Review of Bavaria 42 Match

Both the hull and the deck is made of hand laid fibreglass. A hull made of hand laid fibreglass requires only a minimum of maintenance during the sailing season.

The deck 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 core material in the sandwich construction is Divinycell.Divinycell PVC foam is a synthetic material which offers excellent mechanical properties and low weight. It is widely used and has a proven track record in marine sandwich composites.

The boat is equipped with 3 cabins, 6+2 berths, 300 liters (79 US gallons, 65 imperial gallons) fresh water capacity, toilet facility and 80 liters (21 US gallons, 17 imperial gallons) waste water capacity.

The headroom is above average

The Bavaria 42 Match 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.

Fin keel

The Bavaria 42 Match is built with a fin keel. The fin keel is the most common keel and provides splendid manoeuvrability. The downside is that it has less directional stability than a long keel.

The keel is made of lead. Compared with iron, lead has the advantage of being 44% heavier, which allows a smaller keel and hence less water resistance and higher speed.

The boat can only enter major marinas as the draft is about 2.15 - 2.25 meter (7.05 - 7.35 ft) dependent on the load. See immersion rate below.

The fuel tank has a capacity of 150 liters (39 US gallons, 32 imperial gallons).

Bavaria 42 Match may be equipped with an inboard Volvo Penta D2-55 diesel engine at 55 hp (40 kW). Calculated max speed is about 8.3 knots

The transmission is a saildrive.

What is Capsize Screening Formula (CSF)?

The capsize screening value for Bavaria 42 Match is 1.93, 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 8.2 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 42 Match is about 289 kg/cm, alternatively 1619 lbs/inch.
Meaning: if you load 289 kg cargo on the boat then it will sink 1 cm. Alternatively, if you load 1619 lbs cargo on the boat it will sink 1 inch.

What is Motion Comfort Ratio (MCR)?

The Motion Comfort Ratio for Bavaria 42 Match is 22.7 - 23.3.

Comparing this ratio with similar sailboats show that it is more comfortable than 18% of all similar sailboat designs. This is a comfort value significantly below average.

What is L/B (Length Beam Ratio)?

The l/b ratio for Bavaria 42 Match is 3.33.

Compared with other similar sailboats it is more spacy than 50% of all other designs. It seems that the designer has chosen an average hull design.

What is a Ballast Ratio?

The ballast ratio for Bavaria 42 Match is 34%.

This ballast ratio is higher than 21% of all similar sailboat designs. Since the ballast ratio and the righting moment (i.e. better ability to resist heeling) is strongly correlated, a ballast ratio significantly below average indicates a very low ability to resist heeling.

What is Displacement Length Ratio?

The DL-ratio for Bavaria 42 Match is 139 which categorizes this boat among 'light racers'.

90% of all similar sailboat designs are categorized as heavier. A light displacement requires less sailarea and has higher accellerations.

When buying anti-fouling bottom paint, it's nice to know how much to buy. The surface of the wet bottom is about 51m² (548 ft²).
Based on this, your favourite maritime shop can tell you the quantity you need.

Note: If you use a paint roller you will need more paint than if you use a paintbrush.

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.

This section is reserved boat owner's modifications, improvements, etc. Here you might find (or contribute with) inspiration for your boat.

Do you have changes/improvements you would like to share? Upload a photo and describe what you have done.

We are always looking for new photos. If you can contribute with photos for Bavaria 42 Match it would be a great help.

If you have any comments to the review, improvement suggestions, or the like, feel free to contact us. Criticism helps us to improve.

[Ref 1]: ISO 8666 Small craft — Principal data.
[Ref 3]: ISO 12215-5 Small craft — Hull construction and scantlings.