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BAVARIA YACHTS

45 years of yachting, willkommen bei bavaria yachts - entdecken sie unsere segel- und motoryachten.

Segelyachten

Segeln ist die Leidenschaft, das Meer und den Wind zu erleben. Entdecken Sie pure Freude am Segeln mit Ihrer persönlichen BAVARIA Segelyacht.

Unsere Motorboote kombinieren modernes Design mit kraftvollen sowie sicheren Fahreigenschaften. Und an Bord ist viel Raum für die schönsten Stunden auf dem Wasser.

Katamarane von NAUTITECH vereinen unvergessliche Segelmomente und maximalen Komfort für Eigner, die das Meer lieben.

Aktuelles aus der Welt von BAVARIA YACHTS

Zusätzliche Praxiserfahrung sammeln, Neues lernen und sich untereinander austauschen – das alles konnten mehr als 35 Servicetechniker unserer Händler im Rahmen eines einwöchigen BAVARIA-Service-Workshops in unserer Werft.

Er ist der Oscar der Yachtbranche, der European Yacht of the Year Award. Umso stolzer ist das Team von BAVARIA YACHTS, dass die BAVARIA C46 sich in der Kategorie „Family Cruiser“ gegen sechs Konkurrenten durchsetzen konnte.

Vergangene Woche wurde die letzte BAVARIA VISION 42 in Giebelstadt fertiggestellt. Am Freitagmorgen versammelte sich ein Teil des BAVARIA YACHTS Teams, um ihr einen gebührenden Abschied zu bereiten. 2012 feierte die Segelyacht auf der damaligen boot Düsseldorf Premiere und etwas mehr als 12 Jahre wurde die knapp 13 Meter lange Yacht in der Werft am Band gefertigt. 

Wir beantworten Ihnen alle Fragen zur Ersatzteilversorgung und Reparaturen, geben Tipps und Hilfestellungen.  Wir helfen Ihnen, Ihre Yacht wieder aufs Wasser zu bringen!

Anfang letzten Jahres holte sich die BAVARIA SR41 den „British Motorboat Award“, die BAVARIA SR36 nur wenige Monate später den „Best of Boat Award“ und wurde für den „European Powerboat of the Year“ nominiert. Dieser "Award-Tradition" bleibt auch das neueste Motorboot aus Giebelstadt in diesem Jahr treu.

Mit der Weltpremiere der neuen BAVARIA C46 startet BAVARIA YACHTS auf dem Yachting Festival in Cannes in die neue Messesaison. Die neue BAVARIA C46 entwickelt, interpretiert und erweitert das Designkonzept der erfolgreichen C‐LINE der deutschen Werft.

BAVARIA YACHTS präsentiert mit der neuen BAVARIA C46 die nächste Generation der C-LINE auf dem Yachting Festival 2023 in Cannes. Die Nominierung für die Europas Yacht des Jahres 2024 ist eine weitere Bestätigung dieser vollständigen Neuentwicklung.

Ein Auftakt nach Maß für BAVARIA YACHTS auf dem Cannes Yachting Festival, bei dem die Werft aus Giebelstadt bei Würzburg mit insgesamt acht Motor- und Segelyachten vertreten war.

06.03.2024 Seekrankheit - Infos, Vorbeugung und Tipps Mehr erfahren

17.02.2024 Alle an Bord: Mit Kindern auf Segeltörn gehen. Was gilt es zu beachten? Mehr erfahren

27.04.2023 Boje statt Anker: richtiges Anfahren und Bojencheck Mehr erfahren

BAVARIA YACHTS – 45 Years of Yachting

BAVARIA YACHTS ist seit 45 Jahren Hersteller innovativer Serienyachten. Über 42.000 Segelyachten und Motorboote wurden seit 1978 auf dem 200.000 m² großen Gelände gefertigt.

Was uns ausmacht und womit wir insbesondere Größe zeigen, ist die Erfahrung unserer Mitarbeiter. Wir liefern die Perfektion, für die etwa 700 Mitarbeiter ihr Bestes geben.

Jeden Tag, mit jedem Handgriff – We are BAVARIA!

Wir freuen uns Ihnen sechs Tage lang im Hafen von La Ciotat unsere BAVARIA Yachten zu zeigen! Kommen Sie vorbei und lassen Sie sich inspirieren und beraten.

