When the accommodation of cruising yachts had a more traditional layout, there was a school of thought which argued that an overall length of 38ft fulfilled the useful ideal of being as big as necessary, but no bigger than required writes W M Nixon.
The notion was that the dream cruiser would be sailed by a husband-and-wife with another couple as their guests on board.
Naturally the owners would have the aft double cabin, but hopefully the forecabin would be as comfortable and indeed luxurious as possible, as it would be the “guest bedroom”. In between these two “sleeping modules”, we’d find the saloon, the galley, the heads (bathroom if you prefer), and the navigation area.
If you happened to have extra crew on board, two could be accommodated overnight on the old-fashioned full-length settee berths on each side of the saloon. A full-length settee berth would be upwards of 6ft 9ins long. So the theory was that the three sections – aft cabin, amidships multi-function section, and forecabin – would each take up about 12ft. Three times 12 is 36, add in a couple of extra feet for this and that, and ergo, the dreamship need be no longer than 38ft.
It’s a very basic rule of thumb, but it’s interesting to apply. So any time a 38-footer comes of the used boat market, we take a special look at her to see how she fits in to the Golden Rule, bearing in mind that the increased beam of modern boats and today’s interpretation of a cruiser’s layout have probably changed the rules and moved the goalposts all at once.
Bavaria Yachts started in business in 1978, and they’re now the biggest yachtbuilders in Germany, with a large modern factory employing 600 people building boats with a high level of finish and precision engineering techniques. Production of the J&J-designed Bavaria 38 started in 2003, and she provided one of the company’s most popular models, which would seem to support the theory that this is the dream size.
However, while she looks like a handsome standard modern sloop when under sail, it is the accommodation layout which shows how much we have moved on from the traditional layout of two or three decades ago. Nobody nowadays would be surprised to find two aft cabins, and equally we’ve long since become accustomed to lengthwise galleys running along the side of the saloon, paralleling the dinette area.
A modern 38-footer such as the Bavaria 38 will be notably roomy in the accommodation
Old salts will be pleased to see a proper navigation area installed on the traditional starboard side, for although some of the latest boat designers feel that chart plotters and all sorts of other electronics make the classic chart table superfluous, in practical terms it has many other uses, and tends to be the heart of the ship.
There is one problem when you move up to the 38ft size, and that is the fact that the possibility having a second heads becomes a debating point. Theoretically there is enough room forward for another heads, but as it would involve a lot of extra plumbing and hull piercing, most owners will see the good sense in having only one, but in the most comfortable position, just aft of amidships to port.
This Bavaria 38 from Crosshaven Boatyard has been in the same ownership from new in 2003, she has the up-graded Volvo 55HP diesel and a bow-thruster, plus wheel steering. Very fully equipped and well maintained, she’s on the market at €79,500. Read the full Bavaria 38 advert on Afloat Boats for Sale.
Sweet sailing for a Bavaria 38
