Bavaria 230
Bavaria · Bruce Farr · 2012
Updated
The Bavaria 230 is a 7.09 m semi-displacement racing yacht designed by Bruce Farr and built by Bavaria, first launched in 2012. It races in Sportboat.
Length
7.09 m
23′ 3″
Beam
2.49 m
Draft
1.65 m
Displacement
1.0 t
Sail area
34 m²
On the podium
Where a Bavaria 230 finishes when she goes racing.
On the podium
3%
of 59 starts by 2 boats
Wins
2%
Read from 59 starts by 2 boats between 2023 and 2026, counting races with six boats or more.
Recent regattas
The latest events where a Bavaria 230 was on the start line, named as the organisers publish them.
Kypello Voreiou Aigaiou2026- Open ORC Greek National Championship2025
- North Aegean Cup2025
Campionato Invernale del Ponente2025- Κύπελο Βορείου Αιγαίου & Πανελλήνιο Κύπελο Sportboat 2022024
Raced one we are missing?
Report a regattaRound the buoys, or offshore
A short windward-leeward and a night at sea ask different things of a boat. Here is how this one does in each.
Round the buoys
2%
of these races end on the podium
Offshore & coastal
9%
of these races end on the podium
Better the longer it gets. Boats that settle into a groove and hold it gain ground once the course stops turning.
Who she races against
The designs a Bavaria 230 actually lines up with, most often first. The bar shows how those meetings ended.
Also met, too few times for a figure:
Hanse 510 (7 meetings), Platu 25 (7 meetings), Fiumanka 33 (7 meetings), Elan 333 (6 meetings), Dehler 39 (Judel/Vrolijk) (6 meetings), Grand Soleil 37 (Carkeek) (6 meetings), T 34 (6 meetings)
Some of the boats it races against
How the Bavaria 230 has fared against each of them, boat against boat on corrected time. Ordered by how often the two meet, not by who wins.
Speed at every angle
The shape of this design's speed, drawn from the measured fleet. Pick a wind and watch it stretch.
Upwind VMG
4.53
39°
Beam reach
7.98
90°
Broad reach
11.50
135°
Downwind VMG
8.88
170°
Speed in knots at 20 knots of true wind. Green marks the angles that pay: the closest useful beat and the deepest run worth sailing.
Where it wins and where it pays
Every boat is judged against its own measurements — length, weight, sail area. The quicker those say it should be, the more it has to deliver just to break even. Going fast is not enough: it has to go faster than its own numbers promised.
It needs pressure to show what it can do. Give it a fresh day and long legs and it delivers more than it promised; in a drifter it is working uphill.
Where it gains
Its best ground is off the wind in a strong breeze, where it goes better than its measurements say it should, and by a margin worth having. It holds that advantage downwind as well, so the gain is not down to one leg of the course.
Where it pays
It falls short to windward in a strong breeze, giving away time it never gets back. That is a hull that will lift and run given enough breeze.
Above the line it delivers more than promised and gains on the fleet. Below, it falls short. Move the wind: plenty of boats sit on one side in the light and the other when it blows.
Full width is 3.0 kn either way.
At 10 knots this design makes back more than its rating asks on the downwind.
How fast is a Bavaria 230
Boat speed in knots, by true wind angle and wind strength.
| Angle | 6 kn | 10 kn | 14 kn | 20 kn |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beat VMG | 3.37 | 4.37 | 4.54 | 4.53 |
| 52° | 5.09 | 6.14 | 6.36 | 6.45 |
| 60° | 5.33 | 6.31 | 6.61 | 6.76 |
| 75° | 5.47 | 6.49 | 7.00 | 7.31 |
| 90° | 5.51 | 6.58 | 7.30 | 7.98 |
| 110° | 5.59 | 6.99 | 7.86 | 8.95 |
| 120° | 5.46 | 6.92 | 8.25 | 9.87 |
| 135° | 4.92 | 6.54 | 7.89 | 11.50 |
| 150° | 4.16 | 5.99 | 7.04 | 10.25 |
| Run VMG | 3.60 | 5.20 | 6.12 | 8.88 |
How they are set up
The range each sail spans across the fleet.
Most run a fixed propeller. A bowsprit is standard across the fleet. Crew weight is declared around 360 kg.
Rigging
Bavaria 230 rig and sail dimensions
A Bavaria 230 carries 8.76 m of mainsail hoist on a 3.48 m boom, a forestay 8.80 m above the deck and a 3.94 m bowsprit. Typical figures across the 6 boats measured under the current VPP, with the range each one spans.
Rig
Sails
The spinnaker spreads widest of all — 46 to 55 m² depending on bowsprit and set-up. Before ordering a sail, read the figure on your own measurement record rather than the typical one for the design.