TESTED: BAVARIA C50
Epitomising the ultra-modern, high-volume production cruiser, Bavaria’s C50 offers plenty to appeal to today’s buyers. David Harding reports
Bold, ultramodern and spacious. We go for a spin
If any builder is determined to keep I ahead of the trends in a rapidly changing market, it’s Bavaria. In the not-too-distant past, this German giant was associated with boats that were hardly the most inspiring to look at or to sail. They sold like hot cakes principally because they were roomy, remarkably inexpensive and aimed squarely at the mass market. Then came the switch to Farr designs. Performance went up in leaps and bounds and the styling received some much-needed attention too.
Bavaria has now moved on from Farr’s Cruiser range by introducing the C models, designed by Cossutti Yacht Design. First came the C57 in 2017, and then the C45 and C50 last year.
It would be hard to think of a name with a higher profile or a more impressive pedigree in performance yacht design than Farr. At the same time, Bavaria seems to like to shake things up now and again and it’s not as though Cossutti is an unknown quantity. Good sailing performance remains near the top of the priority list with the C models, but many other factors are behind their introduction. Bavaria wanted to increase comfort, to provide more of the mod cons demanded by today’s buyers, to offer more choices with a whole range of mix-andmatch interior layout options and, importantly, to build what it calls ‘smart connectivity’ into the boats in the form of a fully integrated electronics system. B&G’S Naviop lets you call up any navigation data from any screen on board. The screens also
function as switch panels so, for example, you can check tank levels or turn navigation lights on or off from the helm. Monitoring data from your phone is possible now and the next stage will be the ability to control the systems from your phone or tablet. If you’re heading to your boat for the weekend and want the beers cold in the fridge and the cabin nicely warm when you get there, just log in and it’s done in a couple of taps.
Although you might imagine that this sort of electronic connectivity is a bolt-on that could be added to any boat, in practice it needs to be incorporated into the design from the outset. And that’s one reason why the Cruisers are still running alongside the C range, at least for the time being, as more basic and lower-cost alternatives. The Cruiser 51, which started life as the Cruiser 50, was introduced in 2010 and costs around £40,000 less than the C50. Plenty of other new features are to be found in the C range too. Galleys are no longer linear but have moved aft. And whereas the Cruisers used the full length of the hull for accommodation, the new models have dinghy garages in the stern.
Externally, twin rudders have given way to single blades because owners wanted the manoeuvrability under power that comes with prop-wash. They wanted self-tacking jibs too – now they’ve got them.
A BOLD STATEMENT
To say that the C50 looks bold would be an understatement. She’s high, wide and flat-topped, with towering topsides, full bow sections by modern standards, a low coachroof and three enormous rectangular ports in the topsides. Whether or not you think she looks beautiful, she has presence.
She also needs to offer more than ‘smart connectivity’ and a few mod cons to attract buyers in the numbers that Bavaria is hoping for, so what’s she like as a sailing yacht?
The short answer is that she’s comfortable, respectably fast, simple to handle and easy to live with as a coastal cruiser. There’s no reason why she shouldn’t be sailed further offshore, but she’s unashamedly geared towards inshore waters and what you might call ‘lifestyle cruising’ – hence features like the wet-bar and barbecue in the stern complete with fridge and sink. You can prepare your sausages and sundowners standing on the large bathing platform (the ‘terrace by the sea’ in
Bavaria-speak) that hinges down to open up the dinghy garage.
Moving forward between the twin helm stations with their substantial consoles you have seating and a table each side of the central access to the companionway. Naturally the tables can be lowered at the touch of a button (for an extra £4,000 or so) to create additional lounging and sunbathing space.
Further forward, sunbathing areas have been designed into the multi-level coachroof. The mainsheet is taken to strong-points forward of the companionway. You can choose your level of trim and sophistication by ticking options on the list and by starting with the model that suits your needs. Private owners will probably opt for the ‘Style’ version, like our test boat. For charter use there’s the rather more basic ‘Holiday’, without the wet-bar and barbecue in the stern or nice features such as the under-deck furling drum.
In-mast reefing isn’t standard, though it’s hard to imagine many owners going without it. Assuming you tick that box, sail-handling is a doddle. You have a Lewmar 50 self-tailer by each helm station: one for the single-ended mainsheet and one for the selftacking jib. Make these electric and you have pushbutton sailing. Our test boat, which put in only the
briefest appearance in the UK before being loaded for shipping to her new owner in Spain the day after our sail, had a second set of winches to make life easier. Adding a bow-thruster and, perhaps, a stern-thruster too, makes berthing as much of a push-button operation as sailing and allows the boat to get in and out of berths she wouldn’t otherwise be able to use.
