Bavaria Cruiser 46
Bavaria · J&J Design · 2004
Updated
The Bavaria Cruiser 46 is a 13.98 m displacement racing yacht designed by J&J Design and built by Bavaria, first launched in 2004. It races in Class B.
Length
13.98 m
45′ 10″
Beam
4.42 m
Draft
1.76 m
Displacement
11.4 t
Sail area
98 m²
On the podium
Where a Bavaria Cruiser 46 finishes when she goes racing.
On the podium
0%
of 35 starts by 1 boat
Wins
0%
Read from 35 starts by 1 boat between 2018 and 2026, counting races with six boats or more.
Recent regattas
The latest events where a Bavaria Cruiser 46 was on the start line, named as the organisers publish them.
Friendship Regatta2026- FR252025
- Friendship Regatta2024
- Friendship Regatta2023
- Aegean Regatta2019
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 Cruiser 46 actually lines up with, most often first. The bar shows how those meetings ended.
Also met, too few times for a figure:
Bavaria Cruiser 38 (7 meetings), X-99 (7 meetings), X-3 (7 meetings), Oceanis 393 (7 meetings), Grand Soleil 45 (Judel/Vrolijk) (6 meetings), X-372 (6 meetings), Sun Light 30 (6 meetings), JPK 11.80 (6 meetings), Attalia 32 (4 meetings), IMX 38 (4 meetings), Sigma 33 (4 meetings)
Some of the boats it races against
How the Bavaria Cruiser 46 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
5.44
42°
Beam reach
9.12
90°
Broad reach
9.88
135°
Downwind VMG
8.13
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.
The stronger it blows, the better this design looks. 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 across the wind once it pipes up, where it does more than its size and sail area promise, 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 0.8 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 46
Boat speed in knots, by true wind angle and wind strength.
| Angle | 6 kn | 10 kn | 14 kn | 20 kn |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beat VMG | 3.10 | 4.49 | 5.23 | 5.44 |
| 52° | 4.95 | 6.90 | 7.78 | 8.06 |
| 60° | 5.38 | 7.27 | 8.05 | 8.38 |
| 75° | 5.70 | 7.54 | 8.30 | 8.84 |
| 90° | 5.70 | 7.77 | 8.53 | 9.12 |
| 110° | 5.84 | 8.00 | 8.89 | 9.85 |
| 120° | 5.70 | 7.86 | 8.85 | 10.09 |
| 135° | 5.03 | 7.38 | 8.56 | 9.88 |
| 150° | 4.23 | 6.50 | 7.96 | 9.16 |
| Run VMG | 3.66 | 5.62 | 6.97 | 8.13 |
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 890 kg.
Rigging
Bavaria Cruiser 46 rig and sail dimensions
A Bavaria Cruiser 46 carries 16.59 m of mainsail hoist on a 5.57 m boom, a forestay 17.26 m above the deck and a 5.95 m bowsprit. Typical figures across the 6 boats measured under the current VPP, with the range each one spans.
Rig
Sails