On test/bavaria 46 cruiser

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ON TEST/BAVARIA 46 CRUISERsion being four cabins with eight berthsplus saloon. If that doesn’t appeal then gofor the three cabins with six berths plussaloon. The latter comes with comfortablesettee as standard along with a luxuriouslystyled saloon table, sideboards with stowagespace and lockers.Headroom is ample. I measured atleast 6-ft plus in the old scale, carried fromthe main saloon through to all cabinsand heads.The chart table has a large compartmentfor nautical charts and navigationinstruments with more stowage underneaththe seat.Now, any yacht that’s being pitched atthe cruising market must have a workablegalley. Even though during daylight hoursthe topsides are the focus for passengers,on the mooring or in the marina pen it’simperative that there is space to store andprepare food.The 46 has a marinised cooker andoven. There is an insulated cooling boxwith electrical refrigeration and a 12Vrefrigerator within easy reach. The sink isstainless steel, complemented by stowagein drawers with drop doors and simplepush locks. There are two marine headswith easy-care synthetic surfaces, twopump toilets with holding tank aft (disposalvia seacock) and electric shower,water-disposal pump and pump filter toensure no blockages. Four fire extinguishersare strategically placed in the maincabins and galley area.A critical requirement demanded byForward of the mast there’s nothing butdeck space and plenty of it.Australian cruisers is good ventilation. Be itin the tropics or anywhere else on the coast,the extremes of our local weather meanswe need plenty of air circulating below tokeep things cool and comfortable. To thatend the 46 has eight main opening hatchesalong with eight opening side windowsstreaming daylight. There are another sixnon-opening windows and two saloonpanorama-windows.All this light reaches the soft woodpanelling to promote on open, spaciousSpecificationsLOA: 14.20mHull: 13.99mLWL: 13.20mBeam: 4.35mDraught: 1.85mUnloaded weight: 11,000kgEngine Volvo-Penta: 41/kwFuel tank: 210lWater tank: 460lSAILS AND RIGGINGMainsail: 117.80 sq mMast height: 19.20mfeel. Gone are the days when Europeanyachts seemed to be universally finished indark, heavy tones, more reminiscent of apublic library than a modern sailing boat.Speaking of things modern, the boat’spower supply switchboard comes withautomatic fuses and control lamps, voltmeter,engine circuit 1x55 Ah, boat circuit2x140 Ah. There is AC shore supply, ACsocketat switch board, galley and marinehead, aft DC-socket at the switchboard.Sitting at the main saloon table andsettee it doesn’t take too much imaginationto see eight or ten friends easily seatedaround together and enjoying a yarnabout the previous day’s sailing. If youor your guests felt like a wine or two,there are bottle stowage compartmentshidden throughout to keep wine safeduring passage.Clear topsidesare ideal forlazy days.AUSTRALIAN YACHTING February 2005 31
ON TEST/BAVARIA 46 CRUISERWhen it comes time to retire the cabinsare all spacious enough to defeat the notionthat life on the water is simply one stepremoved from camping. I especially likedthe big hanging lockers in each cabin:enough space to empty the duffel bag andhang the sailing and shore-side rigs alongwith the odd piece of wet weather gear.Under sailSo how does she sail? Easily. After anhour or so on the wheel I had a prettygood understanding of the boat. She ishigh pointing, courtesy of a cast iron keelshaped in a modern lateral profile. Thedraught is a sensible 1.58m and the rudderstreamlined and fore balanced.As mentioned earlier, there are twogood-sized steering pedestals, each wheelwith standard stitched leather cover. Youcan therefore sit to windward and keep aneye on approaching wind and weather orsit to leeward for a good view of the headsailtufts. Helm was negligible.On the day of our sail we had a teamfrom Elvstrom aboard to pull the strings.Truth to say they were pretty underworked.Two people easily manage the gear, andthat includes getting the mainsail up anddown. When it came time to reach off thebreeze we popped the reacher and took off.Although we were only getting around 8-10knots across the deck we could alwaysboast around 10-12 knots through thewater if we all did the racing thing.But who wants to do that when thecool, calm waters off Majorca beckon?The long, comfortable wave pattern roseto meet us and we cruised along with thestunning, ancient backdrop of the oldport providing an ever changing view.All sheets and halyards meet at thecabin top so changing gears was a simpletask. When we went looking for moreheight it only took a soft tug on themainsheet traveller to get the mainhooked up to windward so the big roachcould do its work. As we tacked the mainwent easily from side to side without theA tall rig is an advantage both on and off the breeze.“The comfortablewave pattern roseto meet us as wecruised along withthe stunning,ancient backdropof the old portproviding an everchanging view.”32 February 2005 AUSTRALIAN YACHTINGhassle of having somebody in the sternsheets flicking the same roach throughthe centreline and away from the adjustablebackstay.When it came time for a refreshingdrink, the cockpit table served as a barand footrest combined – which sure beatssitting on the windward rail dangling theTopsiders over the passing tide. Comforton deck was assured with the mouldedbackrests lining the cockpit coaming.By definition the Cruiser 46 is not aracing yacht, yet that doesn’t mean thatspeed is neglected. Smooth lines and a tallrig combine to give excellent port-to-portmobility for the cruiser and charterer alike.As we all know, the faster the ocean passagethe less time you’re bound to be exposedto the weather and the more enjoyableyour sail will be. For Tony Kirby this iswhat quality sailing time is all about.“Nobody likes to go slowly, even cruisersrecognise the benefits inherent infast travelling. I think Bavaria puts itscomfort into a sleek looking package thatwill find a home in any port anywhere inthe world.”Under powerAnyone who has entered a big Europeanmarina will tell you that you need powerand maneuverability to keep clear of other
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