Erleben Sie pure Freude am Yachting

Yachting Monthly

• Digital edition

Buyer confirmed for Bavaria Yachts

• Katy Stickland
• September 17, 2018

Hundreds of jobs have been secured following the announcement that a buyer has been found for Bavaria Yachts

Understand boat statistics Credit: Bavaria Yachts

17 September 2018

Bavaria Yachts has been bought by a private equity fund advised by the German investment company CMP Capital Management-Partners.

The move secures 800 jobs in Germany and France.

The yacht builders went into self-administration in April, allowing the firm’s management to remain operational while new investors were sought. This also meant Bavaria could continue to build and deliver 220 yachts during that period.

The private equity fund will also acquire all shares in the French subsidiary Bavaria Catamarans SAS.

‘All 550 employees of BAVARIA YACHTS in Giebelstadt and all 250 employees of BAVARIA CATAMARANS in Rochefort will transfer to the purchaser,’ said Bavaria in a statement.

The purchase will be completed after merger control clearance by the German Federal Cartel Office, which is expected in a couple of weeks. The parties have agreed not to disclose the purchase price.

CMP Capital Management-Partners is a German investment company that has specialised in the acquisition of companies in distress in Germany, Austria and Switzerland since its foundation in 2000.

With the investment in a company, CMP employees assume operative management responsibilities on site. In the case of Bavaria, Dr. Ralph Kudla, restructuring expert and partner at CMP, will join the executive board.

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Commenting, the managing director ofCMP Capital Management-Partners, Kai Brandes, said: ‘We are convinced of Bavaria’s global market potential and will sustainably develop the company. The restructuring measures will focus on regaining market share and improving production costs.’

Restructuring expert Dr. Tobias Brinkmann, managing director of Bavaria Yachtbau since insolvency proceedings began in April 2018, said Bavaria was an ‘outstanding company with a strong brand, compelling products and a highly dedicated team.’

‘We are pleased to have found a well-known and experienced buyer in CMP who will lead Bavaria into the future. The entire management would like to thank our employees, yacht dealers, customers and suppliers,’ he stated.

‘ They have all supported Bavaria Yachtbau during the insolvency proceedings. The fact that Bavaria has been able to successfully build and deliver 220 yachts during the last five months shows how committed and reliable our staff is,’ added Dr Brinkmann

22 May 2018

Bavaria Yachts has announced it is in the process of securing new investment and hopes to make an announcement in July.

The German yacht builder is continuing to take orders and deliver new boats.

‘Production has been stabilised and deliveries are continuing: more than 30 yachts have left the shipyard over the past two weeks and have been handed over to customers,’ said Bavaria in a statement.

‘All 600 employees are on duty, and agreements were reached with all major suppliers for further delivery against short payment terms,’ it added.

Bavaria went into self-administration last month. This allowed the firm’s management to remain operational while new investors are sought.

It only affected operations at Bavaria’s German operations. Nautitech – Bavaria’s catamaran arm – was unaffected.

The German shipyard said management and administrators have started an ‘investor process’ to rebuild Bavaria Yachts for the future.

‘The objective is to be able to present an investor in July 2018,’ said Bavaria.

The firm, which recently celebrated its 40th anniversary, was sold by its founder, Winfried Herrmann to the private equity group, Bain Capital in June 2007 for around €1.1 billion.

The American investment firms, Oaktree Capital and Anchorage Capital Group then became creditors post financial crisis in 2008.

As part of restructuring, Oaktree and Anchorage waived a substantial majority of their loans and became majority shareholders, investing ‘significant resource’.

‘Unfortunately, Bavaria Yachtbau was unable to recover operational profitability,’ said a spokesman for Oaktree and Anchorage.

As a result, Bavaria went into self-administration, and restructuring expert, Dr Tobias Brinkmann was appointed to find new investors.

‘We are continuing the operation and want to go into the coming order season with a new investor,’ stressed Dr Brinkmann.

‘The first expressions of interest have already been received, and we are also actively approaching potential investors,’ he added.

24 April 2018

Bavaria Yachts has confirmed that is has now gone into self-administration.

The German shipyard said boat production and deliveries will continue until June 2018. Wages and salaries for Bavaria’s 600 workers are also secure until then.

The self-administration, which allows the firm’s management to remain operational while an investor for the company is sought, only affects operations at Bavaria’s German operations.

