Practical Boat Owner - January 2016

Nick Mercer’s Bavaria 46c circumnavigating eastwards so we need a vessel that sails well Impala in Cocos Keeling
upwind; and she does just that.an enigma to those “experts” who like to knock Bavarias – and there ‘She performs really well and is
are plenty of those around. We’ve been in a number of bad storms and have taken two knockdowns along the way. We’ve run under
bare poles twice and both times we let the Raymarine autopilot take the strain without problems, although on one occasion we
deployed our Jordan series drogue. We also hit a reef up in Alaska, but we’re still floating.‘We’ve had problems just like any
other sailboat, but it’s rarely the Bavaria element that causes grief. It’s usually engine, electronics etc. Of course, there has been
wear-and-tear maintenance along the way: the biggest job was replacing rudder bearings after a few thousand miles’ usage.
a rather low diesel tank capacity. We counter this by carrying jerry cans along the deck, which worries ‘The biggest design drawback is
me from time to time in bad weather. She also creaks and groans a little in big seas.’ Want to learn more of Dave’s adventures?

You’ll enjoy browsing his website, http://www.sanna-uk.com.Hewett then put me on to Nick UK Bavaria dealer Richard

Mercer, a also enjoying a circumnavigation. He bought his 46c in 2005, telling me: ‘I surveyed the market and Bavaria 46c owner

decided that buying an expensive brand was financially a poor choice as the initial depreciation would be similar to a significant

percentage of the purchase price of a mass production boat.Impressive build

‘I chose the Bavaria 46c as it seemed the best made. I had never owned a boat before, instead sailing extensively with

friends on deliveries and charters. I turned up for the test sail and the wind rose towards 35-40 knots.‘The skipper suggested

postponing, whereas we were delighted to be able to put the boat through its paces in stronger conditions. This test reinforced my

feeling that I had chosen the right boat. In addition, the interior was light and bright, whereas many boats still favour the traditional dark

wood and dark blue upholstery.’ And how’s the voyage going? I

asked. ‘Very well. I’ve logged 47,000 miles so far. I left over seven years ago and have spent most of it in the North and South Pacific

and the Far East. She is a good all-round boat. On the passage across the Indian Ocean from Cocos Keeling to Rodrigues in

15- to 30-knot winds we averaged 7.4 knots over 2,000 miles. In 40 knots plus the boat handles well and safely: however, it’s difficult to

make much headway to windward in 40 knots. Anyway, why do it?’standard boat.Of course Nick added gear to his

and have made modifications since. This fit-out included a stern arch for two solar panels, two wind ‘I fitted Impala out before I left

generators and aerials for the Sea-me, AIS transmit, sat phone (Iridium) GPS, Wi-Fi booster etc. I also incorporated simple davits in

the design. I have an ICOM SSB, watermaker, freezer, Raymarine plotters, radar and instruments.‘My tender is a lightweight RIB

and I have two outboards. I also take safety seriously, having a series drogue, GPS EPIRB that can be switched on and off, and a

liferaft to Solas B.’Now 66, Nick says: ‘I plan to get

to Europe in summer 2016 after eight years on this adventure... and who knows after that?’I also heard from Chris Francis,

who gives credence to Bavaria brand loyalty. He started in 1999 with a new 42. ‘We spent a year looking on the

second-hand market, but were disappointed with the way people looked after their boats, so decided on “new”.’ he said.

with less maintenance that sailed well with a good galley and chart table, and were not disappointed ‘We were looking for something

by the 42. We had five years of extremely good sailing with AqualinaChannel Islands on a number of from Germany to the

occasions, but we decided that she was too small for us so we traded up to a Bavaria 50 in 2004.‘Aqualina 2 was a great boat with

huge space down below. She was very well built but had a lot of weather helm in certain conditions, which was sometimes irritating.’

that was easily handled by one or two people and which would be Chris then changed boats again.‘This time we decided on a boat

fully loaded up with all necessities for long-distance sailing, which is

Bavaria 46 – second-hand prices from £56,000 Sailing Scenes

The Bavaria story

➜

Nick Mercer