ME AND MY BOAT
Bavaria 36 Cruiser
The Bavaria 36 Cruiser replaced the 34 in 2000 and quickly earned a reputation of being a no-nonsense, comfortable production yacht that suited the needs of both enthusiastic club racers and cruising families alike. Owners soon discovered their impressive sailing abilities, both in light airs and rough, heavy weather conditions.
The design also proved popular with charter companies because of its generous accommodation and the ease with which it could be maintained.
The J&J designed 36 has clean lines, conservative freeboard, a well-organised and clutter-free deck layout, and a sporty fractional rig which, allied to her sleek underwater profile, long waterline and shallow after sections, makes her quite an impressive performer.
Her wide beam provides significant form stability, which is important given that her ballast ratio with the standard keel is only 25%.
She came with two (2-C) or three (3-C) cabins. In the former the heads are aft and the aft double cabin larger. The latter has a smaller heads forward of the saloon.
Her hand-laid up hull was solid laminate but her decks were a closed-cell foam sandwich to reduce weight. Encapsulated foam floor frames also lend considerable stiffness and support to the hull.
The laminates utilised isophthalic polyester resins with chopped strand and woven matting, reinforced in high load areas by unidirectional Kevlar rovings, making her a pretty tough cookie.
ACCOMMODATION
Below, the spacious accommodation is light and airy, with 1.85m/6ft 1in headroom. The woodwork is warm and attractive, with mahogany-veneered composite bulkheads and panels. The top-hinged locker lids, however, with shallow fiddles, which allow the contents to fall out when heeled, are annoying.
The 2-C model has a good size heads where the port side cabin would be. It has pressurised hot and cold water and a shower seat over the toilet. Ventilation is through a large, outboard hatch while stowage includes a wet locker.
Just forward of the heads is a decent navigation station with a couple of lockers above. There’s also an eye-level console for mounting a chart plotter, radar or MFD, which can be viewed easily from the companionway. The chart table is a good size but has a corner shaved off to facilitate access to the heads. A locker below offers some stowage but no drawers.
The aft cabin in the 2-C boat overlaps the centreline and has a comfortable 2.08m/6ft
9in x 1.70m/5ft 7in berth. There’s a large hanging locker, plenty of shelves and a portlight inboard and outboard. The 3-C model has slightly smaller, mirror-image aft cabins.
The user-friendly L-shaped galley has a gimballed, two-ring cooker with grill, oven and a crash bar, deep cool box, twin sinks and a gash bin. Stowage abounds in copious drawers and lockers.
The combination of straight settees and twin-leaf table in the centre of the saloon is practical and provides good all-round access. In the 3-C model, however, it’s slightly awkward entering the forward heads.
The forecabin on the 2-C boat is quite opulent with full headroom, a spacious dressing area and a 2.07m/6ft 9in x 2.18m/7ft 1in vee berth. In the 3-C version, though, the heads steal a sizeable chunk of it. Stowage is good in overhead lockers and a deep bin under the bunk, and a large forehatch allows plenty of fresh air and light to enter.
ON DECK
The cockpit is large enough for lounging in at anchor, but not so big as to make bracing difficult under sail. The helming position is good and the binnacle large enough for an instrument pod, but you can’t reach the primaries without climbing over the seats.
The 2-C model has a deep locker to starboard and a shallower one to port, whereas the 3-C version has only two shallow lockers. Teak seats and sole are a nice touch and the wide coamings comfortable to sit on. A walk-through transom is accessed by lifting out the helm seat and a telescopic boarding ladder folds away into the platform.
Access forward is aided by wide, uncluttered side decks and the non-slip is adequate, although not brilliant when wet. The foredeck has space to drop the headsail and sort the ground tackle, and there is a substantial below-decks windlass platform, plus enough space in the chain locker to stow the anchor.
Her fractional rig is supported by a full set of stays and shrouds leading to single chain plates each side, and her mast has twin, swept spreaders. The backstay is bifurcated with a 12:1 tensioner on one leg. A ‘Sports’ version included a fully-battened mainsail, foam-luff genoa, high-tech Elvstrøm sails and full spinnaker gear, plus the deep lead keel and folding prop.
UNDER SAIL
Being fairly light displacement means she’s quite quick off the mark and through tacks. She’s also no slouch in light airs, well able to keep the log over 4-knots in just 12-knots of apparent wind.
With the deep fin keel and narrow headsail sheeting angle she’ll point up to 32° off the apparent wind and tacks smartly through 75-80°. But crack her off a little and she accelerates quickly. In tests during stronger wind conditions we’ve had 7-8 knots on a close reach with little drama.
Downwind she tracks well but needs more than white sails to keep her speed up, especially once the wind moves abaft the beam, when the headsail starts to de-power
and the swept spreaders prevent the boom from being pushed out all the way.
Having sailed Bavaria 36s several times in Force 6-8 winds, I know that she’s easy to sail in most conditions and slams less going to windward in a rough sea than you might expect. If you overdo it and leave a full genoa up with 24-knots over the deck she calmly turns her head into the wind and loses way. But then it’s important to remember this is a production cruising yacht so most owners will reef down much earlier than that. In all conditions her helm remains light and positive.
MOTORING
Under engine she spins about her keel in virtually her own length and goes astern swiftly once the speed has picked up. As with all sail drives it takes time for the prop wash to reach the rudder but she exhibits minimal prop walk, so berthing is easy.
The standard 19hp Volvo produces enough power in smooth water but for battling a foul tide the bigger 28hp engine is better. At 2,400rpm she cruises quietly and economically at 5.8-6 knots, beyond which she gets a little noisy, although she’ll plough along at 8 knots should you need to.
Access to the engine and all the important service points is quick and easy from both the front (under the companionway steps) and at each side through panels.
Bavaria Owners’ Association: www.bavariaowners.co.uk