Bavaria Match 42 lost its keel...

It looks like a terrible design...but that's evident in the existance of such a problem...

 

English Translation

Here is the link to the story in english....


http://team.sailing.hu/Accident%20in%20Croatia.pdf

Its a rather interesting read.

 

Here's a pressrelease from the MD of Adriatic challenge.

This does not look very good for Bavaria...

http://team.sailing.hu/Press_Release_JozsefGal_20050527.pdf

 

Take a look at the keels of all the Adriatic Challenge Bavaria Match 42. A good number show impact marks and all show problems at the keel union.


http://www.adriatic-challenge.com/

I agree that things don't look good for Bavaria, but I fail to understand why this is not a global and much bigger problem. From the Match series (38 and 42) Bavaria has made 150 boats and this problem should be a common problem. It is kind of strange that all the complaints seem to come from that charter company.

 

Not really.

No owner in their right mind would dare to openly critisize Bavaria. The more it's discussed on the internet and in real life, the more the secondhand values will drop. No owner wants that. They want to be able to sell their boats without loosing to much money.

 

ErikG, I agree. Europeans tend to cover their butts and their money in the boat. Americans let the world know just how screwed up a boat is and the company who made it.

 

I wonder if the ISO has anything to say about a production boat with CE certification loosing thier keels? This is a very tragic situation that should never have happened.

 

The Bavaria Problem does seem to be global

I know from my experience and where i work that there has been alot of problems with the keels over here (Australia) 1 match 42 was doing a 2 day ocean race in light conditions and was slipped to have her keel fixed same with the Match 38 that went to hobart she was taking in water through the keel joints when she arrived.... Its all hush hush over here but trust me i see alot of them being reslipped with alot of problems.. I have not read the article yet but they have done a press release in the latest Yachting World magazine.
I guess alot of people want cheaper boats and it just goes to show that you get what you pay for.....

 

Does OSHA have a marine yacht division? Big boats sound like they are very dangerous to crew on.

 

http://www.sailing.hu/html/index.php?load=article&id=91317

 

Why don't we discuss about this boat's structure layout? what was really wrong with it? I am talking about the design, I'm not speaking about incorrect lamination, ecc..
I know many keel-boat connections are made like this, simply with (large?) backing plates directly on the bottom shell plating, but I think it would be far better to put a central longitudinal stringer with a high-density core in the bolt area, to create a structural continuity with the transverse bottom frames. What do you think?

 

I have very limited experience with Bravaria built boats. But of the Bravarias that I have inspected I must say in two words or less-Pretty Cheesie. One of the boats imparticular, always "pulled to one side" according to the owner, everyone told him to let the traveler down, just oweing the problem to the owners inexperience. I saw the boat out of the water and noticed that the rudder's axis of rotation was out of plane with the centerline-By alot-We measured everything up and found that the top bearing was miss place by 1-3/4" Transversly Unbelivable I know!! But what was more scary was that the bearing was correctly placed in the deck mold ( pretty nice self alining bearing for this type of boat by the way) I can't imagine what a SH-T Fight it must have been to wrestle this deck on. What does this have to do with keels falling off, Well I'd say that Bravaria has a serious Quality Control Issue. If you examine the photos of the 42 Match fleet you will find some boats with Backing plates and large washers, some without backing plates, some without washers. The feeling I get is that things from the drawing board are not getting out the door with the finshed product, and in the case of the "Kiel" somebody died because of it.

 

helpful

Thank you all for the info.
My wife and I have been researching for a new boat. The Bavaria Match series seems very appealing but this news is concerning.

Does anyone have the link to the press release in Yacht World?

Any suggestions for a comarable performance cruiser to the Match 38?

 

If you wait some time, when Bavaria restart building the Match series, I think that the new boats would be stronger than any other comparable boat. I think that this is the only option for Bavaria , the only one that makes sense, if they want to continue to sell boats.

 

Sydney 39

Hey Bandk, not sure if you have checked out the new Sydney 39 cruiser/racer (or the sydney 38) but would be a far better option than the bavaria at the moment. I have done some sailing on them and they pulling out some great results in competitive sailing as well as all the comforts for cruising also. But above all they are a well built boat.

There web site link is:

http://www.sydneyyachts.com