Review – Bavaria C46 vs. Beneteau Oceanis 46.1

Embracing your unique needs and preferences is key to finding the perfect monohull for your cruising lifestyle. While comfort and performance can be subjective and relative, it’s important to trust your instincts and ask yourself the right questions as you navigate this exciting decision. Your journey is yours to define and with careful consideration, you’ll discover the vessel that will unlock your full potential as a seafaring adventurer. Let your passion for exploration guide you and embrace the freedom that comes with finding the perfect monohull sailing yacht. The adventure awaits!

What’s the key to enjoying life at sea? It’s all about relaxation and space! Finding enough room for everyone and everything, without tripping over each other every five seconds. Trust me, with all the modern gizmos and gadgets around, living onboard can be a breeze.

And convenience is king! With automation and energy-saving tools, we can easily adapt to life at sea without having to sacrifice any of our creature comforts. And let’s not forget safety – after all, no one wants to be stranded at sea.

So, let’s hoist the sail, kick back, and enjoy the ride without having to worry about all the technical stuff. Aye, aye, captain!

The re-birth of the modern cruiser-performance sailing yacht

Following in the wake of the Oceanis 51.1, many of the production shipyards saw the continuum of wide stern hulls and full bow design with a long chine opening up for wider interior spaces and focus on ease of handling and more down-wind focused sailing and ease of movement on deck. 

The modern cruising boat was born and more design aspects from reputable performance-orientated naval architects were being introduced as two of the largest production-orientated shipyards; the Groupe Beneteau and Bavaria Yachtbau, introduced a distinct design feature in their midrange ranges of sailing yachts – the Oceanis range for Benetau and the C-range for Bavaria. 

The Beneteau Oceanis range was long a dual-purpose yacht as the Beneteau First range was set on pause for a while and clients were offered a First Line Package to “spruce” up the rather under-rigged and downwind-focused Oceanis to a more livelier and performance-cruiser orientated configuration. With the additional First Line package, the boat owner will receive a deeper, lead bulb keel, a taller mast and a genoa, which provides 28% more sail area. The Oceanis 46.1 is vintage Beneteau in terms of basic construction. The hull is moulded in polyester, while the deck is comprised of an injected fibreglass/foam-core sandwich, with a moulded-in anti-skid; the deck-stepped, double-spreader mast is aluminium; and both the shoal and standard-draft keels are cast iron

The Bavaria yachts had long ago forsaken the performance-focused market with its famous cooperation with FAAR and instead had launched arguably the most appreciated range of midsized sailing yachts and pure cruiser-focused range of yachts in their aptly named Bavaria Cruiser-line of sailing yachts. With the decision to modernize its range, they reached out to famous Italian naval architect Cossutti, with plenty of pedigree in the offshore racing and cruising world. 

Elegant – Smart Living Spaces – Fast Cruising – Easy Sailing

The Oceanis 46.1 is in itself a design separate from the 51.1, with its design team Pascal-Conq given the task to mirror the sporty feel and large-yacht aspects of the 51.1 into the 46.1. The design team is no stranger to Beneteau, as they have designed most of the smaller range Oceanis from 24-36 ft before taking on the 46.1 and also famous for having introduced the twin-rudder concept into high-octane racing classes like the IMOCA. Both the Oceanis 46.1 and the Bavaria C46 use the twin-rudder setup to compensate for their wide stern and high-freeboard hull designs. 

The first model in a second generation of Bavaria’s C-series yachts, the new Bavaria C46 offers plenty of internal volume and on-the-water performance. This is Cossutti’s sixth design for Bavaria, the Bavaria C46, is the first model in a second generation of the German yard’s C-series, which was originally launched six years ago. The new boat offers significantly more interior volume than its predecessor, the C45 from 2018, yet also claims better performance.

The Stepped Hulls vs. the V-Bow and Chines

What both these modern cruiser sailing yachts clearly have in common, is the incredible space and beamy nature of the yachts that create an incredible amount of roominess below deck and space and stowage and ease of movement deckside. 

The Oceanis range with its “stepped” hulls and with a chine that runs from stern to bow in combination with its wide stern, creates a roominess and feeling you earlier only found on large cruiser sizes of +50ft and up. The owner’s cabin for example on the Oceanis 46.1 is comparable to the predecessor of the older design of the Oceanis 50 and the 55. 

The Pascal Conq-designed Oceanis 46.1 features a “stepped” hull, in which the canoe body flares dramatically to a chine immediately above the waterline, thereby allowing Beneteau to maximize interior volume while maintaining a narrow entry forward. The new and more powerful hull shape of the Oceanis range, with a stepped or full-chined hull, with greater righting moment and the addition of twin rudders for added control.

Same principles apply with the new C-line design and characteristic features of the hull design with the typical Bavaria V‐bow and chines, which not only give the Bavaria C46 impressive sailing characteristics but also create more light space and living comfort below deck in the saloon as well as the cabins.

For the new BAVARIA C46, the C‐LINE concept has been further developed and re‐interpreted in all areas. For example, the characteristic features of the hull design with the typical Bavaria V‐bow and chines, which not only give the Bavaria C46 impressive sailing characteristics, but also create more light space and living comfort below deck in the saloon as well as the cabins. The Bavaria C46 sets a new standard in its class and is a yacht that combines long‐standing Bavaria strengths with new features, thus finding convincing solutions for many customers and requirements.

The slab-sided and modern design approaches to both these voluminous sailing yachts are aimed towards creating an experience like that of a modern apartment and maximising the use of the yacht at anchor – a static experience. The concept of “building inside and out” is not strange to the cruiser range of the shipbuilding industry, as most of the appeal and interest comes from the charter-industry that demands easier handling yachts and comfort at anchor and space to combine several layout options and configurations.  