Nautitech – Bavaria’s catamaran arm – remains unaffected and trading, delivery and after sales service at its base in Rochefort, France continues as normal.

‘In the current situation, we want to supply our customers with the usual high quality, stressed Bavaria’s chief operating officer, Erik Appel.

Dr. Ing. Tobias Brinkmann, specialist lawyer for insolvency law and partner in the law firm Brinkmann & Partner, joins the management team. Bavaria’s previous CEO, Lutz Henkel, left the management board last week.

Bavaria said its ‘top priority is now the search for an investor’

‘We have years of experience building high-quality yachts and are industry leaders in many areas,’ said Appel.

Bavaria said that against the background of a good market positioning, the aim was to ‘put the operation on a sound financial basis’.

Bavaria was founded in 1978 and is considered one of the market leaders in European yacht building. In January, it announced the new flagship C65 as well as the C45 models at Boot Düsseldorf.

Payment of wages and salaries for the months of April to June 2018 will be secured by bankruptcy pre-financing.

In a statement, Nautitech Catamarans, said: ‘To this day, the catamaran business remains in Rochefort France. It is an independent French company with its own employees, suppliers and bank accounts. Seen as the “jewel in the crown” of the Bavaria group, the well managed and profitable catamaran business is already attracting interest from potential buyers.

‘Whilst we understand that both the catamaran division and the struggling German operation will probably soon be under new ownership, or indeed ownerships, the operation of the catamaran business is completely unaffected by the situation in Germany. Therefore trading, delivery and after sales service continue as before.’

20 April 2018

The German yacht building giant Bavaria is expected to issue a statement later today, explaining that it is entering administration.

It is thought that the administration will apply to the Bavaria monohulls, but not to Bavaria catamarans. The company, which announced the new flagship C65 as well as the C45 models at Boot Düsseldorf earlier this year, is expected to continue construction and delivery of all current orders and will not be closing its factory.

Bavaria Yachts emerges from abyss thanks to CMP

The bill of sale between Bavaria Yachtbau Gmb H and CMP has been signed these days and the creditors’ committee has approved the transaction together with Hubert Ampferl, CEO of Bavaria Yachtbau GmbH. The final step will the validation of the document by the German Federal Cartel Office ( Bundeskartellamt) which is expected in a couple of weeks.

” We are convinced of Bavaria Yachts’s global market potential and will sustainably develop the company. The restructuring measures will focus on regaining market share and improving production costs”.

The comment was echoed by the words of  Tobias Brinkmann , CEO of Bavaria Yachtbau:

So, CMP society will focus not only on the turnaround management and therefore the repositioning of the German shipyard on the market but it will have also to complete all the projects undertaken by Bavaria Yachts through operative support and specific managerial measures. CMP will also acquire all shares in the French subsidiary Bavaria Catamarans S.A.S . The private equity fund has also contributed to save the 550 employees of Bavaria Yachts in Giebelstadt and all 250 workers of Bavaria Catamarans in Rochefort .

Now, the future of Bavaria Yachts is in the hands of an excellent buyer, specialized in this kind of operations. We just have to wait for next developments in order to see which strategies will be put in action to fix the company.

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• Digital Editions

Bavaria Yachts completes purchase agreement and announces key changes to its business and fleet

• Stef Bottinelli

The yacht builder has announced that its crafts will now be built 100% in Germany and it will reduce its models from 26 to 10-12

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Yachting World

• Digital Edition

Bavaria Yachts files for bankruptcy as investors pull out, but catamaran division still going strong

• Elaine Bunting
• April 24, 2018

Bavaria Yachts, one of the world's largest production boatbuilders, is in financial trouble after US investors decided to withdraw support for the company

German builder Bavaria Yachtbau sent out shockwaves among owners and the industry last week when it declared insolvency. According to German magazine Yacht , US investors Oaktree Capital Management and Anchorage Advisors pulled a day after the sacking of Bavaria’s CEO, Lutz Henkel.

The investors are said to be giving Bavaria a ‘soft landing’, guaranteeing three months of operation until the yard closes for its annual summer holidays.

The news took dealers and suppliers alike by complete surprise.

The insolvency is said to affect the manufacturing arm of the company building Bavaria monohulls. Bavaria Catamarans, formerly Nautitech, is not said to be affected. Bavaria purchased Nautitech from French owner  Bruno Voisard and partners just over two years ago.

