Review of Bavaria 38 Cruiser

Basic specs.

The Bavaria 38 Cruiser is a large sailboat designed by the Slovenian maritime architect bureau J&J Design. The Bavaria 38 Cruiser is built by the German yard Bavaria Yachtbau GmbH.

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Hull

The hull is made of hand laid fibreglass. Generally, a hull made of hand laid fibreglass requires only a minimum of maintenance during the sailing season.

Interior

The interior is like many other boats made of mahogany. Mahogany belongs to the hardwood species, known for being water-repellent and resistant to decay. It has an attractive wood grain and holds wood polish and varnish well.
The boat is equipped with 2 cabins, 4-6 berths, a galley, 230.0 liter fresh water capacity and toilet facility.

Keel

The Bavaria 38 Cruiser has been built with different keel alternatives.

Unknown keel type

The boat can only enter major marinas as the draft is about 1.85 - 1.95 meter (6.07 - 6.37 ft) dependent on the load. See immersion rate below.

Fin keel

The Bavaria 38 Cruiser is equipped with a fin keel. The fin keel is the most common keel and provides splendid manoeuvrability. The downside is that it has less directional stability than a long keel.

Bavaria 38 Cruiser can enter most marinas as the draft is just about 1.70 - 1.80 meter (5.58 - 5.88 ft) dependent on the load. See immersion rate below.

Engine

The Bavaria 38 Cruiser has been equipped with different engine alternatives.

Alternative 1:

The boat may be equipped with an inboard Volvo Penta MDD2-55 diesel engine at 55 hp (40 kW). Calculated max speed is about 7.8 knots

Alternative 2:

The boat may be equipped with an inboard Volvo Penta MD2030 diesel engine at 29 hp (21 kW). Calculated max speed is about 5.7 knots

The fuel tank has a capacity of 150.0 liters (39 US gallons, 32 imperial gallons).

Sailing characteristics

This section covers widely used rules of thumb to describe the sailing characteristics. Please note that even though the calculations are correct, the interpretation of the results might not be valid for extreme boats.

Stability and Safety

What is Capsize Screening Formula (CSF)?

The capsize screening value for Bavaria 38 Cruiser is 2.05, indicating that this boat would not be accepted to participate in ocean races.

Theoretical Maximum Hull Speed

What is Theoretical Maximum Hull Speed?

The theoretical maximal speed of a displacement boat of this length is 7.6 knots. The term "Theoretical Maximum Hull Speed" is widely used even though a boat can sail faster. The term shall be interpreted as above the theoretical speed a great additional power is necessary for a small gain in speed.

Immersion rate

The immersion rate is defined as the weight required to sink the boat a certain level. The immersion rate for Bavaria 38 Cruiser is about 260 kg/cm, alternatively 1459 lbs/inch.
Meaning: if you load 260 kg cargo on the boat then it will sink 1 cm. Alternatively, if you load 1459 lbs cargo on the boat it will sink 1 inch.

Sailing statistics

This section is statistical comparison with similar boats of the same category. The basis of the following statistical computations is our unique database with more than 26,000 different boat types and 350,000 data points.

Motion Comfort Ratio

What is Motion Comfort Ratio (MCR)?

The Motion Comfort Ratio for Bavaria 38 Cruiser is 23.6.

Comparing this ratio with similar sailboats show that it is more comfortable than 24% of all similar sailboat designs. This is a comfort value significantly below average.

L/B (Length Beam Ratio)

What is L/B (Length Beam Ratio)?

The l/b ratio for Bavaria 38 Cruiser is 3.05.

Compared with other similar sailboats it is more spacy than 73% of all other designs. It seems that the designer has chosen a slightly more spacy hull design.

Ballast Ratio

What is a Ballast Ratio?

The ballast ratio for Bavaria 38 Cruiser is 34%.

This ballast ratio shows a righting moment that is higher than 24% of all similar sailboat designs. A righting moment (ability to resist heeling) significantly below average.

D/L (Displacement Length Ratio)

What is Displacement Length Ratio?

The DL-ratio for Bavaria 38 Cruiser is 212 which categorizes this boat among 'light crusers & offshore racers'.

66% of all similar sailboat designs are categorized as heavier. A light displacement requires less sailarea and has higher accellerations.

Maintenance

Bottom Paint

When buying anti-fouling bottom paint, it's nice to know how much to buy. The surface of the wet bottom is about 43m² (462 ft²).
Based on this, your favourite maritime shop can tell you the quantity you need.

Note: If you use a paint roller you will need more paint than if you use a paintbrush.

Rig

If you need to renew parts of your running rig and is not quite sure of the dimensions, you may find the estimates computed below useful.

**Guiding dimensions of running rig**
Usage	Length		Diameter
Jib sheet	12.1 m	(39.5 feet)	14 mm	(0.55 inch)
Genoa sheet	12.1 m	(39.5 feet)	14 mm	(0.55 inch)
Mainsheet	30.1 m	(98.8 feet)	14 mm	(0.55 inch)
Spinnaker sheet	26.5 m	(87.0 feet)	14 mm	(0.55 inch)

Boat owner's ideas

This section is reserved boat owner's modifications, improvements, etc. Here you might find (or contribute with) inspiration for your boat.

Do you have changes/improvements you would like to share? Upload a photo and describe what you have done.

Finally

We are always looking for new photos. If you can contribute with photos for Bavaria 38 Cruiser it would be a great help.

If you have any comments to the review, improvement suggestions, or the like, feel free to contact us. Criticism helps us to improve.

References

[Ref 1]: ISO 8666 Small craft — Principal data.
[Ref 3]: ISO 12215-5 Small craft — Hull construction and scantlings.