Spars are by Seldén, the chunky mast being deckstepped with two sets of spreaders. It’s not an enormous rig, but the C50’s relatively light weight and long waterline give her a sail area/displacement ratio of just over 20 and a displacement/length ratio of 148. She’s ballasted by a bulbed fin keel in cast iron with a standard draught of 7ft 7in (2.30m), while the broad stern demands that the single rudder be almost as deep as the keel. Of course a single rudder can present a challenge with a dinghy garage, though it’s far enough forward and with the stock angled to create space for a dinghy to fit in athwartships.
HANDLING AND PERFORMANCE
On the basis of the numbers involved in the fundamental ratios, the C50 should be reasonably slippery under sail – at least in the middle of the wind range. Her wetted area might make her a little sticky in light airs, while the high freeboard and hull volume, combined with the iron keel of modest draught and weight, might mean that she’s not leading the way when it comes to punching upwind into steep seas and 30 knots of wind. That’s not what she’s all about.
In the flat water and benign conditions of our test, she went very nicely and presented no quirks or foibles. From the photo boat when the wind was still gusting over 20 knots it was clear she was hard pressed after we encouraged the crew to unfurl the full mainsail. That might have been because the long loop of the bowline attaching the sheet to the low-clewed headsail stopped it from being sheeted in fully. Keeping the headsail full meant sailing too deep upwind, which will always present a challenge in fresh conditions.
With the sheet’s attachment shortened and the clew block-to-block, she was fine even when,
The C50 is comfortable, fast and easy to handle
after decreasing for a time, the wind picked up again later. The combination of the Jefa steering and the single rudder gave a positive, direct response through the Carbonautica composite wheels (upgrades from the standard stainless). Handling was pleasantly crisp all round, her form stability makes her a stiff boat in those conditions and weather helm was modest.
For extra power and a more controllable sail you can have a 106% headsail sheeted to tracks outboard of the coachroof. Even under self-tacker we clocked up to 7.7 knots upwind in the fresher patches with the apparent wind at 33°. That’s not bad for a chunky cruiser and certainly in a different league to what one would have expected of a Bavaria from a few generations ago. Under power she cruised comfortably and quietly at 7.5 knots.
Hinge-up sections of the cockpit sole by the wheels make life more level on the windward side for the helmsman, who has a clear view forward and handholds on the consoles to help when moving around.
My biggest criticism back here is the usual one: nowhere to keep small items like binoculars, drinks and sunglasses close at hand. Lockers under the seating each side abaft the tables are big enough to accommodate a four-man valise liferaft.
A hatch in the sole gives access to the dinghy garage so you can drop fenders and suchlike in from above. At the other end of the boat, the space forward of the owner’s cabin
(or twin forecabins if you choose that option) can be used as a skipper’s cabin or as a large locker.
In between, the deck and coachroof are easy enough to negotiate as long as you avoid the areas without the diamond antiskid finish. There are a few of these. Lines from the mast are led beneath the top of the coachroof to emerge by the winches.
ACCOMMODATION
This is one roomy 50-footer. You feel a long way down when you reach the foot of the companionway because of the high topsides and the headroom of 6ft 10in (2.08m), even though the saloon sole is raised by a foot or two. On the other hand, the hullside ports give a view out and the general feeling is one of light and airiness.
It’s always revealing below decks to look at the substance before the gloss; to start by poking around under the cabin sole and behind the joinery to get a feel for the structure.
A tray moulding beneath the sole boards incorporates a stiffening matrix formed of longitudinal and fore-and-aft members, limber holes allowing water to drain between compartments and
Handling was pleasantly crisp and she is a stiff boat in these conditions
conduits for cabling running through a few inches higher up.
Steel stringers in the topsides, one each side, are a new feature in the C range. They’re said to make the hull rigid enough for the boat to sail even before the bulkheads are fitted.
Hull and deck are vacuum-infused and the hull is foam-cored except below the waterline in the central and forward sections. A transverse member extends from the matrix up to the chainplates to distribute the loads from the rig.
IN WITH THE NEW
As ever with Bavaria, joinery is assembled as modules outside the boat and then fitted into the hull with most of the systems already built in. It’s all part of what Bavaria calls its Modutec system.
As for the result – well, the C50 is far removed from Bavarias of old. The interior is more sumptuous and although sealant is still in evidence it has been used sparingly.
Our test boat was finished in walnut. Mahogany and light oak are the alternatives. The layout was one that’s likely to be popular with private owners who want to keep open the option of having a skipper on board. A bunk and heads in the forward compartment take up little space, so it still serves as an enormous locker. Abaft the bulkhead is the owner’s cabin with a massive berth, a shower compartment to port and the heads to starboard. You can have two cabins up here, each with combined heads and shower.
Two more double cabins are in the stern. Forward of the starboard cabin can be a heads and shower, entered from the saloon, or the space can be used for a smaller heads plus a utility area. A third option is a bunk cabin, so you could theoretically have six cabins. You can mix and match the arrangements in each section to your heart’s content.