The catamaran market has been booming with sales outstripping demand, while mid-sized production monohull sales, which slumped in 2008, have never fully recovered.

UK Nautitech dealers Key Yachting Ltd , said: ‘ To this day, the catamaran business remains in Rochefort, France. It is an independent French company with its own employees, suppliers and bank accounts. Seen as the “jewel in the crown” of the Bavaria group, the well managed and profitable catamaran business is already attracting interest from potential buyers.

‘While we understand that both the Catamaran division and the struggling German operation will probably soon be under new ownership, or indeed ownerships, the operation of the Catamaran business is completely unaffected by the situation in Germany. Therefore trading, delivery and after sales service continue as before.’

Bavaria has been through several chapters of ownership. Buyout firm Bain Capital bought the company in 2007 for €1.3bn and handed over two years later to debt investors Oaktree and Anchorage in a huge debt-for-equity transaction in which the two specialists wrote off 90 per cent of Bavaria’s €960m debts.

The company has sought to expand into larger yachts with the launch of two new larger and more luxurious cruisers, the C57 launched last year and C65 that on show in January at boot Düsseldorf. Bavaria is one of the world’s largest volume production manufacturers, oeprating out of a huge plant in Giebelstadt, near Würzburg, where it builds around 4,000 yachts a year.

Bavaria Yachts is Back in Business

19 September 2018 Dominique SALANDRE News 0

Bavaria Yachts is saved !   A private equity fund advised by the German investment company CMP Capital Management-Partners will continue Bavaria Yachts. The subsidiary Bavaria Catamarans SAS is also being acquired and all 800 employees working in Giebelstadt, Germany and Rochefort, France will transfer to the purchaser.

A private equity fund advised by the Berlin-based investment company CMP Capital Management-Partners will acquire the entire business of Bavaria Yachtbau GmbH and continue its operations. It will also acquire all shares in French subsidiary Bavaria Catamarans SAS. All 550 employees of BAVARIA YACHTS in Giebelstadt and all 250 employees of BAVARIA CATAMARANS in Rochefort will transfer to the purchaser. A corresponding purchase contract between the management of Bavaria Yachtbau GmbH and CMP was concluded and notarized today. The creditors’ committee gave its approval, as did the administrator of Bavaria Yachtbau GmbH, Dr. Hubert Ampferl. The purchase will be completed after merger control clearance by the German Federal Cartel Office, which is expected in a couple of weeks. The parties have agreed not to disclose the purchase price. 

CMP Capital Management-Partners is a German investment company that has specialised in the acquisition of companies in distress in Germany, Austria and Switzerland since its foundation in 2000. CMP’s private equity funds are advised by Berlin-based CMP Capital Management-Partners. With the investment in a company, CMP employees assume operative management responsibilities on site. In the case of Bavaria, Dr. Ralph Kudla, restructuring expert and partner at CMP, will join the executive board. 

Kai Brandes, Managing Director of CMP Capital Management-Partners explains: “We are convinced of Bavaria’s global market potential and will sustainably develop the company. The restructuring measures will focus on regaining market share and improving production costs.”

Restructuring expert Dr. Tobias Brinkmann, Managing Director of Bavaria Yachtbau since insolvency proceedings began in April 2018 states: “Bavaria is an outstanding company with a strong brand, compelling products and a highly dedicated team. We are pleased to have found a well-known and experienced buyer in CMP who will lead Bavaria into the future. The entire management would like to thank our employees, yacht dealers, customers and suppliers. They have all supported Bavaria Yachtbau during the insolvency proceedings. The fact that Bavaria has been able to successfully build and deliver 220 yachts during the last five months shows how committed and reliable our staff is.”

Finalists nominated for Best of Boats Awards 2017 Awards ceremony on 23 November at BOAT & FUN BERLIN

• Bavaria Yachtbau GmbH
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Inside the Bavaria factory

St editor sam fortescue goes on a tour inside the bavaria factory, which makes 1,000 boats a year.

Even back then, industrialisation was key to the business. A large purpose-built hangar housed hull after hull, busy with workers. As Bavaria CEO Lutz Henkel tells me: “Herrman was the Henry Ford of boatbuilding”.

