bavaria yachts factory

• Competitions
• Print Subscription
• Digital Subscription
• Single Issues

Your special offer

Subscribe to Sailing Today with Yachts & Yachting today!

Save 32% on the shop price when to subscribe for a year at just £39.95

Subscribe to Sailing Today with Yachts & Yachting!

Save 32% on the shop price when you subscribe for a year at just £39.95

Inside the Bavaria factory

St editor sam fortescue goes on a tour inside the bavaria factory, which makes 1,000 boats a year.

Even back then, industrialisation was key to the business. A large purpose-built hangar housed hull after hull, busy with workers. As Bavaria CEO Lutz Henkel tells me: “Herrman was the Henry Ford of boatbuilding”.

Today, automation and process are the beating heart of Bavaria, and the 70,000m 2 halls of Bavaria Yachtbau, which turns out over 1,000 boats per year with the input of workers from 14 different countries, resembles none other that I have ever visited. The first thing I see is a row of bikes, which Bavaria’s 600 production workers use to save valuable minutes getting around the factory.

Bavaria’s output has fallen from its 2007 peak of 3,000 boats per year. But it’s not all spare capacity – the boats take longer to complete now.

Bavaria CEO Lutz Henkel explains: “I would say that we are nearly at the same capacity as before – it’s just that our boats are more complicated.

“They have a wider variety of interiors now, whereas before it was ‘take it or leave it’.”

Within a year, all Bavaria boats will be manufactured using vacuum infusion.

Production line

An unbroken production line stretches from the moulding hall through fit out to finishing, each boat on a wheeled cradle which moves from station to station on narrow railway tracks.

Machine-operated

One of the two five-axis milling machines hard at work cutting out ports, hatches and holes for fittings.

A fortnight's build

It takes just two weeks to get a Cruiser 46 gets from being just tubs of epoxy and boxes of screws to a gleaming, finished article.

Changes in processes and options have led to more premium products. A decade ago, the yard’s entry-level Cruiser 33 cost €65,000 (£51,000) ex-VAT; today, the new 34 starts at €89,000 (£70,000).

Laying up the hulls

Laying up is still a very manual task at Bavaria. It is the job of one man to dunk precut strips of glass mat in epoxy resin before they’re collected by colleagues in hazard suits and respirators. They swarm all over the mould with rollers and and in this way, it takes just a day to lay up each hull or deck before it is gently cooked at 60° in a large oven.

info heading

info content

RELATED ARTICLES MORE FROM AUTHOR

Three of the best brokerage boats for sale

RYA Dinghy & Watersports Show 2024 

New issue of Yachting Year out now!

Offering a wealth of practical advice and a dynamic mix of in-depth boat, gear and equipment news, Sailing Today is written cover to cover by sailors, for sailors. Since its launch in 1997, the magazine has sealed its reputation for essential sailing information and advice.

• British Yachting Awards 2022
• Telegraph.co.uk

ADVERTISING

© 2024 Chelsea Magazine Company , part of the Telegraph Media Group . | Terms & Conditions | Privacy Policy | Cookie Policy

Weather Forecast

2:00 pm, 06/12: -11°C - Partly Cloudy

2:00 am, 07/12: -4°C - Clear

2:00 pm, 07/12: -7°C - Partly Cloudy

2:00 am, 08/12: -3°C - Overcast

• Cruising Compass
• Multihulls Today
• Advertising & Rates
• Author Guidelines

Dufour 41: European Family Cruising Boat of the Year

Salty Dawg Couple Missing Aboard Their Boat in Grenada

Eco-Friendly Widelo 50 Hybrid Cruising Cat

Yachting World Tests Exciting New HH 44 Cruising Cat

Annapolis Sailboat Show 2023: 19 New Multihulls Previewed

2023 Newport International Boat Show Starts Today

Notes From the Annapolis Sailboat Show 2022

Energy Afloat: Lithium, Solar and Wind Are the Perfect Combination

Anatomy of a Tragedy at Sea

What if a Sailboat Hits a Whale?!?

Update on the Bitter End Yacht Club, Virgin Gorda, BVI

Charter in Puerto Rico. Enjoy Amazing Food, Music and Culture

With Charter Season Ahead, What’s Up in the BVI?

AIS Mystery: Ships Displaced and Strangely Circling

Holiday Sales. Garmin Marine Stuff up to 20% Off

• Cruising News

Inside the Bavaria Yachts Ultra-Modern Factory: How It’s Done

German boat builder Bavaria Yachts is one of the largest in the world and has developed modern boat building techniques that use a combination of precise planning, highly skilled craftsmen and advanced robotics to create sail and power boats that compete very favorably in the world market. Here’s how it is done.

