Marc Diening is excited. "Only four weeks to go," says the Bavaria boss happily, not referring to the time until the start of the summer holidays, of course, but until the brand new Bavaria C46 is launched and the first sails are set on the Baltic Sea. The C46 is the first sailing yacht to be developed entirely under his aegis. Expectations for the new ship are correspondingly high - and not just for the Bavaria Managing Director, who has been in office since August 2021.
This confidence is underpinned by a very solid order volume. Orders for around one hundred boats of the new C46 type were received by the shipyard in Giebelstadt during and after the first project presentation at boot in Düsseldorf alone, and - nota bene - initially only on the basis of plans and digital visualisations. Now numbers one and two are under construction as prototypes and are being prepared for their trade fair marathon through Europe following extensive shipyard tests. And the YACHT editorial team will soon be on board for an exclusive test date.
Bavaria C46 scores with sleeping comfort
The C46 now comes after the C42 and the C38 as the third ship in the latest generation of the new C-Line from the pen of designer Maurizio Cossutti. The most striking design feature of the series is the extremely voluminous V-bow. Cossutti's primary aim with this is to compensate for the buoyancy of the wide stern and thus guarantee more balanced sailing characteristics.
A second important advantage of the fuller front is the considerable amount of space gained for the interior fittings in the foredeck. For example, the berth in the owner's area of the standard three-cabin boat has a rectangular sleeping area with a continuous width of 1.62 metres from head to toe and a length of 2.05 metres. In other words, a full queen-size format and even a little more. The berths in the aft cabins also benefit from the ship's enormous volume. The aft berths are also rectangular and over 1.60 metres wide throughout. Bavaria can thus define new standards in the class of cruising boats with a hull length of around 14 metres. No other boat from the competition offers so much sleeping comfort in the cabins, at least not in terms of berth dimensions.
Owners order the interior with three compartments, each with its own wet areas. In the spacious foredeck, the toilet room and the shower are conveniently separated as separate compartments. For yacht charters, Bavaria will equip the boat with four cabins and four bathrooms. This variance essentially corresponds to the usual class standard. Bavaria is also offering additional configuration flexibility for the C46. For example, one of the two aft heads can be converted into a utility room or an additional cabin with Pullman berths arranged one above the other.
Changes on deck
There are also some significant innovations on the deck of the C46. For example, Bavaria has now dispensed with the dinghy garage in the stern of the new boat. On the predecessor model C45, this was still a special feature in the length class, but due to the modest dimensions, it was only really useful for very small and blown-out inflatable boats without an engine. "With a hull length of less than 50 feet and a width of less than five metres, the dinghy garage in the stern makes little sense," says Bavaria developer Udo Erbe.
The layout in the cockpit is also different. As with the larger C50 and C57 models, all sheets, halyards and trim lines on the fresh 46 are now led all the way aft to the helm stations. The cockpit and companionway thus remain free of ropes. The big YACHT test, which will be published soon, will clarify whether and how the new layout works.
Technical data
- Designer: Cossutti Yacht Design
- Torso length:14,50 m
- Width:4,70 m
- Draught/alternative:2,30/1,75 m
- Weight:12,73 t
- Base price ex shipyard: 366.400 €
Interview with CEO Marc Diening
Mr Diening, the new C46 was created under your leadership. What do you think: revolution or evolution?
With new models, we want to preserve what is good and optimise it further - hence the clear evolution. The C38 and C42 have been very well received on the market in their segments. We have transferred everything that benefits sailing performance, such as the Bavaria V-Bow and chines, to the C46. We have translated and optimised the cockpit and deck layout for the requirements of a modern 46-foot yacht. Below deck, we have also set new accents in terms of furniture construction and the choice of layout concepts. In this respect, a lot of evolution with a small dash of revolution
With the C-Line and the older Cruiser programme, you offer two model series for the cruising yacht market. Do you intend to continue with these?
The Cruiser Line has a timeless design, very good sailing characteristics and plenty of space below deck. There is no overlap between the model series in the lower segment, where Bavaria's entry level is clearly via the Cruiser Line with the Cruiser 34 and Cruiser 37, beyond that the concepts differ and both lines have their clientele, as does the Cruiser 46, which continues to be very popular. With this model, we are now approaching the thousandth hull with strong demand, the demand speaks for itself.
For the important entry-level class, they have the veteran Cruiser 34 on offer. Is a counterpart for the more modern C series planned soon?
A generation of sailors has grown up with the Cruiser family, the models also have an excellent reputation in the small cruising yacht sector and there is a clientele that sees the enormous width and chines of the modern hulls as more than just an advantage. Even today, we have very satisfied customers for a proven, mature concept and therefore continue to see significant demand for cruisers in the foreseeable future.
The pandemic and the problems in the supply chains have hit the industry hard and driven up prices. Can you see the situation easing?
Many supply chains are gradually normalising, but are not yet as stable as they were before the pandemic. We are seeing that the ability to deliver is increasing despite recurring surprises, and the speed of the enormous price increases is also beginning to slow down.
Of the total production volume, Bavaria Yachts currently builds 65 per cent sailboats and 35 per cent motorboats. Do you think the ratio could change and, if so, in which direction is the trend heading?
The ratio of sails to motor yachts has always fluctuated between 2/3 sails and 1/3 motor yachts for several years. Changes are due on the one hand to general market trends in the two segments, which can be different, and mainly to changes in our product portfolio. In the motor yacht segment, demand is increasing disproportionately, primarily due to our new Bavaria SR33 and SR36 models, while the start of deliveries of the C46 will give the sailing segment a significant boost again in the future.
