Bavaria 38 Cruiser Review and Used Buyer's Guide

The Bavaria 38 Cruiser at a glance

Most people searching for a Bavaria 38 today are looking at the 38 Cruiser built from 2008 to 2010, the J&J-designed boat that replaced the 37 Cruiser of 2005 to 2007. Bavaria's 2009 data sheet gives 11.72 meters (38 feet 5 inches) overall on an 11.45-meter hull, a 9.90-meter (32 foot 6 inch) waterline and a 3.90-meter (12 foot 10 inch) beam. Light displacement is about 7,200 kilograms, roughly 15,900 pounds, with 2,100 kilograms of ballast, and the standard keel draws about 1.97 meters, close to 6 feet 6 inches.

Cruising World reviewed the boat twice in 2009 and came away impressed by how much of it was designed for sailing rather than for boat-show walk-throughs. Jeremy McGeary's verdict was that the 38 should appeal to those looking for a sailboat to take out sailing, not a weekend apartment furnished in the current vogue. It carries a CE category A rating according to sailboatdata.

Several Bavaria 38s, and a 37 in between

The Bavaria 38 name covers more than one boat. The Bavaria 38 Holiday and Exclusive of the late 1990s were J&J designs built primarily for charter. In the early 2000s came a larger Bavaria 38, which Yachting Monthly tested in 2002 at a headline UK price of £62,863; it measured 12.30 meters overall including its stern, had two aft cabins and a forecabin, and is often listed as a 38 Cruiser on the brokerage market. Bavaria then built the 37 Cruiser from 2005 to 2007 before returning to 38 feet with the boat covered here.

Later boats with similar names are separate designs, including the Cruiser 37 and the current C38, and the Bavaria Ocean 38 is a different model again. When a listing says Bavaria 38 Cruiser, check the year: a 2003 or 2004 boat is the earlier design, while 2008 to 2010 boats are the J&J 38 Cruiser.

• Bavaria 38 Holiday and Exclusive (late 1990s): charter-oriented J&J design
• Bavaria 38 (early 2000s): 12.30 m overall, three cabins, often listed as 38 Cruiser
• Bavaria 37 Cruiser (2005 to 2007): the stopgap between the two 38s
• Bavaria 38 Cruiser (2008 to 2010): the boat on this page

An interior you can move through at sea

What Cruising World liked most was below deck. Half a step from the foot of the companionway there are solid handholds on both sides, the fiddled galley counter to port and the nav desk to starboard. The forward-facing nav desk is big enough for paper charts, the saloon settees run parallel to the centerline and are long enough to sleep on at sea, and partial bulkheads have cut-out grabs. The joinery is varnished African mahogany with integrated grabrails and deep fiddles, which McGeary contrasted with the Ikea-style furniture of rival builders.

The criticisms were minor. The galley had only a two-burner stove and fairly shallow twin sinks, and the electrical panel used touch-pad switches that light up when a circuit is on, with the breakers mounted behind the panel. Some owners prefer the reassurance of conventional breakers, so check how the panel has aged.

Two cabins with a big heads, or three with a small one

Bavaria offered two layouts, two cabins with four berths or three cabins with six. In the two-cabin version the forward cabin takes the entire space ahead of the mast, with a large V-berth, plenty of lockers and room to stand and dress, and the single heads sits aft behind the nav station, unusually spacious for a 38. In the three-cabin version the heads moves forward, is smaller, and takes a chunk out of the forward cabin. The aft cabin or cabins have generous standing room and a large berth in both versions.

For a couple or a family, the two-cabin boat is the better choice and usually the better resale proposition in the US. The three-cabin boat suits charter use or regular cruising with two other couples.

A deck set up for people who trim

Bavaria called the 38 a performance-oriented cruiser, and the deck backs that up. Standard equipment included a roller-furling genoa with tackles to adjust the sheet leads, a split backstay with a four-part tackle on one leg, six winches and padeyes to convert the mainsheet to a German-style double-ended system that brings both tails to the helmsman. The main could be ordered with in-mast furling, as on Cruising World's test boat, or as a conventional or full-batten sail. Sailboatdata lists the standard main at 28.8 square meters, the full-batten main at 33.1 and a 150 percent furling genoa at 41.

In the cockpit, the table on the steering console is handy but gets in the way during maneuvers. Electric rams under the cockpit sole open the center of the transom to reveal a swim step and ladder, and a low bridgedeck and sill help keep water out of the cabin. Forward, a flush hatch covers a deep anchor well with the windlass on a shelf. The 38 is narrower than some rivals, with the beam drawing in toward the stern, a choice that favors sailing behavior over interior volume.

Under power, measured twice

Light winds on both of Cruising World's test days meant the best data is under power. With the 40 hp Volvo and saildrive, the boat made 5 knots at 1,500 rpm, a shade under 6.5 knots at a quiet 2,000 rpm, 7.2 knots at 2,500 rpm and 7.8 knots at its 2,800 rpm maximum. It turned in about one boat length with the wheel hard over and behaved well in reverse. Under sail, a 4.5-knot gust pushed it to 2.7 knots close-hauled, which suggests promise but tells you little else.

Bavaria's data sheet lists the 27 hp Volvo D1-30 as the engine, so not every boat will match those motoring figures. Fuel capacity is a modest 150 liters, about 40 gallons. Water is 210 liters as standard, and an optional 150-liter bow tank brings the total to 360 liters, the 95 gallons Cruising World printed.

The tandem keel on US boats

Bavaria adopted a tandem keel, patented by Warwick Collins, for its shoal-draft option, and Cruising World reported that it had become the standard keel on boats imported to North America. It draws about 5 feet 3 inches, against roughly 6 feet 6 inches for the deep fin, and is claimed to give better control than conventional shoal keels. Many US 38 Cruisers therefore have it. It is the practical choice for the Chesapeake, Florida and the Bahamas; the deep fin points higher and is the better keel for open-water sailing.

Under the floorboards, Cruising World found a structural grid laminated to the hull with keel bolts through the grid secured by double nuts and stainless backing washers. The hull's fairly flat bottom leaves only a shallow bilge, which makes it hard to dry completely.

Bavaria 38 Cruiser prices, then and now

New, the 38 Cruiser listed at $184,500 in early 2009 and $203,500 by that summer, according to Cruising World. In 2026 the European market shows the earlier 2003 to 2005 Bavaria 38 at roughly €50,000 to €75,000, and the 2008 to 2010 boat sits above that. In the US we expect $70,000 to $110,000 for a 38 Cruiser in good condition, more for a privately kept two-cabin boat with upgrades.

Running costs for a 38-footer, including a slip, insurance, a haul-out, engine and saildrive service and routine rigging and sail care, run roughly $12,000 to $22,000 a year. Budget for standing rigging replacement if it is original, since most of these boats are now 16 to 18 years old.