Is all this comfort then at the cost of a sailing experience? Yes, there is no denying that, albeit these naval yacht designer know their thing and looking at both hull designs their arguably focus on down-wind sailing and making it easy for crew and guests alike to be comfortable. However, with the First Line package offered for the Oceanis range and its famously slippery hull design and modern rigging from the Cossutti-designed Bavaria C-line, we are not surprised that they would rather be called performance-cruisers than just your average holiday-making cruiser and sailing yacht. 

The opinions are divided on the matter of what entails an ideal live-aboard monohull sailing yacht: the strength of the design, construction and feeling at the helm of the performance-optimised monohulls such as the Italia Yachts, Grand Soleil, X-Yachts, J-Boats, or the luxury of the all-inclusive optimal holiday platform of the larger series production shipyards such as the Oceanis range from Beneteau, Sun Odyssey from Jeanneau, C-Line from Bavaria, Impression from Elan, the Hanse or the Dufour range of cruiser sailing yachts. 

We are not here to create division but rather to point out the why and how. For the yacht charter industry, the advantages are obvious and plenty. Most of the above-mentioned production series shipyards are closely tied or owned by the same group as the large global charter companies that offer yacht charter ownership programs and investments, such as the Dream Yacht Charter, Navigare Yachting, SunSail and Moorings. 

For the charter industry, the advantages of this configuration are multiple:

• Beamy design: create plenty of main deck space and seating/lounging arrangements, allowing for a larger side deck, cockpits and bathing platforms.
• Volumuniuos hulls: increases the stowage -and payload capacity and width in the cabins.
• Skipper cabins: as with most of these designs, even at 45 feet there is room to accommodate skipper accommodation.
• Layout and Size: optimal cabin configurations and spacious double bed cabins cater for plenty of guests and even crewed charter.
• Saloon Main Deck: focus on dining arrangements and entertainment with larger galley sizes. No need for a navigational station as most time is spent at anchor or navigating short distances and a professional skipper often manages boat.
• Easy Push Button Sailing: usually underigged sailing yachts which are most pleasurable sailing “off the wind” and with most or all control and working lines drawn aft near the helm. Clear destination between guest areas and crew/helm area.

If you are unfamiliar with the two brands or the sailing yachts in question, here’s a brief introduction.

Bavaria Yachtbau

The Bavaria shipyard has been in the forefront of building sailing yachts on large scale for over 45 years. Today Bavaria Yachts is one of the most modern manufacturers of sailing yachts and motorboats worldwide. The shipyard has been known since its founding as an innovation leader in serial yacht manufacturing. Over 600 sailing yachts and motorboats are manufactured on the shipyard of BAVARIA YACHTS in Giebelstadt, near Würzburg in Germany. Four production lines, each 125 meters long, a carpenter’s workshop where the entirety of the yacht is constructed, two halls to manufacture hulls and decks, are accommodated on a large surface measuring 200,000 square meters. It’s needless to say – an impressive shipyard with a strong brand and almost a fan-based following in central and northern Europe. 

From the Shipyard:

“The BAVARIA C46 sets new standards in the combination of ample room, excellent sailing characteristics and innovative solutions. The BAVARIA C46 combines the typical generous BAVARIA space on board and the proven Made‐in‐Germany solidity with even more sailing performance and greater comfort on board. The distinctive chines at the stern and the BAVARIA V‐bow have already given the BAVARIA C38 and C42 exceptionally good and fast sailing characteristics. The BAVARIA C46 possesses agile steering, converts the wind even faster into boat speed and, at the same time, allows for maximally large cabins in the stern and foreship. Thus, space and sailing pleasure are a winning combination on the BAVARIA C46.”

Groupe Beneteau

Groupe Beneteau is a worldwide market leader for boats and a European frontrunner for leisure homes. With its global production capacities and global sales networks, the Group employs 7,600 people in France, the US, Poland, Italy, Portugal and China. Since 1884, the Beneteau family boatyard has successfully evolved through the decades, from fishing to recreational boating and diversified itself. Today, Groupe Beneteau, through its brands and services, has developed unique skill sets and technical know-how in boating and leisure homes.

In 2021, the Beneteau Groupe was bought up (59%) by investment group PPF and is part of a drive towards creating an even more dominating presence in the yacht charter market with the acquisition of both Dream Yacht Charter and Navigare Yachting. 

The Beneteau shipyard used to offer two lines of models for years, the Oceanis range and the First range. The biggest shipyard in the world had stopped with the sportive line of First sailing yachts until a few years ago when the group bought a small Slovenian shipyard with sportive sailing boats at the smaller end of the market. In the meantime, they were secretly planning their comeback in the performance cruiser market, until then dominated by Dehler and Grand Soleil. The option to upgrade the Oceanis line cruiser with the sporty FIRST LINE package is available for those boat owners who want to configure a boat for more thrilling and lively behaviour at the helm. 

From the shipyard:

“The Oceanis 46.1 was awarded the European Yacht of the Year in 2019. The panel stressed the yacht’s high performance and the incredible sensations at the helm. The Oceanis 46.1 won the Family Cruiser category in 2019. The cruising yacht of world market leader Beneteau shows the same lines as the Oceanis 51.1, which was nominated last year – with one important difference: The 46.1 has more sail area, thus has even better sailing characteristics thanks to a finely balanced rig geometry and successful lift distribution. Below deck she offers up to ten berths in five cabins. The boat is highly customizable, modern and has an appealing design.”