Today, automation and process are the beating heart of Bavaria, and the 70,000m 2 halls of Bavaria Yachtbau, which turns out over 1,000 boats per year with the input of workers from 14 different countries, resembles none other that I have ever visited. The first thing I see is a row of bikes, which Bavaria’s 600 production workers use to save valuable minutes getting around the factory.

Bavaria’s output has fallen from its 2007 peak of 3,000 boats per year. But it’s not all spare capacity – the boats take longer to complete now.

Bavaria CEO Lutz Henkel explains: “I would say that we are nearly at the same capacity as before – it’s just that our boats are more complicated.

“They have a wider variety of interiors now, whereas before it was ‘take it or leave it’.”

Within a year, all Bavaria boats will be manufactured using vacuum infusion.

Production line

An unbroken production line stretches from the moulding hall through fit out to finishing, each boat on a wheeled cradle which moves from station to station on narrow railway tracks.

Machine-operated

One of the two five-axis milling machines hard at work cutting out ports, hatches and holes for fittings.

A fortnight's build

It takes just two weeks to get a Cruiser 46 gets from being just tubs of epoxy and boxes of screws to a gleaming, finished article.

Changes in processes and options have led to more premium products. A decade ago, the yard’s entry-level Cruiser 33 cost €65,000 (£51,000) ex-VAT; today, the new 34 starts at €89,000 (£70,000).

Laying up the hulls

Laying up is still a very manual task at Bavaria. It is the job of one man to dunk precut strips of glass mat in epoxy resin before they’re collected by colleagues in hazard suits and respirators. They swarm all over the mould with rollers and and in this way, it takes just a day to lay up each hull or deck before it is gently cooked at 60° in a large oven.

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Bavaria S33 HT used boat report: Tardis-like sportscruiser boasts options aplenty

• Top stories

Our resident used boat expert Phil Sampson explains how to find a good Bavaria S33 HT on the secondhand market and what features to look out for…

In build: 2015-current Price range: £170,000-£250,000

What do you get if you cross a joiner with a yacht broker? Answer: a boat builder. At least that’s what happened in 1978 when window maker Winfried Herman joined forces with charter agent Josef Meltl to create Bavaria Yachtbau .

By 2006, a year before the founders sold the business to a US private equity investor, their burgeoning company had built 3,500 sail and motor boats and was employing 600 people.

Things then took a turn for the worse, but despite filing for bankruptcy in 2018 and subsequently being acquired at the eleventh hour by a second private equity firm, Bavaria Yachtbau rose again and today is one of Europe’s biggest boat manufacturers, with the largest yard in Germany.

Aspirational craft

The Bavaria S33 HT is a prime example of what it does best – building stylish, spacious but also affordable craft that buyers of all ages and experience can aspire to.

Launched in 2015 as the Bavaria S330 , and available in either open or hardtop format, it was rebadged S33 from the 2017 model year onwards. Production is still ongoing with an estimated 400 examples delivered to date.

Article continues below…

Bavaria Sport 360 used boat: Updated model is much more than meets the eye

Video: triple test – bavaria sport 330 vs galeon 325 hts vs elan power 30.

Bavaria’s offer starts with a temptingly priced entry-level model to which a wide range of options can be added, so prospective purchasers of used examples shouldn’t take it for granted that something they’ve seen on one boat will be fitted to another.

That aside, all S33s boast the same no-nonsense build quality Bavaria is known for and, even with a raft of options added, should still represent good value for money.

According to Ben Nichols of UK Bavaria importer Clipper Marine, the S33 makes an ideal boat both for a relative newcomer who wants something a little larger than a run-of-the-mill 20ft cuddy cruiser, and for a more experienced owner who is looking to take the next step up from a RIB or sportsboat .

You can expect cruising economy of around 2.3 litres per nautical mile at 27 knots

Richard Cassidy, owner of the hard-topped Bavaria S33 HT featured here, which is being offered by Clipper Marine for £189,950, agrees, citing space and seakeeping as two of its key selling points.

“Being a first-time boat buyer, I had done a lot of research on the different makes and models of craft available within my budget,” says Richard. “It became clear to me that the best-value vessel would be one of the Bavarias. Firstly, they always seemed to be a more spacious option than other boats I had viewed within my price bracket.

