Bavaria Yachts builds the Sport 28 using aramid reinforcement (Kevlar) forward where impact is most likely. The foam-core sandwich is built using icebreaker technology. It’s a typical German product, built to last.

Despite what you see here at BoatTEST.com, and in boating magazines, not all boating takes place on azure waters under the warm Mediterranean sun. Lots of folks think it’s just fine to go out when the water’s a bit rough, the sky’s a little grey and the wind carries a nip. And if it gets a little rougher, or a little colder, or a little windier, that’s OK, too, as long as they’re in a boat designed and built to take it. For 32 years, Bavaria Yachts has been building sail and powerboats just that way.



That’s not much of a swim platform, but it’ll probably be used more for boarding. The aft seat could serve for a sunpad, too. We like the high American-style radar arch and the all-around stainless rails.

Robot Construction

The Bavaria Yachts factory in Giebelstadt, a small industrial town in, of course, Bavaria, is modern and automated, or as automated as a boatbuilding plant can be; it’s still a very labor-intensive industry. Some processes, like spraying gelcoat in the molds, are done by robots; computers are used liberally to ensure all structural and joinery parts are precisely milled. CNC routers cut deck openings for ports and companionways automatically. The hulls and decks roll along separate assembly lines, and are joined only near the final stage of production. It’s easier to install engines, tanks and systems when the hull is open; hatches, fittings and other hardware when the underside of the deck is fully accessible. (Don’t think about the day when the engine or tank has to be removed, though – this can be problematic for any yacht.)



The arrangement is typical for a boat like this; what else can you do? There’s a bench in the mid-cabin, too often lacking – where do you sit to put on your deck shoes? Standard power is a single gas engine, but we think most buyers will want twins. Diesels are also available.



The dinette will convert to a berth, and the galley looks adequate for the amount of cooking most folks will do onboard. Headroom is 1.85 m. (just over 6’).

Uber-Certification

You know the Germans: They never build anything halfway, but intend for it to last forever. Apparently Bavaria Yachts is no exception: All their boats receive GL Yacht Plus Certification, a higher standard than the basic EU requirements; the Sport 28 also gets a CE Category B certificate. The foam-cored topsides and decks are built literally using icebreaker technology. Aramid fabric provides extra reinforcement where necessary, isophthalic resin in the outer laminate provides osmosis protection. Finally, all Bavaria yachts are tested in the company’s high-tech riverside facility in Markbreit on the Main River. Given the boat’s quality, the price isn’t bad: Base boat is around 65,000 Euros (approx. $84,700); figure on spending around 85,000 Euros (approx. $110, 750) for a well-found, twin-gas-engine boat. All prices are plus VAT and other taxes.



Converting the dinette to a berth is a pain, so we’d live in this comfortable mid-cabin. There’s enough stowage for short cruises, a bench seat and cross-ventilation from ports in the hullsides and cockpit.

Maybe a Little Portly?

The downside of such heavy scantlings is weight: The Sport 28 tips the scales at 4000 kg., minimum (8,818 lbs.). But that’s for a standard boat, which has a single gasoline sterndrive, a 320-hp Volvo Penta 5.7 GXiE. Opting for twin 225-hp. Volvo Penta 4.3 GXiEs will add about 161 kg. (355 lbs.). Diesels (single and twin are options) will add a bit more, as will optional systems. We estimate a twin-gas-engine Sport 28, with options, will weigh at least 4200 kg. (9,268 lbs.) For comparison, the Sea Ray 280 Sundancer, about the same size boat, weighs 3,724 kg. (8,211 lbs.) with standard power, twin 300-hp MerCruiser 350 Magnum MPIs.



The galley has a 12v. refrigerator and a ceramic cooktop; no microwave oven on the options list. But a 230v. grill and a second 12v. refrigerator, both in the cockpit, are available. A cockpit wet bar is standard.

And a Little Slow

For a boat as heavy as the Sport 28, 450 horses isn’t much, and considering the boat’s 2.99 m. (9’10”) beam, it’s not surprising that top speed is low – really low, if the test report in the Swiss boating magazine Marina.Ch is accurate. We haven’t tested the boat ourselves yet, but Bavaria makes the Swiss test available on its website, so we assume they agree with its findings. According to the test, top speed with twin 4.3 Volvo Pentas is a blazing 20.5 knots; figure a cruise of around 16 – 17 knots. When we tested the abovementioned Sea Ray 280 Sundancer back in 2002, it broke 40 knots with twin 240-hp 5.0L EFI MerCruisers; even the larger 290 Sundancer, at 4,195 kg. (9,250 lbs.) nearly the same weight as the twin-engine Sport 28, broke 38 knots with a pair of 260-hp MerCruisers in our 2006 test.



This bird’s-eye view of the head is giving us vertigo, but it’s the best way to show a small space. A pump toilet with holding tank and overboard discharge is standard, shower optional.

Our Recommendation: Give Us the Juice

Now, speed isn’t everything, and the days will be rare when conditions will be sufficiently benign to run at nearly 40 knots in a 28-footer. Even 30 knots is often a push. But we’d like to have more than 20 knots at hand, or at least be able to cruise at 20 or a bit more. We’ve been sailing around Scotland in August and encountered gale force winds, slashing rain and 20-foot seas in the lee of the Hebrides, so we know conditions in Northern Europe can be arduous, and boats can’t be run fast. Nevertheless, we’d like the option of a cruise speed in the high 20s when conditions are right for it. Rivers like the Main and the Rhine can be nasty, too, but often they are flat and the extra speed would be nice to have.

We like the way the Sport 28 is built, we like its pugnacious profile and no-nonsense styling, and we like its lack of sunpads on the foredeck that we are always unable to fill with bikini-clad babes, anyway. Give us the option to drop a couple of 300-hp Volvo Pentas in the Sport 28’s engine room, and we’ll be happy to recommend this boat. And if speed doesn’t count that much for you, we think you’ll probably like it as-is. If you get to the North Sea, send us a postcard.



The deck layout shows plenty of seating and, yes, a sunpad aft. The sun does shine in northern Europe now and then, so it will come in handy. It’s also a good place to sit and watch the Main flow past.

Bavaria boats are not distributed in the U.S. at this time.