Bavaria Cruiser 51
Bavaria · Bruce Farr · 2005
Updated
The Bavaria Cruiser 51 is a 14.96 m displacement racing yacht designed by Bruce Farr and built by Bavaria, first launched in 2005. It races in Class A.
Length
14.96 m
49′ 1″
Beam
4.61 m
Draft
2.19 m
Displacement
14.1 t
Sail area
115 m²
On the podium
Where a Bavaria Cruiser 51 finishes when she goes racing.
On the podium
67%
of 12 starts by 2 boats
Wins
33%
Read from 12 starts by 2 boats between 2024 and 2026, counting races with six boats or more.
Recent regattas
The latest events where a Bavaria Cruiser 51 was on the start line, named as the organisers publish them.
Aegean Regatta2026
Helsinki Tallinna Race2026- Aegean Regatta2025
Shorthanded Regatta2024
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: 3 races of 10 NM or less carry a published distance.
Offshore & coastal
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Not enough data yet: 8 races over 10 NM carry a published distance.
Who she races against
The designs a Bavaria Cruiser 51 actually lines up with, most often first. The bar shows how those meetings ended.
Also met, too few times for a figure:
Sun Odyssey 37.1 (5 meetings), Dufour 3800 (5 meetings), Bavaria Match 42 (4 meetings), Sun Odyssey 34.2 (4 meetings), Grand Soleil 42 (Carkeek) (2 meetings), Salona 40 (2 meetings), First 29 (2 meetings), X-41 (2 meetings), Bavaria Cruiser 45 (2 meetings), Apollo 12 (2 meetings), Mat 122 (2 meetings), Sun Fast 32 (2 meetings), Peterson 34 (2 meetings), Sun Odyssey 40 (2 meetings), Hanse 348 (2 meetings), Oceanis 45 (Finot-Conq) (2 meetings), Dynamic 43 (1 meeting), First 47.7 (1 meeting), Sun Odyssey 45 (1 meeting)
Some of the boats it races against
How the Bavaria Cruiser 51 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
5.74
41°
Beam reach
9.59
90°
Broad reach
10.41
135°
Downwind VMG
8.43
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 is a boat that wants breeze. On a windy coastal course it is in its element; on a light-air windward-leeward it has to be sailed well to hold on.
Where it gains
Its best ground is across the wind in a strong breeze, where it goes better than its measurements say it should, and by a margin worth having.
Where it pays
It falls short to windward when the breeze is soft, 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 51
Boat speed in knots, by true wind angle and wind strength.
| Angle | 6 kn | 10 kn | 14 kn | 20 kn |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beat VMG | 3.12 | 4.58 | 5.46 | 5.74 |
| 52° | 4.95 | 7.00 | 8.07 | 8.48 |
| 60° | 5.37 | 7.38 | 8.38 | 8.82 |
| 75° | 5.67 | 7.68 | 8.62 | 9.32 |
| 90° | 5.75 | 8.07 | 8.98 | 9.59 |
| 110° | 5.90 | 8.29 | 9.38 | 10.46 |
| 120° | 5.73 | 8.14 | 9.29 | 10.77 |
| 135° | 5.09 | 7.55 | 8.91 | 10.41 |
| 150° | 4.25 | 6.59 | 8.22 | 9.55 |
| Run VMG | 3.69 | 5.71 | 7.12 | 8.43 |
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 1050 kg.
Rigging
Bavaria Cruiser 51 rig and sail dimensions
A Bavaria Cruiser 51 carries 18.32 m of mainsail hoist on a 6.17 m boom, a forestay 19.41 m above the deck and a 6.85 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 — 148 to 173 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.