Fresh from a makeover at the hands of Farr Yacht Design and BMW, Bavaria presents its new 32ft cruiser. Chris Beeson puts her through her paces
Bavaria 32
The quality of life below, while moored at least, has improved hugely in 40 years – the heads is fantastic. She’s quick and lively off the wind but lacks the displacement to match her forebears upwind in a breeze.
Main features:
– Boom-end mainsheeting gives much better mainsail control and the non-overlapping jib means she’ll tack easily upwind
– Coamings are a good height forward, but shorter aft and stop short of the transom, which will dampen the helmsman
– The folding transom is an excellent idea, improving bathing facilities and making the cockpit even bigger
– Cockpit seats are over 7ft long, with good bracing but the tiny winches are out of the helmsman’s reach
– Grabrails start just outside the cockpit but end well short of the mast, where the coachroof jib track begins