Bavaria Cruiser 38
Bavaria · J&J Design · 2002
Updated
The Bavaria Cruiser 38 is a 11.70 m displacement racing yacht designed by J&J Design and built by Bavaria, first launched in 2002. It races in Class C.
Length
11.70 m
38′ 5″
Beam
3.90 m
Draft
2.01 m
Displacement
7.6 t
Sail area
69 m²
On the podium
Where a Bavaria Cruiser 38 finishes when she goes racing.
On the podium
12%
of 17 starts by 5 boats
Wins
6%
Read from 17 starts by 5 boats between 2015 and 2025, counting races with six boats or more.
Recent regattas
The latest events where a Bavaria Cruiser 38 was on the start line, named as the organisers publish them.
Bosphorus Cup2025
FR252025- "Coscocup 2023 - Lagousses"2023
Campeonato Flota Crucero ORC2022
Hollænderseilasen2015
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
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Not enough data yet: 9 races of 10 NM or less carry a published distance.
Offshore & coastal
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Not enough data yet: 6 races over 10 NM carry a published distance.
Who she races against
The designs a Bavaria Cruiser 38 actually lines up with, most often first. The bar shows how those meetings ended.
Also met, too few times for a figure:
Archambault 40 (7 meetings), First 27 (Mauric) (7 meetings), Comet 41 (7 meetings), Evento 42 (7 meetings), First 44.7 (7 meetings), Elan 40 (7 meetings), Elan 434 Impression (7 meetings), Oceanis 473 (7 meetings), Bavaria Match 35 (7 meetings), First 345 (7 meetings), Sun Odyssey 42.2 (7 meetings), Bavaria 40 Cruiser (7 meetings), Sun Odyssey 410 (7 meetings), Bavaria Cruiser 46 (7 meetings), First 34.7 (6 meetings), First 35 (Farr) (6 meetings), Grand Soleil 37 (Design) (6 meetings), First Class Challenge (6 meetings), Archambault 35 (6 meetings), Dufour 34 (3 meetings), First Class 8 (2 meetings), Sun Odyssey 32 (2 meetings), Ro 400 (2 meetings), A 31 (2 meetings), X-34 (2 meetings), Dehler 33 (1 meeting), Finngulf 37 (1 meeting), Dehler 34 (Judel/Vrolijk) (1 meeting), Hanse 371 (1 meeting), Dufour 425 (1 meeting), Bavaria Cruiser 40 S (1 meeting), Elan 350 (1 meeting), X-41 (1 meeting), Discovery 300 (1 meeting), Feeling 920 (1 meeting), Oceanis 361 (Berret/Racoupeau) (1 meeting)
Some of the boats it races against
How the Bavaria Cruiser 38 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
40°
Beam reach
8.49
90°
Broad reach
8.99
135°
Downwind VMG
7.54
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.
This design is even-tempered. It rewards preparation and crew work more than it rewards picking the right day.
Where it gains
Its best ground is on the beam when it blows, where it outruns what it looks like on paper, and by a margin worth having.
Where it pays
It falls short off the wind when it blows, giving away time it never gets back. That is a displacement hull working to its designed speed.
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 Cruiser 38
Boat speed in knots, by true wind angle and wind strength.
| Angle | 6 kn | 10 kn | 14 kn | 20 kn |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beat VMG | 3.20 | 4.48 | 5.04 | 5.21 |
| 52° | 4.95 | 6.63 | 7.31 | 7.54 |
| 60° | 5.25 | 6.88 | 7.53 | 7.79 |
| 75° | 5.46 | 7.07 | 7.71 | 8.17 |
| 90° | 5.40 | 7.20 | 7.92 | 8.49 |
| 110° | 5.40 | 7.35 | 8.15 | 9.05 |
| 120° | 5.23 | 7.22 | 8.10 | 9.20 |
| 135° | 4.66 | 6.78 | 7.83 | 8.99 |
| 150° | 3.92 | 6.02 | 7.38 | 8.41 |
| Run VMG | 3.40 | 5.22 | 6.44 | 7.54 |
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 600 kg.
Rigging
Bavaria Cruiser 38 rig and sail dimensions
A Bavaria Cruiser 38 carries 13.03 m of mainsail hoist on a 4.61 m boom, a forestay 13.66 m above the deck and a 4.80 m bowsprit. Typical figures across the 4 boats measured under the current VPP, with the range each one spans.
Rig
Sails
The spinnaker spreads widest of all — 84 to 96 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.