Author: George Day

Leave a reply cancel reply.

• Bavaria Yachts

Bavaria Yachts

Bavaria Yachts

“german engineered, sailor inspired”.

Hidden away in Northern Bavaria, miles away from any major body of water, is the largest boatbuilding facility in the world. Since 1979, Bavaria has been leading the way in boating engineering and craftsmanship. In 2008 Bavaria Yachts built over 2,000 boats, each craft made to order, using the most innovative production line in boatbuilding.

The Dream Factory

Building out boats beam-to-beam rather than bow-to-stern, means Bavaria can fit 31 stations on the assembly line, with fewer functions at any one station. This limits overcrowding and prevents any installation problems. This way of assembly also means that a Bavaria 31 and a Bavaria 50 can be produced on the same production line.

Cutouts for hatches, drilling and taping for would normally take two Bavaria employees four hours. A robotic CNC machine can do it all in 20 minutes - with improved accuracy.

Hull and deck lamination is still completed by hand, but the Bavaria factory’s chain drive mold movement system allows drying ovens and molds to be rotated on their cradles, reducing labour time.

Cruiser Series

German boat builders pride themselves on the unique individuality of the crafts they build. If you’re looking for a boat which is unique, robust and beautiful then you should definitely consider a Bavaria cruiser.

A Bavaria cruiser is a steady performer, reinforcing a reputation for yacht building with amazing results. All lines on a Bavaria cruiser are led to the cockpit for easy sail handling. The newly restyled Cruiser series offers a large salon illuminated by skylights and fixed hull ports. The placement of numerous opening ports and hatches offer a natural cross ventilation.

The Bavaria 34 Cruiser is 35 feet and offers increased interior volume which creates a large entertaining area. A generous L-shaped galley, navigation table, large cabins and lots of natural light and ventilation all contribute to liveable yacht below deck.

With the 55 Cruiser, Bavaria have conjured up the epitome of superior design and technology with style and function. Featuring the performance and design that is Bavaria.

Vision Series

Bavaria's new vision offers increased standard equipment, added speed potential by way of new hull designs, a ballast ratio above 35% and increased sail areas.

For cruising comfort, standard features include large galleys, stylish side windows, a vast amount of storage, solar-powered stainless steel vents, spinnaker winches and dual steering wheels. Bavaria’s vision deck salon series symbolises the features that make Bavaria Yachts the fastest growing sailboat manufacturer in the world.

Comfort and space are two of the ingredients which make the Bavaria 40 vision the best of both worlds. The well proportioned sail plan allows for increased performance and stability which translates into a sailing experience not often found in a production cruising boat.

The flagship of the Vision series, the Bavaria 50 Vision does not disappoint. Rugged yet elegant, the 50 Vision will meet the needs of the most demanding sailor. Yet another example of Bavaria technology exceeding expectations.

Share this article

You might like.

Sign up to our newsletter

By submitting this form, you agree to our Privacy & Cookie Policy

Change units of measure

This feature requires cookies to be enabled on your browser.

Show price in:

Show lengths, beam and draft in:

Show displacement or weight in:

Show capacity or volume in:

Show speed in:

Show distance in:

+34 937 97 82 40

BAVARIA YACHTS

Bavaria is a German shipyard established in 1978 in the north of Bavaria. It is located south of Würzburg. Bavaria History was made when the administrator sold it for the first time in 2007. Then in 2009, History repeated itself, and Bavaria was sold to Anchorage advisors and Oaktree capital management. In December 2012, the brand expanded and bought the Dufour and Italian Cantiere del Pardo (big sun) ship. Unfortunately, the banking crash saw company values fall significantly. During the last ten years, growth has been steady but nowhere near the levels pre 2010. Production of Bavaria Yachts has been affected by the covid crisis in the same way all manufacturers have.

Product Line

This company specialises in the construction of pleasure craft, sailing and motor, which it exports worldwide. The size of the units produced is between 8.20 m and 15.90 m.

For an example of a typical yacht, please see the post-Bavaria  Yacht For Sale . The annual production is 1,700 to 2,000 ships, and the design is computer-aided. The company has two assembly lines: one for sailboats (60% of production) and one for motorboats (40% of production), which produce fifteen and five daily units. The yard posted 550 jobs in 2010 and has launched more than 30,000 yachts since its creation. The new range is designed by a subsidiary of BMW, Designworks USA.

Other interesting pages about boat manufacturing are as follows by the link  Amel Yachts  More information about Boat production can be found at  Jeanneau history.

