Bavaria Vision 46 Review, Sea Trials and Used Price Guide

The Bavaria Vision 46 started with owner workshops

Most production yachts begin with a designer's sketch. The Bavaria Vision 46 began with a series of workshops across Europe in which Bavaria asked existing owners what their ideal cruising boat should do. The yard announced the project in August 2011, promising a new line built around three words: elegance, comfort and easy handling. The Vision 46 was the first result, and it made its world premiere at boot Dusseldorf on January 21, 2012.

To build it, Bavaria paired Farr Yacht Design, responsible for the hull and performance, with Design Unlimited, the British studio better known for superyacht interiors, which handled the deck styling and accommodation. Yachting World's Toby Hodges saw it as a deliberate step up after the mixed reception of Bavaria's Cruiser range, and a direct answer to Beneteau's Sense, Elan's Impression and Jeanneau's deck-saloon cruisers. Cruising World went further, calling it a candidate for the definitive couple's cruiser.

Farr below the waterline, a split mould above it

Bavaria's data give the Vision 46 an overall length of 13.99 m (45 ft 11 in) on a 13.70 m hull, a 12.83 m (42 ft 1 in) waterline and a 4.19 m (13 ft 9 in) beam. Lightship displacement is 12,300 kg (27,117 lb) with 3,450 kg (7,606 lb) of ballast, and the standard keel draws 2.14 m (7 ft) with a 1.70 m (5 ft 7 in) shoal option. The long waterline, only about a foot shorter than the hull, is the main reason testers found her quicker than her volume suggests.

Hodges reported that this was the first Bavaria built in a split mould and the first with a Selden Furlex headsail furler mounted below deck, a retractable bow thruster and an electric windlass in a large chain locker. Unlike the twin-rudder Bavaria Cruiser 45, the Vision 46 has a single, large spade rudder, which made SAIL's Adam Cort nervous until he sailed it.

Solent, Chesapeake and Point Judith: what the testers found

Yachting World tested an early UK boat in a Force 4 to 5 on the Solent. With 24 knots over the deck and full sail, the cable-linked helms did not load up badly and the boat stayed controlled when heeled. With outboard chainplates and the jib sheeted to a coachroof track, she tacked in just over 80 degrees. Speed in 15 to 18 knots was described as adequate and in line with the polars, though a strong ebb and a dead log made exact numbers hard to pin down.

Cruising World's Boat of the Year judges sailed the Vision 46 on Chesapeake Bay in 10 to 12 knots and logged 6.5 to 7.5 knots on nearly all points of sail. SAIL's Adam Cort delivered a boat from Mystic, Connecticut, to the Newport show with winds building to 20 knots and gusts above 25, plus a quartering swell around Point Judith. The helm loaded up as the breeze built but never let go, and a few turns of the in-mast furler settled her immediately. All three testers came away impressed by her manners under pressure.

Trim Control, Revo winches and Dock Control

Bavaria developed two optional systems for the Vision line. Trim Control used Lewmar's Revo winches, for which Bavaria had an exclusivity deal, to tack the self-tailing jib sheets at the push of a button: hold the button and the working winch eases, then the new winch winds in automatically. It can be linked to a Garmin plotter and autopilot so the boat will tack itself. Hodges found it worked but criticized the control panel as unintuitive and noted that the easing winch sometimes failed to release.

Dock Control combined a bow thruster, a retractable stern thruster and a joystick for close-quarters handling. Cruising World's judges found it intuitive but noted it added about $25,000 to the price, and the boat maneuvers well without it. On a used boat, treat both systems as bonuses only if they work perfectly on the test sail; repairs to proprietary controls are expensive.

A big saloon, an island galley and no chart table

The companionway on the Vision 46 is offset to port, with all control lines led to one coachroof winch on that side. That frees space below for a galley with deep sinks set in a central island, which gives the cook something to lean against at sea. Headroom is generous (Bavaria quotes about 2.00 m, and Yachting World measured close to 7 ft), and coachroof and hull windows make the saloon unusually bright. The saloon table swivels and lowers to form a double, and SAIL liked the retractable chart table that slides down to create a long sea berth.

There is no conventional nav station. Instead, part of the port settee lifts to form a small chart and coffee table, which Hodges thought a paltry space for navigation. The standard plan has a large owner's cabin forward, one head and a twin aft cabin that converts to a double, with a workshop or storage room on the other side; Bavaria also offered two cabins with two heads and three-cabin versions with one or two heads. Cruising World's tester tripped repeatedly over a step up to the raised saloon floor.

• 2 cabins, 1 head (standard)
• 2 cabins, 2 heads
• 3 cabins, 1 head
• 3 cabins, 2 heads

Engine, tankage and the cockpit details

Power is a Volvo Penta D2-55 on a saildrive, fed from a 210 liter (55 gallon) fuel tank, with a 580 liter (153 gallon) water tank. Fuel is modest for a 46 footer that might cross to the Bahamas, so many owners add jerry cans or an extra tank. Engine access, through the companionway steps and the quarter berth area, drew praise from SAIL.

The cockpit is where Design Unlimited earned its fee. Twin wheels have cut-outs that let the helmsman straddle the wheel, padded backrests and room for a partner. The cockpit table drops to bench height on a powered lift to form an outdoor double, the transom drops to a swim platform with a cockpit shower, and SAIL's boat had a synthetic teak sole that looked almost too perfect to be wood. Hodges' one safety gripe was a sprayhood frame at exactly forehead height when raised.

Awards, the Vision 42 and the earlier Visions

In July 2012 the Vision 46 was shortlisted for European Yacht of the Year in the family cruiser category, and Cruising World named it Best Full-Size Cruiser, 45 to 49 Feet, in its 2013 Boat of the Year awards. A smaller Vision 42 followed in late 2012 with the same features, and both boats were still in Bavaria's sailing range in 2015.

Do not confuse this boat with the earlier Bavaria Vision 40, 44 and 50, a different J&J Design deck-saloon line of 2006 to 2011. They share a name but not a hull, designer or interior concept.

What a used Vision 46 costs to buy and run

Expect roughly $185,000 to $270,000 for a Vision 46 in 2026. The best boats have three cabins, a generator, electric primaries, recent sails and working Trim and Dock Control; tired early hulls with original canvas and neglected teak sit at the bottom. With few in the US, most purchases involve importing from Europe, so add survey travel, shipping and duty.

Annual costs in the US typically run $20,000 to $40,000 before depreciation, covering slip, insurance, haul-out, rigging and sail care, saildrive seal and engine service, and electronics. Budget specifically for the in-mast furling main, the below-deck furler and the proprietary winch controls, which are the expensive items on this boat.