Bavaria 33 Cruiser Review and Used Buyer's Checklist

Bavaria 33 Cruiser: a 32 rebuilt around owner complaints

The Bavaria 33 Cruiser is not a clean-sheet design, and that is its strength. Practical Boat Owner's David Harding called it a reincarnation of the Cruiser 32, one of the few times Bavaria based a new model on an existing hull rather than starting again. The Farr Yacht Design lines that had impressed testers in 2009 stayed, while almost everything people had grumbled about was changed.

Bavaria introduced the Cruiser 33 to European buyers in 2013 as part of a wave of five revised Cruiser models, and Bavaria Yachts USA listed it at $149,699 delivered the following year. Sailboatdata gives 2016 as the last year of build, though Yachting Monthly reported in 2016 that the single-wheel 33 would stay on sale for a while with a vacuum-infused hull beside the new Cruiser 34. If you are shopping for a Bavaria 33 for sale, 2013 to 2016 boats are the ones to target.

The fix list, item by item

Harding had sailed the Cruiser 32 twice and liked its speed, but he described it as a good boat with missed opportunities. His list of what Bavaria changed for the 33 reads like a response to owner feedback:

• Pillbox coachroof slits replaced by long windows, with an opening port above the galley
• A hatch added over the saloon to lift light and ventilation
• Saloon headroom raised from about 1.83 m (6 ft) to 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)
• Cockpit seats cut back into a T shape with shorter coamings and a wide, flat helm seat, so you no longer climb over the benches to pass the wheel
• Provision for a bow thruster built in
• Keel reshaped and moved forward roughly 20 cm (8 in)
• Deep fin made standard, with the shoal keel moving to the options list

The 2005 Bavaria 33 Cruiser is a different boat

Listings for a Bavaria 33 from 2006 or 2007 describe the earlier J&J Design 33 Cruiser, built from 2005 to about 2008. On paper the two look alike: both draw about 1.95 m with a deep fin or 1.5 m with a shoal fin, and the old boat's 5,390 kg displacement is close to the Farr boat's 5,200 kg.

The difference is in the rig and foils. The J&J boat is half a meter longer overall but only 15 cm longer on the waterline, so it carries more overhang. Its mast is shorter and further forward, so it relies on a big overlapping genoa; its quoted 64 square meters looks larger than the Farr boat's 51 square meters, but much of it is overlap that works less efficiently. The Cruiser 33 has a taller rig, a larger mainsail sheeted from the end of a longer boom, and higher aspect keel and rudder that produce more lift for the drag. Expect the newer boat to point higher and stay quicker as the wind builds.

Tested in Antigua trade winds and a 35-knot Solent gust

SAIL chartered a Cruiser 33 in Antigua in 2014 and took it on the 25-mile open-water passage to Barbuda. Northbound on a beam to broad reach with seas up to six feet on the quarter, it clicked off 6 to 7 knots without effort. Coming back on a close reach in similar seas, sailing by feel as the wind gusted into the high teens, it held 5.5 to 6.5 knots with a dinghy in tow, with little pounding and little spray coming aft.

Harding's Solent test was harsher: a gusty, shifty northwesterly that peaked at 35 knots true and dropped to 10 to 12 in the lulls. Under full sail the boat spun out a few times broad reaching, then needed the first of its two reefs when hardened up. He found more weather helm than on the 32, possibly a side effect of the keel moving forward, but when the rudder let go it rounded up and came back under control without drama.

The 6:1 mainsheet still lands on the cockpit table, where the crew can work it and the helmsman can reach it with a stretch. That alone prevents some broaches that would happen on older Bavarias with the main led to a coachroof winch.

Deck gear worth upgrading

The standard hardware is adequate rather than generous. The Lewmar 30 self-tailing primaries are the smallest you would want, and the 4:1 backstay tackle is too weak to flatten the rig in a breeze; Harding's first recommendation was more purchase. Spring cleats were extras, so check whether a boat has them.

Early boats had clutches and a winch only on the port side of the coachroof. Bavaria later followed its UK dealer in fitting the same to starboard, so more lines, including the genoa halyard, can come aft. Flush hatches look tidy but give nothing to brace a foot against when the deck is at 30 degrees, and the wide shroud base means the lowers angle across the side deck.

The fixed cockpit table divides opinion. It is a superb foot brace and the mainsheet anchor, but SAIL found that with a dodger and bimini rigged it makes moving around the cockpit awkward.

Divinycell topsides, a solid bottom and two grids

SAIL described the hull as e-glass laid in a mix of polyester and vinylester resins, with Divinycell foam core in the topsides and solid glass below the waterline. A fiberglass grid is bonded into the hull and also held by the keel bolts, and a second structural grid runs bow to stern under the cored deck. Harding checked under berths and sole boards and found the cored hull ramped down to single skin at the seacocks, as it should be.

Neither tester heard squeaks or creaks in a seaway, which is a real change from the Bavarias of the 1990s. The keel is cast iron, so keep an eye on the paint and fairing at the joint.

Inside, the light finally matches the volume

Below, the plan is unchanged from the 32: V-berth forward, double aft to starboard, galley at the foot of the steps and the large head with shower and wet hanging space to port. The nav area is a small aft-facing table at the end of the port settee. SAIL's six-foot tester found that settee usable as a sea berth and the V-berth wide enough at the toes, though the aft cabin under the cockpit sole feels a bit cave-like.

What changed is the atmosphere. The long windows and saloon hatch transform the light, the companionway steps are dished with non-slip treads and grab handles, and the table has wooden drawers rather than plastic bins. Mahogany was the standard joinery, with oak and teak as options. A family of three adults and a child lived aboard SAIL's test boat for most of a week without complaint. The galley is the tightest space, and the big saloon table can be hard to squeeze around.

Bavaria 33 for sale, what to pay and what to check

Most Cruiser 33s on the market are 2013 to 2015 boats from European and Caribbean charter fleets, which keeps prices sensible: roughly $68,000 to $105,000 in 2026, with private, deep-keel boats with the 27 hp D1-30 and a bow thruster at the top. Year matters less than use. A 2015 boat with 3,000 charter hours can be worth less than a lightly used 2013 private boat.

Ownership costs are close to the 32's: $7,500 to $15,000 a year for a slip, insurance, haul-out and routine saildrive and rigging work. Electrical capacity is modest, with 184 Ah of house batteries and a 92 Ah engine battery on the boat SAIL tested, so plan on upgrades if you anchor out with a fridge running.