Bavaria Cruiser 46 Review, Prices and Buyer's Guide

Bavaria Cruiser 46, European Yacht of the Year and still in build

Few production boats win a major award and then stay in the catalog for more than a decade. The Bavaria Cruiser 46 did both. It debuted in late 2014, was named European Yacht of the Year at boot Dusseldorf in January 2015, and is still listed on Bavaria's website in 2026 as part of the Cruiser Line, alongside the newer C-Line boats.

The jury, made up of chief editors from European sailing magazines, said it won a highly competitive class because it was the boat with the highest solidity and robustness, that it sailed very well and balanced, offered lots of space, and set new standards in workmanship and features. For a buyer that robustness is the point: this is the boat charter companies keep ordering, and a used Bavaria Cruiser 46 is easy to find, insure and maintain.

The Cruiser 45 hull, refined from the deck up

SAIL's Charles Doane, who had sailed the earlier Cruiser 45 off Grenada, explained the relationship in his 2015 review: the hull and underwater appendages of the 46 are the same as the 45's, while the deck and interior were redesigned. Bavaria's US press material described the 46 as the powerful follow-up to the 45 that won SAIL's Best Boats award in 2012.

The obvious change is the coachroof. The 45's concave cabinhouse sides are gone in favor of a subtler, sleeker profile that suits the high-sided, short-ended hull. Functionally the deck is similar: twin helms right aft, flip-up foot cleats for the helmsman, good visibility, and an enormous electrically operated fold-down transom. Control lines, including the split twin-mainsheet bridle, run aft to Spinlock clutches on the coachroof.

Storage is excellent, with two large if shallow cockpit lockers, a huge lazarette and a separate sail locker forward behind the windlass, big enough for two large sails flaked in bags.

Coremat, Airex and bolts set in Plexus

Doane's construction notes are unusually specific. The hull is hand-laid stitched biaxial and chopped strand mat in isophthalic polyester, bulked below the waterline with two extra layers of 2 mm Coremat and cored above it with closed-cell Airex foam, then stiffened with an inner grid. The cast iron keel is fastened with 20 mm stainless bolts and bedded in Plexus adhesive. The Airex-cored deck sits in polyurethane sealant on a 3 1/4 in flange and is screwed down every 8 in.

Engine access is very good, with a tall compartment reachable from the front and reasonably from the sides. Cruising World's judges also singled out the anchoring setup, including a striker plate on the hull to protect it from a swinging anchor, and the solid mechanical installations.

A factory-fresh boat on the Chesapeake

SAIL's test boat had never been sailed before the trial and needed time to set its sails properly, but once dialed in it performed well in 15 to 17 knots of true wind on Chesapeake Bay. Top speed was 8.5 knots at 60 degrees apparent, and the best pointing angle was about 40 degrees apparent with the in-mast furling main. Doane noted that a well-prepared slab-reefed 45 had pointed to 35 degrees, a hint of what proper sails would add.

Helm response through the twin-wheel Jefa system was excellent, and the twin rudders keep the wide stern under control when heeled, though the steering groove is narrow enough to need attention. The shrouds are anchored near the gunwales, so a big overlapping genoa is out; for light air the advice is to buy the optional gennaker.

Under power the optional 75 hp Volvo with a saildrive made 7.8 knots at 2,200 rpm in mildly lumpy water and 8.8 knots at 2,800 rpm, turned in about one boat length and backed predictably. The standard engine is 55 hp.

Three en suite cabins and a galley island

The three-cabin layout gives the owner an enormous forward stateroom with an en suite head and a separate shower room, and two aft doubles each with their own head. Doane called the aft cabins among the best he had seen anywhere, with good headroom, large berths and plenty of light, though ventilation aft is a challenge and the optional air conditioning is worth having in hot climates. A removable centerline bulkhead can split the forward cabin into two smaller doubles for charter, giving four cabins.

The 45's awkward chart table was removed; instead the saloon table has twin nav drawers. An optional centerline island with a fold-down seat sits between the table and the long in-line galley to port, giving the cook something to brace against opposite the three-burner stove. Counter space is generous thanks to a front-opening fridge, and the fiddles are deep.

Judged against Island Packet, Garcia and Morris

Cruising World's 2015 Boat of the Year put the Cruiser 46 in a class of four full-size cruisers under 50 feet. Tim Murphy pointed out that at $315,000 the Bavaria cost $11.34 a pound, against about $25 a pound for the Island Packet SP Cruiser and Garcia Exploration 45 and about $48 for the Morris 48 GT. He described it as aimed at the widest range of sailors.

Despite being by far the least expensive boat in the group, it held its own. Mark Schrader praised the electric transom with manual override, the smooth twin-rudder Jefa steering, the bow thruster and generator installations and the anchoring setup, calling it another solid entry from Bavaria.

Reading a 2014 spec sheet against a 2026 one

Over a long production run Bavaria's published figures have moved. The 2014 US sheet and most databases give 14.27 m overall, a 12.74 m waterline, 1.73 m shoal draft and 12,600 kg displacement with a 53 hp engine. Bavaria's current data sheet lists 13.90 m overall or 14.52 m with the bowsprit, a 13.60 m hull, 12.92 m waterline, 2.18 m standard or 1.82 m shoal draft, 3,489 kg of ballast, 12,254 kg displacement, 180 liters of fuel and 350 liters of water.

Bavaria also sold a Cruiser 46 Style, listed in its Cruiser Style range alongside the 51 Style in the late 2010s, with upgraded trim. When comparing boats, ask for the original build specification rather than relying on a listing's copy-pasted numbers.

Bavaria 46 Cruiser, 46 Holiday and C46, untangled

Searches for Bavaria46 or Bavaria 46 Cruiser 2005 to 2008 point to a different boat: the J&J Design Bavaria 46 Cruiser built from 2005 to 2009. Cruising World tested it at 46 ft 7 in overall with a 40 ft waterline, 24,250 lb displacement, 1,009 sq ft of sail, a 75 hp Volvo, 120 gallons of water and a price of $275,000, with three- and four-cabin layouts and a single rudder. Older listings also use the name Bavaria 46 Holiday for a version of that J&J-era family.

At the other end, the Bavaria C46 is a new C-Line model shown on Bavaria's 2026 website with a 13.95 m hull and 4.70 m beam. It is a separate design and should not be confused with the Farr Cruiser 46.

New and used Bavaria Cruiser 46 prices

Because the boat is still built, you can buy new or choose from a decade of used boats. In 2026, used Cruiser 46s ask roughly $175,000 to $340,000, with year, layout and charter history the main drivers; a new boat delivered to the US is estimated at $330,000 to $430,000 depending on options. Plan on $19,000 to $38,000 a year for a 47-foot slip, insurance, haul-out, saildrive and two rudder bearings, generator service where fitted, and sails.