“The Bavaria S33 HT ticked the boxes in terms of size, accommodation and space all round – and I have a family of four kids, so space was really key for me. Secondly, the boat has very well laid out cabins and helm, and there’s ample room to move around the side decks, stern and bow area.

There’s a wet bar up top as well as a galley down below

“And thirdly, I live in the Isle of Man and would be taking her out in the Irish Sea and down as far as the West Country, so I needed a boat that offered the seafaring capabilities such trips would demand in terms of range, handling and economy.”

Options aplenty

To deliver that broad mix of requirements while keeping the entry price as low as possible, the Bavaria S33 HT was offered with a wide range of different engine options. By far the most popular option in the UK was twin 220hp Volvo D3 diesels, as fitted to Richard’s boat.

The alternative diesel offering was a single Volvo D6 380hp. Although it offered a similar level of performance and marginally lower running costs, it never proved popular among British buyers.

Uprated engine insulation keeps the noise from the D3s well in check

There were also a number of petrol options, ranging from a single 350hp Volvo V8 (the cheapest engine choice) up to twin 250hp Mercurys or twin 300hp Volvos (the fastest). When MBY tested a Bavaria Sport 330 equipped with a pair of the D3 220s back in 2015, we found the boat pulled well all the way up to its top speed of 34.8 knots.

In terms of economy, cruising at a shade over 27 knots the engines consumed 70 lph, equating to a running cost of £110/hour at current prices. That figure halves when employing the “50% at cruising speed, 50% at slow speed” calculation we use in these reports.

To get a flavour of the boat’s seakeeping, we asked Richard Cassidy what’s the worst weather he’s been out in: “I’ve been caught out a few times in inclement weather with the S33,” he replied.

“The first instance was around the ‘corner of England’ at Land’s End, coming up past the Longships Lighthouse, where the English Channel becomes the Irish Sea and meets the Atlantic Ocean.

“The swell was estimated at 3-4m with winds of F3/F4 but she handled it brilliantly. The bow stayed where I needed it to be, the engines powered me forward when required and held me back when I needed to ride out the waves and meander through.

“But the last and easily most hair-raising time was off the coast of the Isle of Man, heading from Douglas Head to Peel Harbour via the south of the island. I hit a swell of 5m by Chicken Rock, where the wind had picked up from F3/4 to a solid F6. I had waves coming from the southwest at 5m high.

The hard top strikes the ideal balance between protection and openness

“There really was no direction of safety other than into the oncoming sea. I had to battle it out, then ride back in. It was then ‘rinse and repeat’ until I made it around the island!

“The Bavaria S33 HT is rated up to an F8 and, boy, did I test that claim on that passage! There were some very hairy moments with a number of huge waves causing me to dip the bow into the sea but she remained very stable, albeit a touch bumpy at times.

“I’d say the D3 220s are the minimum I would want in more challenging conditions, so all in all, she’s turned out to be the perfect balance of size and power for what I’ve needed.

Bow and stern thrusters are an easy way to keep that S33 in shape at slow speeds

Thrust issues

“My only gripe on handling has been at slower speeds, when you have her down to six knots or less, where it can become quite tough to maintain a constant bow position.

“You can be forced to use the bow thruster far more than you’d really like to. The previous owner fitted a stern thruster to my boat, which has got me out of some very tricky situations; in my opinion, that should come as standard.”

According to MBY’s original reviewer, the early test boat was rather noisy, with our tester branding the D3s as “chatty little motors” which produced 90 decibels at ten knots and readings in the high 80s at cruising speed.

The S33 has proven itself to be a resilient sea boat in some truly challenging conditions

That said, Ben assures us that the factory improved the sound insulation on subsequent production models so it shouldn’t be an issue on used examples. Richard’s Bavaria S33 HT features Bavaria’s extended bathing platform and has a generously proportioned aft cockpit to match.

Its rear and portside wraparound seating unit comfortably accommodates six, while to starboard a moulded-in wet bar provides room for a sink, optional barbecue and fridge. Although open at the rear, the cockpit can be sealed against the elements with a complete set of canopy covers.

Up until 2019, these were sourced in the UK, meaning they could be individually tailored in terms of colours and window configuration so again, they can differ from boat to boat. Up at the helm, there is a supportive and adjustable seat with bolster and a clearly laid out array of predominantly analogue dials.

