Hull Design and Construction
The Bavaria 39's structure reflects a conservative engineering philosophy that should reassure any cruising buyer. Solid laminate below the waterline and Airex-cored sandwich above gives the hull an appropriate combination of robustness at the turn of the bilge and stiffness topsides, while glassed-in hat-section frames add longitudinal integrity. Bow impact resistance receives special attention through Kevlar reinforcement in the bow area — a detail that speaks to a builder thinking about the realities of anchored-boat collisions and debris encounters offshore. The ballast arrangement is equally no-nonsense: a cast-iron keel attached with stainless-steel keelbolts, double-nutted and backed with washers. The fin-with-bulb configuration and spade rudder give the boat its characteristic fractional-sloop handling, and the numbers bear out the design intent — a displacement/length ratio of 187 places her firmly in the light-to-moderate range, while a comfort ratio of 25.49 sits at the upper end of what the formula classifies as a coastal cruiser.
Rig and Sailing Character
Rigged as a fractional sloop with a working sail area of 890 square feet and a sail-area/displacement ratio just above 20, the Bavaria 39 sits in the category that designers classify as relatively high performance — lively enough to make passages enjoyable without demanding a racing crew's vigilance. In the real world, however, that number comes with a caveat. In the 15-knot-plus testing conditions encountered during evaluation, the Bavaria rounded up strongly in gusts even with full rudder applied until sail area was reduced considerably. The cure was straightforward — roll some jib first, then reef the main — and once trimmed down, the boat sailed quickly and responsively. This behavior is entirely normal for a beamy cruiser with a generous rig, and the lesson it teaches is simply that the Bavaria 39 wants to be sailed a little conservatively in fresh air. The capsize screening formula of 1.98, just below the 2.0 threshold that marks the boundary between coastal and offshore suitability, underlines that the boat is genuinely capable beyond sheltered waters.
Cockpit and Deck Layout
On deck, Bavaria made choices that betray their cruising focus without apology. Double anchor rollers on the stemhead are a practical detail that racing-oriented builders rarely bother with; on a boat expected to anchor frequently, they matter. The cockpit itself is sculpted more for the needs of loungers than energetic line tailers — broad, comfortable, and oriented toward life at anchor rather than tacking duels. The steering console is large enough to carry modern navigation electronics but tends to dominate the cockpit space, and access forward from the transom entryway is difficult without the Lewmar folding-wheel option. Sailors planning to board frequently from a dinghy or a dock would do well to specify that fitting. Lines led aft to cabin-top rope clutches have no factory provision for containing the tails, making a pair of line bags a sensible early addition.
Accommodations
Below, the three-cabin layout is the defining feature of the Bavaria 39's appeal. Two aft staterooms plus a forward master — an arrangement that in a 39-footer dictates an along-the-side galley in the saloon, a trade-off the boat makes gracefully. The generous beam carries the arrangement off, and the galley remains workable on both tacks because a high seat back on the island settee completes a four-sided dining area that braces the cook without demanding a dedicated galley strap. The bonus of this layout is a full-size nav table and roomy aft head — two items that cruising crews on passage value enormously. The two aft cabins offer enough standing room for dressing and undressing with relative ease without pretending to be more than practical sleeping quarters, while the forward master delivers a large berth, a dressing seat, and a private head. Bavaria finished the interior in generous quantities of thoughtfully designed mahogany joinery, and the plush upholstery completes an interior that reads as genuinely comfortable rather than merely adequate. Water tankage of 95 gallons and fuel tankage of 55 gallons are reasonable for weekend passages and Mediterranean-style cruising.
Known Handling Limitations
The roundup behavior under full canvas in fresh conditions, while manageable, deserves frank acknowledgment. The Bavaria 39 is not a boat that will carry full sail when the breeze builds past the mid-teens without pushing back. Reducing sail area considerably was required before the boat could be handled comfortably in testing, which is an honest finding about a wide, comfortable cruising platform with a lively rig. Sailors accustomed to heavier displacement designs or boats with more modest sail plans may find the reefing requirement arrives earlier than expected. This is not a fault so much as a characteristic — one that new owners should internalize early rather than discover on a lee shore.
The Verdict
The Bavaria Cruiser 39 is an honest and well-thought-out production cruiser that delivers on its central promise: more livable space, more comfortable accommodations, and more cruising-oriented deck hardware than a boat of this length would normally provide. The J&J Design hull is structurally conservative in all the right ways, the three-cabin interior genuinely accommodates a family or a small charter crew, and the fractional sloop rig moves the boat efficiently once the skipper learns where its comfort ceiling lies. It does not pretend to be a bluewater passage-maker — the comfort ratio and the roundup behavior in fresh air are honest markers of its coastal cruiser identity — but within that brief it performs admirably.
Pros
- Solid structural specification: Airex core, hat-section frames, Kevlar bow reinforcement, double-nutted keelbolts
- Three-cabin layout with private forward head and a full-size nav table in a 39-foot hull
- Cockpit oriented for comfort at anchor and under way, with double anchor rollers as standard
- Sail-area/displacement ratio above 20 gives the rig enough drive for enjoyable passages
- Generous mahogany joinery and plush upholstery set a genuinely livable interior standard
Cons
- Pronounced roundup in gusts above 15 knots under full canvas; early reefing is not optional
- Large steering console crowds cockpit space and complicates forward access without the folding-wheel option
- No factory provision for managing rope-clutch tails on the coachroof
- Comfort ratio of 25.49 places the boat at the upper edge of coastal cruiser classification, not a true offshore passage-maker
