Bavaria SR41 Review, Specs and Prices

The Bavaria SR41 and the start of the SR family

The Bavaria SR41 was the first boat of a new line when it was unveiled at boot Dusseldorf in January 2020. The idea, in Bavaria's words, was to combine the best of the sporty S-Line with the more comfortable R-Line. In practice that meant taking the open, sun-friendly deck of an S-Line sportscruiser and pairing it with the kind of below-decks comfort found on the R40, including a proper owner's suite. The SR35 and SR38 followed, and the SR41 is still the largest boat in the family.

It replaced the S40, a rebadged version of the 2014 Sport 400. MBY's launch preview described the SR41 as having a far neater and more cohesive look than the Sport range it would replace, and the magazine's Motor Boat Awards jury later named it the best sportscruiser up to 45 ft for 2022, beating the Fairline Targa 45 GT, Solaris 44 Power and Windy SR44 Blackhawk.

Marco Casali's styling and the dinette at the water's edge

Bavaria worked with Marco Casali of Too Design in Italy on the exterior and deck layout. The visible result is a lower hardtop that blends into the coachroof, long ribbons of hull glass set into a broad black hull stripe, and a cockpit that uses teak and dark mouldings to cut down on shiny white GRP. MBY's tester called it the best-looking sportscruiser Bavaria had built in some time.

The clever part is aft. Instead of a fixed sunpad on the transom, the SR41 has a U-shaped, aft-facing lounge cut into the transom, with a table that drops to form a sunbed. Fold the backrest forward and the same seat faces into the cockpit. It means you can sit and eat a few inches above the bathing platform with the sea in front of you, and it is the feature buyers remember after a boat show.

Forward of that there is an L-shaped cockpit settee with a flip-over table, a large wet bar with grill, a single helm seat with a raised two-person co-pilot pad, and a choice of sunroofs: manual or electric fabric, or a solid GRP panel with a slightly smaller opening. Bavaria also offered soft top and fully open versions at launch, plus optional doors at the aft end of the hardtop that make it a coupe.

A full-beam owner's suite on a 41 ft sterndrive boat

Below decks is where the SR41 earns its price. Facing forward it looks conventional: galley to one side, dinette opposite, a day head, and a VIP double in the bow. Turn aft and there is a full-beam owner's cabin under the cockpit, with hull windows, a double bed you can reach from either side, a bench seat and its own ensuite with a separate shower stall. Few 40 ft sterndrive cruisers offer that.

YachtBuyer's reviewers liked the generous headroom and floor area, and noted that four adults can move about the saloon without constant shuffling. The galley is aimed at breakfast and coffee rather than serious cooking, with the cockpit wet bar intended for grilling. The one gap is a twin-berth option. Both cabins are doubles, which is less convenient for families with children who do not share a bed.

Petrol V8 or Volvo diesel: reading the engine list

The SR41 runs on twin sterndrives. The base package uses twin 6.2 liter MerCruiser petrol V8s of 350 hp (Bavaria's own literature quotes 355 hp, 261 kW). Volvo Penta's V8-350 petrol engine was also listed, and the two diesel choices are the four-cylinder D4-300 and the six-cylinder D6-380. MBY noted that the D6-380 cost about 21,000 GBP more than the D4-300 in 2021.

Most buyers chose diesel, and the D6-380 is the engine to look for on the used market. It gives the best performance and the best resale. The petrol boats are cheaper and lighter on maintenance, which makes sense on a lake where you run 40 hours a season, but fuel bills at sportscruiser speeds are high. A joystick was optional and is worth having on a boat this beamy.

Performance: 34 knots claimed, near 40 knots reported

Bavaria's launch figures quoted a 34 knot top speed for the twin sterndrive versions. YachtBuyer lists 32 knots, while the MBY Motor Boat Awards jury reported a near 40 knot top speed and called the handling wonderful, crediting the twin sterndrives. MBY's used-boat roundup expected D6-380 boats to push past 35 knots. Treat the low 30s as realistic with a full load and the high 30s as possible with D6-380s, a clean bottom and a light boat.

The 2021 MBY sea trial, in a wintry Solent, described the SR41 as tenacious in the turns and enormous fun to throw around, and said chop and passing wash were dealt with confidently. Noise levels were the main criticism. Published fuel burn figures were not available, so ask the seller for EVC or VesselView logs and compare against Volvo's D6 consumption curves.

What the options list does to the price

The SR41's headline price is attractive, but MBY was blunt that the base boat comes without many options you would want. The UK importer's own stock boat carried more than 100,000 GBP of extras. With D6-380s and sensible options, MBY estimated about 350,000 GBP before discounts in 2021.

When you shop used, work through the inventory carefully. The items that matter most are the diesel engines, joystick, generator, air conditioning, hydraulic bathing platform, teak cockpit, electric sunroof, upgraded electronics on the twin-screen helm console and the bow thruster. A cheap SR41 is usually cheap because several of these are missing.

Buying a used SR41 in 2026

Supply is thin. The SR41 is still in production, depreciation has been modest, and most used boats are in Europe. YachtBuyer's market watch showed a single 2023 boat at 399,000 euros, and European listings show 2021 boats around 400,000 euros, 2022 boats from about 330,000 GBP and 2024 boats near 500,000 euros. US buyers will often be looking at an import, so factor in shipping, duty and conversion of 230 volt systems.

Hull and deck problems have not been widely reported. Focus your survey on the sterndrives (bellows, gimbal bearings, props and corrosion), the sunroof mechanism and drainage, the hydraulic platform if fitted, and the electrical installation. Check that the early single-screen helm pedestal has been upgraded if you want the later twin-screen console.

Ownership costs and where the SR41 fits

Expect annual costs of roughly 32,000 to 58,000 dollars, covering slip, insurance on a near half-million-dollar boat, sterndrive servicing, bottom work and fuel. Sterndrives are cheaper to buy than IPS but need more frequent attention, particularly in salt water.

Against rivals, the SR41 sits between the mass-market Beneteau and Jeanneau sportscruisers and the British and Italian premium brands. It undercuts a Princess V40 or Fairline Targa 43 Open on price, offers more interior volume than most, and gives up some finish quality and resale strength in return.