The Bavaria 42 HT has pleasing exterior lines and below is as large and about as roomy as a 42’ express gets.

Bavaria builds six powerboat hulls from 28’ to 46’ and all except the 28 come in both open and hardtop versions. Its production facility is as modern as they come and is located just south of Wurzburg in a small town called Giebelstadt. Stuttgart, home of BMW, is just over 100 miles to the south, and not surprisingly, Bavaria uses a division of BMW for some of its design work.



This handsome 42-footer has five hatches on the foredeck and high safety rails all around which we like.

When we compare the Bavaria 42’s basic specs with other express cruisers in class built both in Europe and in America we discover that this boat is firmly in the middle range both in terms of beam (13’11”/4.28 m) and displacement (dry weight is 24,640 lbs./11,200 kgs.). That’s probably a good place to be because it means that the Bavaria 42 has a chance to compete in terms of speed and fuel economy vs. room and creature comforts with most any other 42 on the market.



We like all of the wood in this salon, but the teak and holly cabin sole is optional. There is 7’ (2.2 m) headroom in this salon. Note the fiddles on the galley counter. Hurrah!

IPS Power Has its Benefits

Standard engines on the 42 are twin Volvo Penta D6-330 EVC 330-hp diesels driving through IPS pods. Because Bavaria is using pods on this boat the engines can be moved aft and the designers have taken full advantage of that attribute. It is one of the things that makes the mid cabin so roomy, but some of the 3’ or so that has been picked up in the engine room has also been distributed to the salon and the forward cabin. The IPS joystick pod system costs more than straight inboards, but not only does it give the boat 30% better fuel economy at best cruise, it also allows the living spaces in the boat to be larger. In fact to get interior room like this with a standard inboard configuration would probably require one to buy a 44 or 45-footer – and think of the up-charge for that!

In the drawings on this page carefully look at the forward cabin and the size of the head compartment located there. Both are relatively large for this size and type of boat. Another important aspect of the Bavaria 42 is that it has 7’ (2.2 m) headroom in the salon with good headroom in the mid cabin adjacent to the head compartment. Readers with sharp eyes will notice that the freeboard of the Bavaria 42 is slightly higher than on many yachts in class and that is what is giving the boat the headroom. The designers have done a good job of keeping the boat from having a pregnant-guppy look, in our opinion.



The mid cabin has full-standing headroom next to the love seat and. Note the contours of the fiberglass liner to the left in the picture which will require tall people to stoop over when getting into bed. This is SOP on boats in this class, and by having a slight step down, we think Bavaria has executed this arrangement as well as any builder.

Following are a list of other features and aspects of the boat that we like—

*Finally, after reviewing and testing hundreds of boats, we have found one that has genuine fiddles on the galley counter! Full marks to Bavaria for this common-sense galley addition. We suspect it is because there is a strong sailboat building heritage at Bavaria and we like that because most sailboat builders know how to build practical boats for going offshore.

*In the hardtop version the skipper can stand up at the helm and see through the windshield and does not have to stick his head through the sunroof as is necessary on many European hardtop designs. This is a biggie in our book.

* The love seat in the mid cabin which is a good place to put on one’s socks, in addition to sitting close to your honey. We also like the relatively wide aisle between the twin beds and the dedicated spot for the shower in the head.

*The “U”-shaped bench seat in the salon is largish and the table is large, as well. Make sure you can slide your knees behind the two rather wide wooden pedestals holding up the table. Bavaria has cleverly used every bit of its beam in the salon to maximize space.

*The space abaft the island berth in the forward cabin, and head adjacent are both a few inches larger than what you will find on many boats in this size range.

*Topside, we like the large “J”-shaped seating with table in the cockpit. While this is conventional, Bavaria has executed it well.



There are several important details to note in the forward cabin: a) the door to the head is open to show you that in can clear the bed; b) Bavaria has gone to the expense that many builders avoid of putting in much-needed storage cabinets over the portlights, just below the overhead; c) the mattress is thick and the head of the bed is relatively wide. Make sure that the hatch is large enough for an emergency exit by your skipper, if he is portly.

*The swim platform is covered in solid wood as a standard, which we like. The fore and aft dimensions of the swim platform are an adequate size for launching all sorts of watersports activities, as well as greeting friends as they motor over to your anchored boat in their tender.

*The side decks are adequately wide, and there are five hatches in the foredeck spotted around the bunny pad. There is adequate room forward to handle the anchor and use the standard electric windlass. Teak decking is optional, and it will make this boat look like a million Euros.

*There are two seats at the helm, which is about as good as it can get given the requirement for the curved bench seat to port permitting standing headroom below.

*The fuel capacity of the 42 is 395 gallons (1500 L) which is more than many boats have in class.

*There are three, comfortable molded-in steps aiding access to the side decks.



We think the Bavaria 42 looks handsome in this three-quarters stern shot. Note the safety rail around the aft sun pad which makes it impossible to sit there when the boat is at rest. Note the molded in notch at the transom for the optional trim tabs. The steps up to the side decks are well-executed.

Having said all of these positive things about the Bavaria 42, how about some negatives—

*People who have gotten used to accessing the foredeck by means of a walk-through windshield will be disappointed. On the other hand there is one less mullion to obstruct vision, and as we have noted the side decks are adequate.

*There is a standard wet bar in the cockpit but no standard ice maker.

*While it is great that the backrest for the cockpit lounger folds down to make a large sun pad, the stainless steel safety rail around the aft end of the pad means you can’t sit there when the boat is at rest. Bavaria has put the safety rail there to keep people from sliding off the sunpad, but when the boat is under way, we don’t think anyone should be there in the first place.



Because the back rest on the aft seat folds down, a very large sun pad can be created. Note the hard wood side deck classes up the boat.

*Perhaps our biggest negative is the fact that many things that are standard equipment on many boats in class are options on the Bavaria. The builder is price conscious, and that is a good thing, but making showers in the head and hot water, a radio with MP3-player and two speakers in the salon optional in a boat of this size and class is a bit unusual.

Summary

The Bavaria is a well-executed design that provides a lot of room and utility. If you would like to go faster, then you can up-grade to the twin IPS 370-hp option. There is also a bow thruster option, but with the IPS drives with joystick, you shouldn’t need it. Overall, we like the boat and think that it if you live in Europe, or other countries where the Bavaria 42 is available, it should definitely be on your short list. As for Americans, you will have to wait awhile, unless you want to buy one in the Med and bring it back yourself.