Review of Bavaria C38
Basic specs.
Note: Bavaria 38 Cruiser, Bavaria Cruiser 38 and Bavaria C38 are tree different boats.
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Both the hull and the deck is made of fibreglass. A hull made of fibreglass requires only a minimum of maintenance during the sailing season.
The hull is a sandwich construction which improves the indoor climate. Especially when the water is colder than the air in the cabin, then the double hull insulates against cold water and reduce the condense water in the cabin.
The boat is equipped with 2/3 cabins, 4/6 berths, a galley, 210 liters (55 US gallons, 46 imperial gallons) fresh water capacity and toilet facility.
The Bavaria C38 is built with a fractional rig. A fractional rig has smaller headsails which make tacking easier, which is an advantage for cruisers and racers, of course. The downside is that having the wind from behind often requires a gennaker or a spinnaker for optimal speed.
The fuel tank has a capacity of 210 liters (55 US gallons, 46 imperial gallons).
The boat may be equipped with an inboard Yanmar diesel engine at 29 hp (21 kW). Calculated max speed is about 5.2 knots
The transmission is a saildrive.
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.
What is Capsize Screening Formula (CSF)?
The capsize screening value for Bavaria C38 is 1.92, indicating that this boat could - if evaluated by this formula alone - be accepted to participate in ocean races.
What is Theoretical Maximum Hull Speed?
The theoretical maximal speed of a displacement boat of this length is 7.8 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.
The immersion rate is defined as the weight required to sink the boat a certain level.
The immersion rate for Bavaria C38 is about 274 kg/cm, alternatively 1535 lbs/inch.
Meaning: if you load 274 kg cargo on the boat then it will sink 1 cm.
Alternatively, if you load 1535 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.
What is Motion Comfort Ratio (MCR)?
The Motion Comfort Ratio for Bavaria C38 is 29.1.
What is L/B (Length Beam Ratio)?
The l/b ratio for Bavaria C38 is 2.76.
What is Displacement Length Ratio?
The DL-ratio for Bavaria C38 is 233 which categorizes this boat among 'moderate racers'.
Maintenance
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.
| Usage | Length | Diameter | ||
| Jib sheet | 11.0 m | (36.1 feet) | 14 mm | (0.55 inch) |
| Genoa sheet | 11.0 m | (36.1 feet) | 14 mm | (0.55 inch) |
| Mainsheet | 27.5 m | (90.1 feet) | 14 mm | (0.55 inch) |
| Spinnaker sheet | 24.2 m | (79.3 feet) | 14 mm | (0.55 inch) |
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