BAVARIA YACHT

NETWORK YACHT BROKERS · Barcelona ·

Need help with Flag registration?

Network Yacht Brokers Barcelona offers free registration advice as support for yacht owners. We can arrange registrations under any flag for international clients and even offer the simple Dutch registration where no alternative exists.

If you have questions about registration please do not hesitate to contact us.

© Network Yacht Brokers Barcelona 2024 - All Rights Reserved

Privacy Overview

featured hotel destinations

• Atlantic City
• Los Angeles
• New Orleans
• Napa Valley
• Philadelphia
• San Francisco
• Washington DC

hotels by continent

• Middle East
• North America
• South America

• lifestyle home
• resort & spas
• travel home
• jewelry & watches
• womens style
• fashion home
• CITY GUIDES
• BEST OF LUXE
• LUXE INSIDER
• YACHT SHOWROOM

Bavaria Yachts USA to Open Three U.S. Factory-Direct Locations in 2012

James Rothaar

James has written content for Justluxe.com and other leading online luxury lifestyle magazines. Rothaar previously served as the senior-tenured staff writer for JustLuxe, having worked with the digital magazine since 2005. He resides in Jacksonville, Florida, and works as an independent marketing consultant and freelance writer and copywriter. He is the co-owner of Wild Owl Digital, a boutique mar... (Read More)

Related Articles

Swap2Zero Cruise SHIP Project: Ponant Joins Other Operators In A Mission To Cut Carbon Emissions

A Guide to Buying Your First Yacht

The Steamer 888 Is A Stunning 289-Foot Art Deco-Inspired Superyacht Concept

Matthew Stone, Awards-Winning IYC Yacht Broker on The Future of The Luxury Yacht Market

Around the web.

JustLuxe.com and LivingLuxe are entities and marks owned by Luxemont LLC. 2004-2024 All rights reserved. Privacy | Terms

• Best of Luxe
• City Guides
• Destinations
• Custom Content

• Virtess 420
• Southerly 420
• Southerly 480
• Southerly Swing Keel
• View Available Inventory
• Yacht Search
• Featured Sail
• Featured Power
• Southerly Yachts
• Island Packet
• Bavaria Yachts
• Buyer Representation
• Sell Your Boat
• Variable Draft Specialists
• Testimonials
• Meet the Team
• Our History

BAVARIA and S&J

S&J Yachts is proud to be Dealers for Bavaria Yachts

Representing both sail and power from the mid-atlantic through florida. bavaria sail ranging from 34’ to 57’ and power ranging from 29’ – 55’.

S&J Yachts continues to grow both in locations and new boat offerings. Now with ten locations from Maine to Florida and offices in Annapolis, MD; Rock Hall, MD; Deltaville, VA; Charleston, SC; and Palmetto, FL utilizing some twenty brokers, S&J Yachts is proud to announce that Bavaria Yachts has appointed them as dealers to represent both Sail and Power from the mid-Atlantic through Florida.  In addition to being the North American agent for the Discovery Shipyard:  Discovery, Southerly, and Bluewater Catamarans, S&J Yachts will now be offering Bavaria Yachts ranging from 33 feet through 57 feet in both sail and power.

Bavaria Yachts itself is one of the largest builders of watercraft in the World with advanced fiberglass technology and the renowned craftsmanship of German quality at its Giebelstadt, Germany, state of the art modern factory.  In North America, Bavaria is offering a line-up of six sailboats attractively priced from $180,000 to $600,000 for the award winning Bavaria C57.  Known for their attention to interior detail and designed for family comfort as well as performance, Bavaria Yachts has a history of balancing sailing capabilities with space all wrapped up in each boat.  On the power side, Bavaria Yachts unites its passion for the water with attention to every detail of comfort and safety adding value to every boat produced with a list of extensive standard equipment and space utilization.  From the NEW Vida 33 outboard to the grand Bavaria R55, S&J Yachts will have the right powerboat for you.

Tour the Bavaria Cruiser 34 and Tour Bavaria C45 sailboats IN STOCK now in Annapolis | C38 stock boat arriving in Florida May | New VIDA 33 stock boat arriving in Annapolis May. Contact S&J Yachts to get on a Bavaria known in Europe as “A synonym for luxury and comfort”.

On the power side, Bavaria Yachts unites its passion for the water with attention to every detail of comfort and safety adding value to every boat produced with a list of extensive standard equipment and space utilization.  From the NEW Vida 33 outboard to the grand Bavaria R55, S&J Yachts will have the right powerboat for you.

