Bavaria 30, 2006.

[Bavnav]

Hi.
We are thinking of changing our current, lovely lady (Cobra 850) for a Bav. 30 (2006). The price has been reduced to £39,950. I had a quick look at her last year and she seemed reasonable. The engine is 18hp. Is this asking price reasonable and are there things I need to look at carefully, that is, any common faults?
Any ideas would be welcome.
Fair winds,
Lancelot

[nornie lees]

Hi Lancelot. really nice yacht to sail/own. Had a 2006 modal for two years, which keel? the one we had was 1.95 deep cast iron. she sailed really well but liked to be reefed in over 16knots, ours was slab reefed half battened.

The only problem we had was she started to leak fresh water from the hotwater tank, replaced couple push fitting from Band Q , the cause was the water heater took the temp up-to 85c, and the original fitting only take up-to 65c, so needed to adjust the termstat down and no more problems.

Can be effected by strong wind when on anchor, they  have quite high freeboard and the bow can be blown about a bit  if anchor not set properly then she will drag.

So easy in marina, bit like parking your car, point n go.

rgds Ray

[Bavnav]

Hi Ray,
 I am sure it is the deep keel (2m. approx.), however, it is one of the questions I want answered when I make enquiries tomorrow. It does not appear to have an anchor winch, this does bother me, though. Are there any common faults I need to know?
The engine is 18hp.do you think it is a little underpowered. We sail in the Bristol Channel.
Regards,
Keith

[nornie lees]

The engines fine, mine would do 7knts with the std prop. windlass would be nice but not used that often.  more important is the condition, is she on the south coast?

rgds Ray

my mobile 07931 736 582 for more info
 

[Mark_C]

My Bav 30C does over 6 kts with engine alone so I would say 18 bhp is enough.  Regarding the price, of course spec and condition will affect the value but the price you mention does not sound too daft.  I paid about that eighteen months ago. At the time I found about seven Bav 30s for sale in the UK and the one I bought was the cheapest.  The highest asking price was 55k (!) at the time for a boat with bow thruster and in-mast furling but no chartplotter.  When I had a look at asking prices recently I expected them to have dropped a bit due to continuing recession but in fact they seemed roughly the same. 

All Bavaria 30s are about the same age and there are no significant issues with the hull that I am aware of so the things to consider that affect the price would include:

Level of equipment such as

Radar
Cabin Heating
Sail furling
Anchor windlass
Life raft
Tender
Outboard

Age and condition of sails

Faulty electronics

Just my thoughts but these are the things that may be important to you and that could therefore require further investment at an early stage when you can least afford it.

[livefats]

Hi Lancelot,

Bought a Bav 30 of the same year this April. We're very happy with the accommodation, sailing performance and general standard of kit. Also, as tghe others have said, she's capable of up to 7 knots under engine.

Problems we've found with ours - nothing major, but:

Water pump very noisy - needed servicing;

Deck winches also needed servicing - graunchy to say the least!

Garmin chart plotter - charts no longer supported by Garmin, so no update available. We had to upgrade to a new unit. (We sail off the West coast of Scotland, and the supplied chip was for the Channel!)

Nothing else, so all very minor, really. Ours is also the deep keel model, great when close hauled. Need to  be a little careful in shallow waters, of course... The price sounds reasonable - less than I paid fore mine!

BTW, I also have experience of the Cobra - great sea-boat.

Best wishes whatever you decide.

Chris

[livefats]

Should also have said - check whether the saildrive gaiter has been replaced. Volvo recommend every 7 years, so yours (like mine) will be ripe for replacement. Might be  a negotiation point?

[Bavnav]

Thanks everyone. We are viewing tomorrow and I have a number of questions to ask, particularly the saildrive gaitor.
Fair winds,
Lancelot.

[Bavnav]

Hi, viewed the boat. The wife loved it, even though there is quite a lot of cleaning to do. Some items to replace, for instance, the vent on the coach roof seems to have been kicked off. A hole in the perspex of the sprayhood.
There was some water in the bilge around the engine compartment. The boat has not been used much. The engine looked clean as a whistle. Sails felt crisp. Gut feeling good.
Deposit paid as offer was accepted. Friend who knows the boat said  there cannot be anything major wrong.
I will need to organise a survey - sensible idea, although not wholly convinced. Probably will.
Also, arrange a sea trial and if happy pay the rest. Everything happened so quick - could not believe the owner accepted the offer.

