Bavaria 340 Review, the Late-1980s Bavaria Before Mass Production

What the Bavaria 340 is

The Bavaria 340 belongs to a Bavaria most modern sailors never knew. Before the company became one of Europe's highest-volume builders, it produced smaller numbers of solid, carefully finished yachts drawn by the German designer Axel Mohnhaupt, who was responsible for Bavaria designs between 1981 and 1993. Sailboatdata lists the 340 as first built in 1986. Yachting Monthly, which tested it in July 1988, called it Bavaria's first major success in Britain and noted that it cost more than a Westerly Storm 33, a reminder of where Bavaria was positioned at the time.

Today the 340 is a low-priced older cruiser with a good reputation for build quality, a foam-cored hull that must be surveyed carefully, and a choice of two interiors. It suits a buyer who wants a capable 33 to 35-footer for coastal cruising and is willing to invest in an older boat.

Bavaria before the boom

Bavaria Yachtbau was founded in 1978 by Winfried Herrmann, a window manufacturer, and Josef Meltl, a charter broker, at Giebelstadt in Bavaria. In the Mohnhaupt years the yard aimed at the mid-to-upper end of the market, with Scandinavian-style joinery and modest output. That changed in the mid-1990s, when Bavaria began working with the Slovenian studio J&J Design and moved to industrial production; by 2006 it was building around 3,500 boats a year.

That history explains why a 1980s Bavaria such as the 340 feels different from a 2000s Bavaria. The joinery is more traditional, the hull construction more ambitious, and the deck hardware sized for a quieter market. It also explains why so few made it across the Atlantic.

Why published dimensions disagree

Do not be surprised if two sources give different sizes for the same boat. Yachting Monthly's 1988 data lists 9.95 meters (32 feet 7 inches) overall, 8.60 meters on the waterline, 3.45 meters of beam, a 1.70-meter draft and about 4,000 kilograms displacement. Sailboatdata agrees on beam and draft but lists 35 feet 3 inches overall, a 27 foot 3 inch waterline, 4,300 kilograms displacement and 1,650 kilograms of iron ballast. The difference in length probably reflects how pulpits, transom steps or a bathing platform were counted, and brochure figures from the period are often inconsistent.

For a buyer the practical answer is simple. Measure the boat, check the documentation, and quote the measured length to marinas and insurers. Everything else, including the sail area of about 495 square feet, is consistent with a moderate-displacement cruiser of the era.

Lagoon or Caribic, the two interiors

Bavaria built the 340 in two versions. The Lagoon was the owner's layout, with a single aft cabin and more saloon and stowage space. The Caribic was the charter layout, with two aft cabins so that three couples could sleep in separate cabins. In both, Yachting Monthly described a wraparound dinette offset to port and a longitudinal galley to starboard, and praised the well-crafted interior.

For a family or a cruising couple, the Lagoon is the better boat to live on: more lockers, a roomier saloon and less of the boat given over to small cabins. The Caribic makes sense if you regularly sail with guests or plan to share ownership.

On the water

Yachting Monthly did not flatter the 340's performance, describing it as not particularly sparkling, and noted that deck gear was a size smaller than the competition's. The boat was offered with a fin keel of about 5 feet 7 inches or a wing keel, and sailboatdata also lists a shallow version of about 4 feet 7 inches. The fractional rig and spade rudder are typical of the period.

With a ballast ratio of nearly 40 percent on sailboatdata's figures, the 340 should stand up to a breeze reasonably well. On an old boat, the most effective performance upgrades are new sails, upsized winches where the originals are marginal, and a folding or feathering propeller to replace a fixed two-blade unit.

Surveying a boat built in the 1980s

The foam-cored hull that made the 340 light and stiff when new is the first thing to survey now. Ask your surveyor to take moisture readings and percussion-test the hull and deck, paying particular attention to areas around through-hulls, the keel stub and deck fittings where water could have entered the core over four decades. A wet core is expensive to repair and can make an otherwise tidy boat uneconomic.

The original engine was a Volvo Penta 2002, an 18 hp diesel. Many have been replaced, and a boat with a modern repower is worth noticeably more. Expect to replace standing and running rigging on any boat that cannot show recent work, and check the keel bolts and the keel-to-hull joint, the rudder bearings and the chainplates. Tankage is modest at about 21 gallons of fuel and 66 gallons of water according to sailboatdata.

Prices, running costs and who should buy one

In the US the 340 is rare, and most examples are in the UK, Germany and the Netherlands. We estimate $18,000 to $38,000 for a sound boat in 2026, well below the Yachting Monthly guide of £30,000 to £45,000 from an earlier market. Budget about $5,000 to $10,000 a year to keep one, plus a reserve for age-related projects.

The right buyer is someone who values build quality and a traditional interior, is comfortable managing an older boat, and does not need the latest layout. If you would rather have a newer, roomier boat for similar money, a 2000s J&J-designed Bavaria such as the 30 Cruiser is the obvious alternative.

The 340 among other Mohnhaupt Bavarias

The 340 sits in a family of Mohnhaupt designs that includes the 1985 Bavaria 960, the 1989 Bavaria 300 and the 1991 Bavaria 350, the 960 and 300 among the earliest designs to place a heads compartment aft with a stern double cabin. Practical Boat Owner notes that these Mohnhaupt boats were built in smaller numbers and aimed at the mid-to-high-quality end of the market. Do not confuse the 340 with the J&J-designed Bavaria 34 of 1999 or later Cruiser 34 models, which are entirely different boats.