A Bavaria yacht is the perfect interaction of many elements. Everything is built around the extensive expertise of German engineering. It is an art that looks back on a long and successful tradition in boat building.

Feel the quality…experience the value.

<– Return to Blog

Related posts

Beneteau Vs Bavaria: 5 Differences You Should Know

While Beneteau has been in the boat-building business much longer than Bavaria Yachts, the two companies build similar boats.

They both produce a range of motor and sailing yachts, and both have acquired or bought a sailing catamaran brand – Beneteau bought Lagoon as part of the Jeanneau group in 1995, and Nautitech Catamarans became part of the Bavaria Yachtbeau Holdings in 2014.

In this article, we shall be comparing the two brands and the five differences you should know:

Table of Contents

Beneteau Yachts can trace its history as a boat-building company back to 1884, when the company’s founder, Benjamin Beneteau, started a boatyard building wooden sailing fishing trawlers in Croix-de-Vie, France.

His grandchildren, Annette Beneteau Roux and her brother Andre Beneteau, took over the reins in the mid-1960s and introduced the first line of fiberglass fishing boats.

Unbeknown to both Annette and Andre, they had created a new market segment, which would be referred to as the recreational fishing boat. By 1972 the company had moved into modest new premises, and the first semi-industrial production line of fiberglass boats had begun.

By 1976, the company realized that the sailing population was ready for bigger and faster sailing boats with the addition of some interior comforts. The first of the First was introduced at the Paris Boat Show, becoming legendary in its class.

Today Beneteau is considered the largest producer of leisure boats in the world. The company employs more than 7,500 people across the globe, producing more than 10,000 hulls a year, and is still a family-run company.

While Beneteau can trace its boat-building heritage back to 1884, Bavaria is a relatively ‘newcomer’ to the market.

Bavaria Yachts was founded in 1978 in Gibelstadt, Germany, by Winfried Herrmann, a PVC window manufacturer who was also an avid sailor.

He recognized the potential of his factory and his workforce to produce sailing yachts and started a separate division for manufacturing boats within his window business.

By the early 1980s, the window business was in trouble. However, Josef Meltl, a successful yacht broker at the time, recognized the potential in Bavaria Yachts and came in as a 50% partner.

With this new injection of capital, Winfried Herrman could reach his dream.

“To produce industrial yachts in order to offer them at unbeatable bargain prices and to give many customers the opportunity to purchase a new yacht for themselves.” 

[Quote courtesy of Bavariayachts.com]

This target of building affordable boats that many could afford helped Bavaria grow at an unprecedented rate. The company expanded from building only sailboats to including motor boats in 2001, and just like the sailboats, they were an immediate success.

By 2006, the company had expanded and employed over 600 people while producing more than 3,500 boats per year. At the height of this success, Herman and Meltl sold Bavaria Yachts to a US investment company, Bains Capital, for an undisclosed amount (rumored to be around 1.3 billion Euros!).

The timing was perfect for the two partners, but a disaster for Bains Capital – the following financial crash of 2008/9 hit the world, and the annual production of Bavaria yachts fell from 3,500 boats to less than 1,000.

Bains Capital sold the company for a huge loss.

After changing ownership several times, today, the company is owned by a small equity company that bought Bavaria in 2018. Bavaria Yachts has approximately 550 employees that work in the original Giebelstadt premises and produce more than 450 sailing yachts and motorboats per year.

While nowhere near being the biggest producer of leisure craft in the world, Bavaria is, however, the largest manufacturer in Germany.

Here are the five differences you should know between Beneteau and Bavarian boats!

2. Construction Methods & Materials

Bavaria and Beneteau claim to use the best materials and components, the latest techniques, and the best craftsmen to build their boats, but the similarities end there.

Beneteau is a well-oiled production line that depends on an intelligent Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) system, which enables them to manage complicated, modern boat-building processes in-house.

This PLM system is combined with Computer Aided Design (CAD) and Computer Aided Manufacturing (CAM) tools to ensure the optimization of materials, components, space, and manpower to drastically increase the company’s performance and profitability.

In addition, Beneteau has its own in-house carpentry division where all the interior wooden fixtures and fittings are made. Tables and doors, couches and cupboards, companionway steps, fiddles, and other decorative pieces are manufactured, stained, and polished in this 27,000 m² cabinetmaking workshop, making it the biggest in Europe.

With its more than 130-year history, Beneteau has been a pioneer in implementing new materials and techniques and has its own Research and Development (RD) team dedicated to continuous improvements.

Meanwhile, Bavaria Yachts uses more low-tech, traditional methods for building their boats. While Bavaria is at the forefront of German pleasure boat engineering, they still lay up each hull by hand.

