Bavaria 40 Cruiser
Bavaria · Bruce Farr · 2010
Updated
The Bavaria 40 Cruiser is a 12.00 m heavy displacement racing yacht designed by Bruce Farr and built by Bavaria, first launched in 2010. It races in Class C. Across the measured fleet it goes better than its own numbers promise, ahead of 36% of the designs it races against. It comes alive as the breeze builds, and gives time away in the light.
Goes better than its own measurements promise, and does it better than 36% of the boats it races against.
102nd of 159 in its class.
This design has been found in real race results — 47 starts across 10 events — not only in measurement files.
Length
12.00 m
39′ 4″
Beam
3.98 m
Draft
2.02 m
Displacement
8.7 t
Sail area
77 m²
On the podium
Where a Bavaria 40 Cruiser finishes when she goes racing.
On the podium
0%
of 47 starts by 2 boats
Wins
0%
Read from 47 starts by 2 boats between 2022 and 2026, counting races with six boats or more.
Recent regattas
The latest events where a Bavaria 40 Cruiser was on the start line, named as the organisers publish them.
Aegean Regatta2026- Friendship Regatta2026
- 42ος Ιστιοπλοικος Αγωνας Α/θ ¨Πορος ΄26¨2026
- FR252025
- 31st Cyclades Regatta2025
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
0%
of these races end on the podium
Offshore & coastal
0%
of these races end on the podium
Level across both. Plenty of designs fall away once the course gets long — a light hull that thrives round the cans can struggle through a night at sea. This one does not.
Who she races against
The designs a Bavaria 40 Cruiser actually lines up with, most often first. The bar shows how those meetings ended.
Some of the boats it races against
How the Bavaria 40 Cruiser 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
5.21
41°
Beam reach
8.59
90°
Broad reach
9.21
135°
Downwind VMG
7.71
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.
There is no obvious weak spot here. It rewards preparation and crew work more than it rewards picking the right day.
Where it gains
Its best ground is on the beam in a working breeze, where it outruns what it looks like on paper, and by a margin worth having.
Where it pays
It falls short to windward in light air, giving away time it never gets back.
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 0.6 kn either way.
At 10 knots this design makes back more than its rating asks on the beam reach.
How fast is a Bavaria 40 Cruiser
Boat speed in knots, by true wind angle and wind strength.
| Angle | 6 kn | 10 kn | 14 kn | 20 kn |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beat VMG | 3.09 | 4.40 | 5.06 | 5.21 |
| 52° | 4.84 | 6.58 | 7.38 | 7.60 |
| 60° | 5.18 | 6.87 | 7.60 | 7.87 |
| 75° | 5.40 | 7.10 | 7.82 | 8.25 |
| 90° | 5.50 | 7.43 | 8.13 | 8.59 |
| 110° | 5.56 | 7.54 | 8.37 | 9.24 |
| 120° | 5.38 | 7.40 | 8.29 | 9.45 |
| 135° | 4.78 | 6.92 | 8.00 | 9.21 |
| 150° | 4.03 | 6.12 | 7.47 | 8.52 |
| Run VMG | 3.49 | 5.30 | 6.51 | 7.71 |
How they are set up
The range each sail spans across the fleet.
Roughly half carry a folding propeller. A bowsprit is standard across the fleet. Crew weight is declared around 700 kg.
Rigging
Bavaria 40 Cruiser rig and sail dimensions
A Bavaria 40 Cruiser carries 15.26 m of mainsail hoist on a 5.26 m boom, a forestay 15.51 m above the deck and a 4.90 m bowsprit. Typical figures across the 13 boats measured under the current VPP, with the range each one spans.
Rig
Sails
The spinnaker spreads widest of all — 83 to 122 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.