[Ripster]

Not meaning at all to rain on your parade and it may be the owner is just desperate to sell if he has accepted a low offer (if I have the right inference from your comment) but defo get a full survey done.  Money well spent now will avoid tears in the future.  If you are buying through a Broker or perhaps using a standard BMF contract directly, as soon as you accept the boat and part with your final payment, its yours with all or any of its probs.  I would get a good hull/keel/rudder survey and an engine survey done too, just to be sure its what you think it is.  Prob all be fine, but it's a worthwhile investment IMO.

Having bought 5 different boats now, I would not buy a boat without both of these being done by a known professional(s).

[Bavnav]

Thanks Ripster,
I will be organising a lift out and survey today. As you say, not worth penny pinching and I need to know for certain, as I will be taking my family out on her.
I am buying through a broker, however, I am wondering who takes responsibility for taking the boat to lift out and should any damage occur (looking on the bleak side, hopefully all will be OK.).

[Symphony]

You pay for the lift, but the yard doing the work should be covered by insurance. Your contract should say what you are responsible for.

[Ripster]

As Symphony says, buyer pays for lifts and survey, then depending on what this uncovers (if anything) then you can negotiate an allowance or have the owner fix it or if major fault, refuse to go forward with the sale and ask for your deposit back.  Worth reading your contract which will explain the type issues that would normally allow you consider pulling out.(unless you have added your own rejection clauses, which you always can prior to signing and paying deposits).  Try to be there when the surveyor(s) do the survey(s) as they can show you anything they find and will give you a view on its seriousness.   I always try to remember it's a used boat and not going to be perfect or brand new, but should be sea-worthy, reasonably well maintained and presentable.   Any finishing touches or niggles you might have can be put right whilst you are enjoying ownership. Enjoy the experience and good luck with the purchase.  The only disappointed party will be your bank account - and regrettably that will continue whilst you own a boat         

[Bavnav]

Thanks everyone,
The survey is on Tuesday morning and I am planning to be there. I will need to arrange a sea trial as well. Hopefully I should have a change of boat very soon. The downside is I need to sell my COBRA 850 now.
Fair winds,
Bavnav.

[Bavnav]

Does anyone know, roughly, how much it will cost to replace a saildrive gator. Work to be carried out by appointed dealer. It is for a Bavaria 30, 2006. The one I am currently thinking of buying is unlikely to have been replaced. I am looking again at worst case scenario.
Fair winds,
Bavnav.

[Symphony]

Are you Lancelot on YBW? Answer there - around £1k. 8-10 hours labour plus parts.

[Bavnav]

Yes, that is correct. It seems to be the general fee for replacing the gaiter. Thanks again.
Lancelot.

[livefats]

Hi Lancelot - one more thing, and perhaps a little late! We had the interesting experience of the leach of our furling genoa shred in a force 4 yesterday. On closer inspection, it's clear that Elvstrom did not include a UV protection strip in the sail - belatedly I've discovered that this is how the sails were supplied, and is a known "feature".

The foresail has also already been repaired in this area twice, but it's clear that further repair would be temporary at best. So we have just commissioned a new genoa from our resident sailmaker... an unexpected expense at this juncture, and also forcing us to cut out cruised short until we can bodge a repair that might last the next couple of weeks!

Still love the Bav 30, but having had the autopilot motor fail and a sail shred this week, there is a rift within the lute! Hope your prospective boat has fewer glitches!

[Bavnav]

Thanks Livefats,
Sorry to hear about your gliches, I hope they are sorted cheaply and soon.
I will check this asap. re headsail. The surveyor came out today, I spoke to him after he inspected the hull and declared there was nothing of concern so far. So hopefully, the written report should turn up on Thursday. I also note from the threads, YBW. included the saildrive gaiters tend to last a lot longer than 7 years. I need to organise a sea trial now and check electronics etc. equipment, winch.
Also, engine starting routine, find handbook and familiarise myself with the gadgetry and handling.
Fair winds,
Lancelot