Bavaria Match 42
Bavaria · J&J Design · 2004
Updated
The Bavaria Match 42 is a 12.55 m displacement racing yacht designed by J&J Design and built by Bavaria, first launched in 2004. It races in Class B. Across the measured fleet it goes better than its own numbers promise, ahead of 24% 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 24% of the boats it races against.
70th of 92 in its class.
This design has been found in real race results — 87 starts across 17 events — not only in measurement files.
Length
12.55 m
41′ 2″
Beam
3.76 m
Draft
2.44 m
Displacement
7.8 t
Sail area
95 m²
On the podium
Where a Bavaria Match 42 finishes when she goes racing.
On the podium
34%
of 87 starts by 10 boats
Wins
16%
Read from 87 starts by 10 boats between 2015 and 2026, counting races with six boats or more.
Recent regattas
The latest events where a Bavaria Match 42 was on the start line, named as the organisers publish them.
Aegean Regatta2026
EAYK-TAYK Dogu Ege Yat Sampiyonasi2026
73° Loro Piana Giraglia2026- Campus Cup2026
- Regata Brindisi-Corfù2026
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
32%
of these races end on the podium
Offshore & coastal
33%
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 Match 42 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), Farr 55 (7 meetings), Mat 12 (7 meetings), Cape 31 (7 meetings), Vismara 46 (7 meetings), Mat 122 (7 meetings)
Some of the boats it races against
How the Bavaria Match 42 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
5.69
38°
Beam reach
9.01
90°
Broad reach
9.87
135°
Downwind VMG
8.40
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 does most things without giving much away. It rewards preparation and crew work more than it rewards picking the right day.
Where it gains
Its best ground is upwind when it blows, where it goes better than its measurements say it should, and by a margin worth having.
Where it pays
It falls short on a broad reach 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 0.4 kn either way.
At 10 knots this design makes back more than its rating asks on the beam reach.
How fast is a Bavaria Match 42
Boat speed in knots, by true wind angle and wind strength.
| Angle | 6 kn | 10 kn | 14 kn | 20 kn |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beat VMG | 3.64 | 5.03 | 5.56 | 5.69 |
| 52° | 5.54 | 7.26 | 7.79 | 7.97 |
| 60° | 5.84 | 7.47 | 7.99 | 8.22 |
| 75° | 6.05 | 7.62 | 8.23 | 8.63 |
| 90° | 6.00 | 7.75 | 8.33 | 9.01 |
| 110° | 5.95 | 7.87 | 8.72 | 9.55 |
| 120° | 5.77 | 7.76 | 8.68 | 9.96 |
| 135° | 5.14 | 7.33 | 8.37 | 9.87 |
| 150° | 4.32 | 6.56 | 7.90 | 9.19 |
| Run VMG | 3.74 | 5.68 | 7.06 | 8.40 |
How they are set up
The range each sail spans across the fleet.
Nearly all carry a folding propeller. Crew weight is declared around 800 kg.
Rigging
Bavaria Match 42 rig and sail dimensions
A Bavaria Match 42 carries 14.90 m of mainsail hoist on a 5.76 m boom, a forestay 15.75 m above the deck and a 5.31 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 — 102 to 151 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.