Opposite is a second L-shaped seating area large enough for 2-3 passengers. Covering this entire forward end of the cockpit is a sturdy hard top with a large manual fabric sunroof, which tucks away out of sight at the rear of its housing when open.

This has to be one of the S33 HT’s biggest plus points, providing protection from the sun, wind and rain when needed but opening up to give the feel of an open sportscruiser when conditions allow.

Tardis-like space

A central companionway leads down to the lower saloon and accommodation. The forward half of the lower deck is open plan. It features a dinette and galley at the foot of the stairs, leading to a permanent double berth in the forepeak, which is separated from the saloon by a curtain.

The forward cabin is cordoned off from the open-plan saloon with a privacy curtain

The galley is a good size and well equipped with a two-burner gas hob and integrated microwave oven. For a 33ft boat the space, light and headroom down here are admirable, helped by light coloured woodwork that is as practical as it is attractive.

Further aft is a separate double cabin amidships, which runs under the cockpit, plus a wetroom-style heads compartment, comprising a toilet, sink and shower. Although this lacks the luxury of a separate shower stall, combining all three into a single compartment does make it feel surprisingly spacious.

This is perhaps the defining characteristic of the Bavaria S33 HT. It has the ability to feel consistently bigger than its modest dimensions suggest but it does so without the associated hike in price, running costs and hassle that a larger boat brings.

Every inch of space is used to the utmost on Bavaria’s S33 HT

Backed up by decent build quality, seakeeping and performance, it makes for a compelling package that, as Ben and Richard both suggested, would make a sound choice of boat for first or second timers.

Bavaria S33 HT specifications

Type: Sportscruiser Designer: Bavaria Hull: Planing RCD category: B for 8 people LOA: 33ft 0in (10.05m) Beam: 10ft 9in (3.27m) Draught: 4ft 2in (1.27m) Air draught: 9ft 10in (3.0m) Fuel capacity: 420l Water capacity: 143l Fuel consumption: 2.38l/nm @ 23 knots and 3,100rpm Cruising range: 174nm at 23.1kn with 20% reserve

Cost & options

Annual marina mooring: £6,500 (based on £650 per m on the Hamble River (UK) downstream of Bursledon bridge) Annual fuel burn: 1,600 litres (based on 25 hours at 23 knots and 25 hours at 6 knots)

The galley is well sized, fully equipped and blessed with plenty of light and headroom

Bavaria S33 HT – surveyor’s report

The Bavaria Sport powerboat range has built itself a solid reputation for good-value, fast and efficient sportscruisers. I have surveyed several over the years and have found few areas of major concern.

Bavaria’s ‘Vacutec’ vacuum-infusion build method provides consistent quality of lay-up, but also reduces weight compared to monolithic construction by 20%. Isophthalic resins are used to provide superior long-term resistance to moisture ingress.

The hull form on these craft is variable-vee and the outdrive powertrain provides efficient planing performance but also agile turning and grip. Points to note when considering buying:

• Carefully inspect the roof assembly. Ensure all guides are clear and that the unit slides efficiently over several operations.
• Hull cleanliness makes a significant impact on the performance and efficiency of any boat but especially so on a modestly sized sportscruiser. Consider a mid-season lift out for a pressure wash and anode check. This will pay for itself in reduced fuel costs.
• Check the machinery service history and insist on a thorough sea trial with your surveyor. Heat exchanger cleaning regimes are often forgotten and a thorough sea trial can detect possible issues.
• Outdrive sterngear has its advantages but also ongoing cost issues. Legs should be removed every two seasons to replace seals, bellows, steering helmets, ram seals, anodes, and trim hydraulics. It is imperative to have these checked prior to purchase.

-Chris Olsen, Olsen Marine Surveying

What’s on the market?

Price: £189,950 (VAT paid) Date: 2016 Engines: 2 x Volvo Penta D3 220hp Lying: Swanwick Contact: www.clippermarine.co.uk

Price: £171,333 (VAT paid) Date: 2018 Engines: 2 x Volvo Penta D3 220hp Lying: Mallorca Contact: www.interyates.com

First published in the December 2022 issue of MBY.

In association with SETAG Yachts. Design and refit specialists SETAG Yachts bring luxury to the pre-owned market – by creating the bespoke yacht of your dreams, with no compromise. To fall in love with your boat all over again visit www.setagyachts.com or call +44 (0)1752 648618 for more details.

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