The original factory in Giebelstadt, near Würzburg, has just four production lines, each 125 meters long, plus a carpenter’s workshop where each yacht is constructed. There are two halls to manufacture hulls and decks housed in a large area measuring 200,000 m².

How Reliable Are Beneteau Boats? Find out here!

Each boat is built to order at Bavaria, and no two boats are identical. So, construction slots are allocated depending on the order, and a well-organized team works at each station along the line.

The production line has roughly 30 different stations where different tasks are performed (wiring, plumbing, internal bulkheads, furniture installation, etc.). Each boat takes about 6 – 8 weeks to produce.

While not as automated as Beneteau, the Bavaria factory production line is a well-oiled, modern production style. Short distances between each stage enable quick decisions within the team, and good organization ensures the best efficiency with high cost‐effectiveness.

This enables Bavaria to compete with Beneteau on price, which is all to the customer’s advantage.

3. Sailing Yacht Models

While Beneteau and Bavaria produce very similar style sailing yachts, the main difference is the different model options.

The following is a list of the different new models on offer by each brand today:

As you can see, both companies concentrate on mid-size cruiser/racer-style sailing boats with very spacious and modern accommodations down below.

However, the difference is that Beneteau does offer entry-level dinghy-style sailboats with their First 14, First 24, and high-performance First 14 SE, First 18 SE, and First 24 SE boats that are perfect for competing in international one-design regattas.

In addition, as Beneteau is at the forefront of innovative design, they are the first to offer a production foiling one-design monohull. The Figaro Beneteau 3 combines modern technology and innovation resulting from a collaboration between Group Beneteau’s top experts and VPLP Design.

This is a major coup for Beneteau as VPLP Design is responsible for some of the world’s most innovative racing boats, including the last two winners of the Vendee Globe.

4. Motor Boat Models

While most people will associate both Beneteau and Bavaria with sailing yachts, both companies build a range of motor boats.

As Beneteau’s beginnings came from sailing fishing boats, it was only natural that they should develop a range of motorized fishing boats, which they did in the early 70s. The first of the Antares range was designed by Andre Beneteau, who had a passion for line fishing.

Bavaria, by contrast, only started manufacturing their first motorboats in 2001, but they were immediately a huge success.

Let’s take a look a the various models each company offers:

As you would expect from a more established company with a long history of producing motor boats, the Beneteau offerings are more extensive in their size range and different models.

5. Warranties

If you decide on a new Beneteau or Bavaria, you might be interested to know about the differences in their limited warranties.

Their website shows Beneteau offers a 7-year structural warranty plus 3-year parts and labor warranty on every new boat. However, you must report any defect to an official Beneteau dealer who will diagnose and validate your claim according to Beneteau’s general warranty terms.

Interestingly, we found no reference to Bavaria’s warranty on their website. However, after further research, we did find a warranty description on one of their dealership’s websites which states:

“Your new boat is covered by a manufacturer’s warranty against all manufacturing defects for 1 year plus a 5-year structural hull guarantee as set out in detail in your HANDOVER NOTES booklet. Please make sure you take the time to read this.”

[Courtesy clippermarine.co.uk]

As with all warranties, it is important to read the small print before finalizing any purchase.

Final Thoughts:

Bavaria and Beneteau do produce very similar boats in the mid-range size, both motor and sail.

However, if you want to buy a Beneteau or a Bavaria, your choice will come down to personal preference on layout, finishing, and performance. Perhaps the difference in warranty will help you decide.

While we have listed the differences, prices are very comparable for both brands. So if you are deciding between two similar boats, make sure sure you compare each boat with the same inventory before deciding.

If you are one of those doubters of production boats, don’t forget that both brands are favored by charter companies worldwide. These companies put many hours on their boats for up to 5 years of service before being sold to the second-hand market.

Beneteau Yachts

Bavaria Yachts

Beneteau Vs. Bavaria: Which is Better?

Click to share...

Bavaria Yacht Info

• Bavaria Yacht Info »
• Member Forums »
• Bavaria Yacht Help!

⛵ Ask here for help regarding Bavaria sailing yachts and any factory fitted equipment.

• SMF 2.0.19 | SMF © 2017 , Simple Machines

Nautitech Catamarans

Excellent sailing characteristics, a generous space concept where cockpit and saloon merge into one living space, cabin layouts created for owners and their guests, and a perfect design - that's what NAUTITECH CATAMARANS stands for.

The shipyard in Rochefort, directly near the Atlantic Ocean, has been part of the Bavaria Yachtbau Holding GmbH since 2014.