Bavaria Cruiser 55 Review, Specs and Used Buyer's Notes

Why Bavaria hired Farr and BMW for a recession-year flagship

In 2009 the yacht market was in free fall, yet the one production segment still moving was the mid-50ft cruiser. Bavaria had nothing there, so instead of stretching its existing 51 it did something unusual for a volume builder: it paid Farr Yacht Design to draw the hull lines and advise on construction, and it brought in BMW Group DesignworksUSA to style the deck and exterior details. The Bavaria Cruiser 55, sold in some markets as the Bavaria 55 Cruiser, was the result and it became the yard's largest sailing yacht at launch.

Toby Hodges of Yachting World joined the debut trials in Palma and his August 2009 report summed up the effect: more attention to detail and quality control than testers were used to on a Bavaria, plus a hull penned by some of the best performance minds in the business. The boat also set the template for the Farr-designed Cruiser range that followed, from the Cruiser 32 up to the Cruiser 56.

All that freeboard, and what it buys below

The first thing anyone notices alongside a Cruiser 55 is the topsides. Yachting World wrote that she made a Bavaria 47 next to her look like a Flying Fifteen. The height is deliberate: it lets a sleek, low coachroof sit over a cavernous interior and leaves room for a tender garage under the cockpit. Bavaria's 2011 data gives a length overall of 16.75 m (54 ft 11 in), a hull length of 16.16 m, a waterline of 14.96 m and a maximum beam of 4.87 m, carried well aft into a broad stern with twin rudders and twin wheels.

Ballast is 5,500 kg (12,125 lb) of cast iron on a 2.35 m (7 ft 9 in) fin, with a 1.90 m shoal keel offered. Weight figures vary with the source and the year. The 2009 brochure quoted 15,500 kg lightship, Bavaria's 2011 spec sheet says about 17,200 kg, and Yachting World reported its test boat weighed 18.2 tonnes half loaded. Use the heavier numbers when you plan loads and motoring range.

Standing headroom in the saloon is about 2.06 m (6 ft 9 in) according to Bavaria. The price of that volume is windage and a high boarding height: anything other than stern-to mooring takes planning, and in a crosswind she sails at the dock.

What the Palma sea trial showed under sail

Yachting World's test boat had the standard deep keel, a furling 106 percent genoa and an in-mast furling main with vertical battens. In a light Force 3 on flat water in Palma Bay she tracked upwind at 6.5 knots. When the breeze filled to a steady Force 4, with 13 knots over the deck, she was nudging 8 knots close-hauled, and she hit 9.5 knots on a broad reach in 16 knots of wind.

The trial also exposed one real flaw. The genoa tracks had been mounted low to keep the deck clean, which limited pointing to about 50 degrees true. Barber-hauling the clew gained more than five degrees, and Bavaria talked about adding a short coachroof track. When you inspect a used boat, look at how the previous owner solved this, because a well-placed inboard lead or barber hauler makes a noticeable difference to windward.

The helm loads were light, the twin rudders tracked consistently and the tester called the boat quick, easy and fun, which is not language usually applied to a cruising Bavaria. Downwind, the broad aft sections beg for an asymmetric spinnaker; the test boat only carried a lightweight Code 0. A Sports package offered a taller mast and a larger fully battened main for owners who want more.

Three cabins for owners, five for charter

The interior was conceived as a flexible kit. Yachting World sailed a four-cabin boat, and the yard also offered a three-cabin version with ensuite heads throughout plus four and five-cabin charter versions. Forward, a removable central bulkhead lets the two forward cabins be merged into one large owner's suite after a charter career, and a conversion kit turns the starboard head into a dressing room.

In the owner's layout the master suite is in the bow, with a walk-in dressing area, a queen-size double, about 6 ft 2 in of headroom and a forward ensuite with a separate stand-up shower that the tester compared to a hotel bathroom. Two identical double cabins sit aft with tall hanging lockers. The galley is linear but anchored by an island workstation with grab bars, and a front-opening full-height fridge-freezer gives it the feel of an apartment kitchen.

The look is light and minimal, with walnut joinery and oak-finish floors on the test boat. Bavaria's usual weak points were still there in 2009, and testers heard floorboards and deck creak underfoot, so walk the whole boat slowly during a viewing.

• Three-cabin owner layout: the version to chase if you plan to live aboard
• Four-cabin layout: the best balance for family use and resale
• Five-cabin charter layout: cheapest to buy, hardest worked, check every head and pump

A tender garage, a drop-down transom and a flush foredeck

BMW's brief was a clean deck, so halyards and control lines run under the deck and aft to clutches on the coachroof, and the mainsheet uses a German-style system led forward along the boom and back to coachroof winches. Only the aft pair of the 58-size primaries can be reached from the wheels, so many boats were ordered with electric winches.

The transom door lowers electrically to form a swim platform with steps, and behind it the garage swallows a 3.2 m RIB that launches straight over the platform. Forward, the flush foredeck offers about 7.5 square meters of sunbathing space. The flip side is limited protection: low coamings, few backrests in the cockpit, low guardrails and short coachroof handholds. Offshore crews should add jacklines and extra handholds before a passage.

Volvo or Yanmar, and the tankage that comes with them

Early boats on the market are mostly listed with a Volvo Penta D3-110 diesel, while Bavaria's 2011 spec sheet lists a Yanmar 4JH4-HTE rated at 81 kW (110 hp) on a shaft drive. Confirm which one you are looking at, because parts, service intervals and dealer support differ, and check the shaft seal and cutless bearing either way.

Tankage is 380 liters (about 100 US gallons) of diesel and 700 liters (about 185 gallons) of water, which suits Mediterranean hops between marinas better than long ocean legs. Owners planning an Atlantic crossing usually add jerry can capacity, a watermaker and more battery bank than the charter-spec electrical system provided.

Cruiser 55 or Cruiser 56: telling the generations apart

The Cruiser 55 was replaced for 2013 by the Cruiser 56, another Farr design that shares the same 16.16 m hull length, the same 5,500 kg ballast figure and the same 23.25 m mast height above the waterline. The 56 is not just a renamed 55, though. Sailboatdata and Boat-Specs list a longer 15.63 m waterline, a narrower 4.76 m beam, a heavier 18,596 kg lightship figure and a deeper 2.46 m standard keel, and Cruising World described the 56 as having a plumb bow.

On the brokerage market, the quickest checks are the build year (2009 to 2012 for the 55, 2013 onward for the 56), the bow profile and the engine plate. Listings mix the names Bavaria 55 Cruiser and Cruiser 55 freely, so never rely on the headline alone, and never price a 55 against 56 comparables without adjusting for the four-year age gap.

Pricing a Bavaria Cruiser 55 for sale today

A quick scan of European listings in 2026 shows 2009 to 2011 boats asking from about 160,000 to 350,000 euros, with the bulk between 170,000 and 240,000 euros. The cheap end is almost always ex-charter in Greece, Croatia or Turkey with five cabins and tired sails. The top end is privately owned, often with teak decks, air conditioning, a generator and a recent rigging change.

For a US buyer that translates into roughly $175,000 to $330,000 before import duty, transport or delivery. Given the Bavaria badge, depreciation has largely run its course, and the boat now sells on volume per dollar. A well-surveyed private boat is worth the premium over a tired charter hull, because refitting five heads, pumps and a full sail wardrobe can easily reach $40,000.