Let the adventure begin

Selecting and preparing our new boat.

In March 2021 my wife and I sold our business and started to plan for a retirement of long-term Mediterranean cruising. From the proceeds of the sale, we decided to purchase a new monohull sailing boat to replace our Beneteau Sense 46. Before we picked up any brochures, we thought long and hard about what we wanted and why. If money was no object, then you really have a clean canvas to work with, however, we were working to a fixed budget.

Purpose

The first thing we considered was what did we want from our new boat. Firstly, it needed to be a home from home which could take us around the Mediterranean in comfort and safety and had the potential of going further afield. We both agreed that we wanted something larger than our Beneteau as we planned to be spending up to 8 months a year onboard. Therefore, we were looking for a boat in the 50 foot plus range with a minimum of three cabins.

New or used

We had heard many nightmares of post commissioning warranty issues, however, we liked the idea of having equipment that was new. The rationale here was that parts would not need to be replaced for several years keeping initial maintenance costs to a minimum.

Blue Water vs Production

This was a simple choice given our budget, it was going to be a production boat that could be easily handled by two.

Construction

We wanted a keel stepped mast as this provides another level of rigidity to the boat and arguably less prone to a dismasting. From research and talking to experts, vacuum infusion seemed to be the build method of choice for its lightness and rigidity. Given we were looking at production boats the option of a skeg hung rudder would be out of the question. However, we liked the idea of twin rudders as this gave a degree of redundancy subject to the steering being independent of each other. We wanted shaft drive as, in my opinion, saildrive boats have a single point of vulnerability if fitted. If a sail drive encountered a grounding or submerged object, the outcome could be the end of our adventures. On the assumption that all production boats will have bolt on keels we wanted a shoal keel for two reasons. The first is obvious, this would allow us to anchor in shallower water. The second reason is it offers a stronger configuration compared to deep fin keel boats. Physics plays a part here, having a shorter keel puts less stress on the keel bolts in the event of grounding or hitting an object.

We wanted the new boat to have large water and fuel tanks simply to reduce the number of times we need to visit marinas and provide plenty of scope to engine when on longer passages. We wanted a GRP deck rather than teak for three simple reasons, cost, maintenance and coolness.

Comfort

Firstly, we did some simple math’s. For the past three years we have been spending three months each season sailing around the Mediterranean and did approximately 1000 to 1500 miles a year. By calculating the average boat speed of 6 knots this meant we were at anchor approximately 90% of the time. Therefore, we wanted the new boat to have a good sized socialising space both above and below deck with large hull windows to visually enjoy your surroundings at anchor. We both liked the apartment look and feel of modern production boats and were not concerned that they don’t offer the build quality of handcrafted joinery from the Scandinavian yards. We both preferred the “Ikea” style of beamy production boats using light colour woods, soft closing drawers, settees you can stretch out on and watch the pop-up TV that magically appear at the touch of a button.

Simple Sailing

As most of the time it would be just the two of us, so we wanted the boat to be easily managed shorthanded and to have every available labour-saving gadget going. We also wanted either a dinghy garage or an electric davit system.

With the purchase parameters settled, we decided to buy from one of the main European manufacturers, mainly because they are widely represented in the UK and gave us the option to look at them first hand. We narrowed down our selection to the following boats.

Beneteau 51.1, Jeanneau Yacht 51, Bavaria C50, Bavaria C57, Elan GT6 and a Hanse 548.

All the above boats had advantages and disadvantages. To be honest they all were very similar in many regards using quality deck hardware from known manufactures. We won’t go into the why and wherefores of each of these boats. Most ticked some or most of the features we were looking for, but one stood out from the crowd.

We selected a Bavaria C57 for the following main reasons.

She was a stock boat from Clipper Marine and, therefore, available immediately. She came well equipped with B&G navigation with three MFDs. She had a self-tacking jib and inmast furling main sail and all lines led back to four large Harken 65 electric winches located at the side of each helm. We also liked that both sheet winches could be controlled from the opposite side which is neat…good thinking Bavaria. She also had a factory fitted bow and stern thruster for those tricky close quarter manoeuvres.

The cockpit was simply massive given her beam of 5.3m, offering a built in BBQ, sink, food prep area and a fridge perfect for those days lounging at anchor. Two tables either side made easy access to the companion way, and both electronically lowered to make sun beds and the whole area was covered with a massive bimini. Given the built-in dinghy garage the cockpit was high above the water line which offered security and good protection from a following sea.

Down below we particularly liked the galley which stretched across the width of the boat just in front of the forward owner’s cabin keeping the dining and lounge areas separate. This also provided plenty of bracing points when cooking underway. The galley also came with two fridges, a freezer and a microwave. She also had a dedicated utility room between the aft cabin and the chart table.

We liked the dinghy garage which was accessed by an electronic remote control swimming platform which would accommodate up to a 2.9m tender or larger if you deflated the forward section. You could also access it from the cockpit which was perfect for fender storage. It had an electric winch mechanism and rollers making dinghy deployment and retrieval easy. The rear bathing platform was simply vast with the swimming ladder offset making boarding and disembarking from a tender easy, like coming alongside your own mini dock.

The boat was fitted with a Naviop electronics management system which meant all controls, from the bilge pumps to the lighting, were accessed via a touch screen on the MFD. What this system does is to remove the necessity of having banks of countless switches and the associated wiring. As a backup there were also some good old fashion switches for key systems hidden in a locker.

