both 12V and 240V shorepower capability.

The second private cabin is in the port quarter, with a large double bunk on top of the water tankage. There is a dedicated storage area for the washboards, and access to the engine, as well as to the steering system. There is also a hanging locker with shelving.

On the opposite side of the companionway is the bathroom, which is a compact space with a Jabsco manual toilet (a holding tank is included in the standard specification), a vanity unit with lighting over the big sink, which has hot/cold pressurised water supply via a mixer tap that also serves as the shower nozzle. There is a mirrored cabinet (another mirror is on the opposite wall), plus hanging space aft for wet gear, a fuel tank emergency cut-off and access to the engine.

Primary access to the engine is gained by lifting the companionway moulding, which is made easier by the inclusion of a gas strut.

PERFORMANCE
For what it's worth (okay, nothing), my vote for the next America's Cup venue would have to be Palma, Mallorca. We got a glorious summer's day for our outing on the Bavaria 38 Match, with a seabreeze that built slowly from 5-15kt, and only a slight chop.

This wasn't a "normal" Bavaria test on several counts; for starters we had flown to the other side of the planet just for this, and secondly there was a cast of thousands onboard, not just two or three. While shorthanding is a relevant way to gauge the more cruising-orientated Bavarias, it was good in this case to have plenty of human ballast on the windward rail, because that is how the boat is intended to be raced. Ten-up was probably stretching things a little far on a boat that will probably be crewed by seven or eight, but there was room around the decks for all of us.

The Bavaria crew were not happy with the softness of the carbon mast, and the company is looking at changing suppliers to the established composite spar manufacturer Nordic Spar for stiffer masts in future. In the meantime, the mainsail set up too flat with overbend creases, resulting in a displeased Danish sailmaker.

The best part of being a boating writer is that you get to hold the handle - at least some of the time - and I can confirm that the 38 Match was a lot of fun to drive. The steering felt good: very direct and positive, and the wheel is well positioned for driving either standing or seated.

The maxi-sized wheels becoming common on cruiser/racers take some getting used to; most people tend to spear the boat all over the ocean for a few moments before coming to grips with just how little adjustment is required. The pay-off is that once you get into the groove, only tiny helm movements are required - and in this regard the Match 38 was no exception.

If anything, the steering was a touch heavy and could do with a slight loosening of the cable. Some noticeable windward helm could also be reduced with rig adjustment, although a bit of helm can be useful to compensate for the lack of feel of a balanced rudder.

The boat felt lively and powerful upwind, and once it had heeled to a certain angle it resisted heeling further, instead tracking straight and washing off pace until the mainsail was depowered. In other words, it's a stiff boat in its current configuration. The Bavaria representatives said they had originally planned to use a smaller headsail to improve the boat's IMS rating, but it has proven so stiff it needs the overlapping genoa. So they are talking about experimenting with less lead in the keel. (Initial expectations were for an IMS GPH of 632sec/m with 135 per cent genoa.)

The boat has noticeably full bow sections and may prove challenging to get smoothly through a rough sea as a result, but this was something we were not able to put to the test.

Downwind we had fun with the Elvstrom Sobstad gennaker, which was a snack to set and retrieve, and allowed the steerer to hunt the fastest angles. Masthead symmetrical and asymmetrical spinnakers are also options.

Generally speaking the deck hardware was well laid out and allowed effective sail handling. There is no toerail to annoy the hell out of crew sitting on the rail until forward of the mid-coachhouse area.

Flat stick under motor, the boat powered along at more than 7kt, while at 2200 revs the cruising speed was closer to 6.5kt.

SUMMARY
Bavaria Yacht's commitment to the new Match range is evident in its heavy promotion of the Match 38, and its fast-tracking of two more models. Australian agent North South Yachting has signalled its support for the new 38 Match, in turn, by ordering a fleet of six for delivery before Christmas.

How will the boat go in mixed fleet racing? Pretty well is my guess, particularly given that the first boat in Australia is to be campaigned by Sydney yachtsman Tony Kirby, a very experienced racer who recently joined the North South Yachting team.

The 38 Match will no doubt be an attractive next step for existing Bavaria owners who feel ready to chase more performance, as well as owners of older production cruiser/racers in the 35-40ft range who would like to club race and perhaps enter the occasional coastal passage race such as the Pittwater-Coffs Harbour or the Adelaide-Port Lincoln, say, but also want below decks comfort, space and amenities for cruising with family and/or friends, all at a highly competitive price.

Vanessa Dudley travelled to Europe as a guest of Bavaria Yachts and North South Yachting.