Bavaria Cruiser 38 Sailboats for Sale

Layouts on the Used Market

Owner three-cabin layouts are the more common on the used market, but both are available. In the two-stateroom layout the forward cabin occupies the entire space forward of the mast with a large V-berth, storage lockers, and walkabout room, and the single head is aft behind the nav station. In the three-cabin arrangement the aft cabins keep generous standing room and a large berth, but the head is smaller and takes up a good chunk of the forward cabin. Either way, saloon settees run parallel to the centerline and are long enough to stretch out on, with a forward-facing nav desk large enough for paper charts and a dished seat for traction when heeled.

Equipment and Common Upgrades

Commonly fitted equipment on the used fleet includes chartplotter, autopilot, bimini, hot water, life raft, solar, and teak decks. Often seen are AIS, heating, cockpit shower, radar, inverter, furling main, and bow thruster. Less commonly, as a sometimes-or-owner upgrade, appear spinnaker, swim platform, dinghy davits, EPIRB, and dodger. The boat itself has a flush foredeck hatch to a deep anchor well with a windlass on a shelf, electric rams under the cockpit sole revealing a swim step and ladder, and a cockpit table on the steering console whose bulk can hamper movement.

What to Inspect

A peek under the floorboards reveals a structural grid that’s laminated to the hull, and the keel bolts are installed through that grid, secured with double nuts backed by stainless-steel washers—verify the nuts and washers are intact and the grid bond is sound structural grid laminated to the hull. The hull has a flat bottom, which could make completely drying it a challenge, so inspect for unsupported grounding scars or uneven wear if the boat has been dried out. The companionway door is made of veneer-topped Starboard, which should be checked for delamination at the veneer face. The electrical panel uses touch-pad switches that light up when activated but the breakers are mounted behind the panel, so confirm circuit access and labeling are serviceable. The galley twin sinks slope toward inboard drains and were noted as shallow, and the installed two-burner stove is a known limitation versus a three-burner.

Availability and Buyer's Takeaway

These yachts typically appear in Greece, Netherlands, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom. For a used purchase, check the keel-bolt grid security, the Starboard companionway door condition, the behind-panel breaker access, and whether the three-cabin head intrusion suits your plans; confirm the commonly fitted kit (chartplotter, autopilot, hot water, solar) is present and working, and expect a furling main and bow thruster only on many, not all, listings.