She also came with a double bunk crew quarters in the bow which provided built-in shelves for tools and spare parts and ample stowage for bikes and other toys. She had an upgraded 110hp Yanmar engine, big tanks for fuel and water and a GRP deck.

A major “tick” in the box was her construction. The hull layup was vacuum infusion with longitudinal stringers, she had a keel stepped mast, a skeg protected shaft drive, independent dual rudder steering and a shoal keel of just under six foot. Even the large hull windows were made from tempered glass.

To be fair most of the other boats we looked at offered many of the features we were looking for, however, the Bavaria simply ticked more boxes than the rest.

Upgrades

As this was a stock boat there were some additional features we wanted to add. As we would be spending most of our time at anchor we wanted to be as self-sufficient as possible.

Solar & Lithium

Solar has come on a long way over the past few years and a combination of high output solar panels and plenty of lithium energy storage was in order. After lengthy discussions with Keto Marine, who are specialists in this area, we opted for 800ah of lithium provided by batteries that weighed less than a single 150ah lead acid battery. Because lithium offers roughly double the capacity of lead acid that's the equivalent to sixteen 100ah lead acid batteries with a combined weight of just over a third of a ton. We left the fitted lead acid starter and thruster batteries and had a switch installed to select these in the event of the lithium failing.

Given her beam, we could accommodate a lot of solar on a custom-made stainless steel arch and selected Solent Welding who had built a similar arch for our previous boat. This was the largest arch they had ever built and when fitted accommodated four 420 watt solar panels giving a potential maximum of 1,680 watts. We opted to have individual Victron MPPT controllers for each panel in the event of failure of either a controller or a panel.

On the recommendation of Keto Marine, we selected a Victron power management system which was totally automated with no need to switch from shore power, batteries or generator. The system knew where the power was coming from and automatically switched to the available charging source. Th

e heart of the system was a 3000kw Victron inverter/charger. The inverter was large enough to run all the 240-volt appliances. We did not have to worry if you could put the kettle on at the same time as the microwave.

The power management system had a screen that showed the flow of power either charging or depleting the battery bank and always showed the current state of charge.

Keto Marine expertly managed the installation of the solar and power management along with several of our other upgrades.

We dismissed hydro generation given the time we would be at anchor and wind power which we found too noisy.

Laundry

Over the years we had spent far too much time in marina laundry rooms and, as the Bavaria came with a built in the utility room, we asked Keto Marine to fit a full-sized Sharp washer dryer. This has proven to be one of the best upgrades we did.

Water Maker

We selected a Schenker Smart 60ltr per hour, 12v energy recovery water maker rated at 20 amps which would enable free fresh water production all day long given the solar panels would be producing north of 100 amps.

Generator

For the dull days and washing days we wanted a high output generator. Another advantage of lithium is they charge very quickly and would absorb most of what the generator could throw at them. We selected a Pagaru 9000 which offered 9kw of output with a water separator so not to annoy our neighbours at anchor, which was also fitted by Keto Marine.

Ground tackle

We wanted stainless steel chain as our experience of galvanized is that it piles up in the chain locker and can jam the windlass. This was particularly relevant for the Bavaria as the chain locker could only be accessed through the crew quarters at the bow of the boat…not so good Bavaria. We replaced the 32 kg delta plough anchor with a 40kg Rocna and 60m Aqua Marine iSO 4565 316 stainless steel chain and 50m of rode. The chain has been specified to perform well in hotter climates and importantly would not bunch. We also purchased a Fortress FX55 32lb anchor with 10m of chain and 80m of rode as a backup. We also fitted two 70m dyneme web lines on reels, one on each quarter of the stern to tie off to shore in crowded anchorages.

Sails

We needed a downwind sail and chose the furling Super Zero from Crusader Sails in Poole. The reason we selected this sail was that the construction was made from heavier material than a normal code 0 and had a built in UV strip so could be left up for the season.

Air Conditioning

We opted for Frigomar system from Advance Yachting. It uses a variable start system which enables it to be run from the inverter. It also can be operated in low power mode once the desired temperature had been reached. This enables the air-conditioning to run off solar during the day. We opted for two independent systems, a 10,000 BTU for the owner’s cabin and a 16,000 BTU for the main saloon.

Navigation Upgrades

We upgraded the AIS to a transceiver B plus system which offers higher power output and greater transmitting times. We also installed a 4G radar mainly for tracking squalls when sailing. We upgraded the starboard side B&G MFD to a 12 inch unit from the stock 9 inch unit, which is much easier to read and use.

Sleep

The last luxury we afforded ourselves was a custom-built mattress for the forward cabin. Whilst the standard mattresses were fine, we wanted a durable and comfortable mattress for the owner’s cabin.

The upgrades project started in April 2021 and all the options were installed within two months. In early June we took delivery and went through the naming ceremony at Swanwick Marina on the Hamble River. After a short test sail in Southampton Waters, we took ownership of our new boat and started to plan the journey from the UK to the Mediterranean.

Warranty Issues

We knew we would have issues with a new boat and this was true of the Bavaria. The sail from the UK to the Mediterranean uncovered several problems. These included a leaking mast collar and stern gland that required bailing out of the bilges on a regular basis. We also discovered that the new lithium batteries were too close to the gyro compass so every time you put a demand on the electric winches the autopilot turned the boat 360-degrees, not very helpful when trimming the sails. The other big problem was the bow thruster failed on our first outing to the Balearics. There were several other minor faults which were rectified once we arrived at our marina. Both Clipper Marine and Keto Marine were supportive with our issues and after many calls and emails later we are pleased to report we have an almost fixed boat.