Bavaria 35 HT, the 2013 Hardtop Sportscruiser Explained

Why a Bavaria 35 HT shows up in so few US listings

Search for a Bavaria 35 HT in the United States and you will usually find one or two boats, often imported, sometimes still on a European registration. That scarcity says more about timing than quality. Bavaria announced a completely reworked Sport line in August 2012, replacing the Sport 28, 31, 34, 38 and 43 with the Sport 29, 32, 35, 39 and 44, and the hardtop Sport 35 made its British debut at the London Boat Show in January 2013. By 2015 the Giebelstadt yard had moved on to an all-new family (Sport 300, 330, 360, 400 and 450), so the Sport 35 HT had little more than two model years in the catalog.

What you get for that rarity is a 35 ft sportscruiser on the same 10.80 m hull as the Sport 34 it replaced, with a fixed fiberglass roof, a long panel of hull glazing and an engine list running from twin petrol V8s to a pair of Volvo D4 diesels. Searches for bavaria 35 sport ht and bavaria sport 35 ht all point to this boat; Bavaria's own paperwork calls it the SPORT 35 HT.

What the 2012 refresh actually changed

Motor Boat and Yachting described the Sport 35 HT as a tweaked and updated Sport 34 HT, and the dimensions back that up: hull, beam and tankage are carried over. The visible changes were cosmetic but useful. Bavaria said that every model from 35 ft upward gained a long panoramic window and a large hull window as standard, plus a colored design stripe and restyled engine-room vents. Below, more and bigger hull windows were meant to fix the cave-like feel that afflicts many sportscruiser saloons of this size.

Two changes matter more to an owner than the styling. From August 2012 Bavaria fitted hydraulic steering as standard across the Sport line, replacing the manual systems on earlier boats, and Volvo Penta diesel versions from that date came with an electronic key. Teak cockpit flooring also became an option in place of iroko. If you are comparing a late Sport 34 HT with an early Sport 35 HT, the steering alone is a reason to pay a little more for the newer boat.

Giebelstadt's own numbers, hardtop versus open

Bavaria's technical data sheet lists the Sport 35 HT at 10.80 m (35 ft 5 in) overall, 11.70 m (38 ft 5 in) including the bathing platform, with a 10.28 m hull and a 3.59 m (11 ft 9 in) beam. With the drives raised it draws 0.70 m (2 ft 4 in); lowered, about 1.15 m (3 ft 9 in). Light weight is quoted from about 6,300 kg (13,900 lb), with a 520 liter (137 gallon) fuel tank and a 150 liter (40 gallon) water tank. The boat is CE category B for eight people, and cabin headroom is given as about 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in).

The roof costs surprisingly little. The open Sport 35 is listed at about 6,200 kg against 6,300 kg for the HT, and the hardtop actually lowers the height above the waterline from 3.23 m to 3.03 m (just under 10 ft), presumably because the open boat's radar arch stands taller. That matters if you plan to trailer it on a hydraulic trailer between lakes or slip under fixed bridges on the Intracoastal. Everything else, from tankage to berth count, is identical between the two versions.

Picking through seven engine combinations

Bavaria's engine list for the Sport 35 HT is long, and the choice shapes the boat more than any option on the price list. On the petrol side the website offered twin MerCruiser 377 MAG DTS with Bravo III drives or twin Volvo Penta V8-320 units, each 320 hp, while the 2014 brochure quoted twin MerCruiser 5.0 MPI (260 hp each) as the base specification. Diesel buyers could choose a single Volvo D6-370 or twins: D3-220, D4-260 or D4-300. Volvo twins were paired with DPS drives for the D3 and DPH drives for the D4 and D6, and a joystick was available on twin installations for both MerCruiser and Volvo.

For American use the ranking is simple. Twin D4-300s give the best mix of range, torque and resale, and a joystick earns its cost on a boat with this much windage. Twin D3-220s are cheaper to maintain but feel short of breath fully loaded. The single D6-370 behind the 157,800 pound launch price is fine for coastal day trips, at the cost of redundancy and slow-speed control. Petrol boats are the bargains, and for a lake with low annual hours they are a rational buy.

• Petrol: 2 x MerCruiser 5.0 MPI 260 hp, 2 x MerCruiser 377 MAG 320 hp, 2 x Volvo V8-320 320 hp
• Diesel: 1 x Volvo D6-370, 2 x D3-220, 2 x D4-260, 2 x D4-300
• Joystick: MerCruiser Axius or Volvo Aquamatic joystick on twin installations only

How fast, and why you should ask for engine data

We could not find a published, independently measured speed and fuel table for the Sport 35 HT. The only figure in print is the top speed of 38 knots that Motor Boat and Yachting estimated in its December 2012 preview, which should be read as a best case with the larger engines and a light load. Petrol boats with 260 hp V8s will be noticeably slower, and a single D6 boat gives up some top end to the twins.

So make the seller prove it. Volvo EVC and MerCruiser SmartCraft systems log hours and display fuel flow, so run the sea trial with full tanks, note speed and burn at 3,000 rpm and at wide open throttle, and compare maximum rpm with the engine maker's rated range. A boat that falls short is usually overpropped, fouled or tired, and each of those is a negotiating point.

Two cabins under a fixed roof

Below decks the Sport 35 HT keeps the conventional two-cabin, one-head plan of its class, with four berths in total and Bavaria's quoted 1.90 m of headroom in the cabin. The 2014 brochure leaned on light: wide hull windows, generous storage and what it called intelligent detail solutions. In practice this is a weekend and short-cruise boat for a couple with two children or two couples who know each other well; with a single head and 40 gallons of water, a week aboard calls for marina nights.

The roof is the reason to choose the HT. Bavaria pitched it on visibility, with large side windows and a wide windshield that keep the helm usable in rain. For a Great Lakes or New England owner the hardtop extends the season by weeks, and in Florida it shades the cockpit. The trade is a little less open-air lounging than the open Sport 35, which most buyers happily accept.

Sport 34 HT, Sport 35 HT Highline and Sport 360: telling them apart

Three Bavarias are easily confused with this one. The Sport 34 HT (2011 to 2012) shares the hull and tankage but has smaller hull portlights and manual steering, so check the hull identification number for the model year. In 2014 Bavaria also listed a Sport 35 HT Highline, a better-equipped edition in the spirit of the Sport 39 Highline; ask for the original order confirmation to see what was fitted.

The successor is a different design. Bavaria's 2015 range replaced the Sport 35 with the New Sport 360, offered as Open, HT and Coupe and later sold as the S36. Those boats are newer and more expensive, with a different deck and interior, and should not be priced against a 2013 Sport 35 HT.

Values, import paperwork and yearly costs

Expect roughly $95,000 to $165,000 in 2026 for a Sport 35 HT, depending on engines, hours and location. Diesel boats with joystick, recent drive service and fresh canvas command the top of the bracket. Many candidates sit in Croatia, Germany or the Netherlands, so budget for a survey abroad, shipping, US import duty and registration, and insist on the CE paperwork. MerCruiser and Volvo Penta sterndrive service is easy to find in the US, which removes the biggest worry about owning a European boat here.

Running a Sport 35 HT typically costs $15,000 to $30,000 a year in the US before depreciation: slip or storage, insurance, haul-out and bottom paint, annual drive service (bellows, gimbal bearings and gear oil), engine service, canvas and electronics upkeep. Petrol boats are cheaper to service but burn more fuel per hour; diesel twins cost more at service time and resell better.