Recent posts

#1

Bavaria Yacht Help! / Re: Bavaria 49 – in-mast furli...

Last post by symphony2 - September 17 2026, 23:28

The two main causes of jamming are incorrect furling and old/baggy sails. Furling mainsails need to be cut flat and preferably made from stable low stretch fabrics such as Vectran. The previous posts have given good advice on how to undo a jammed sail - patience is the key word.

As to servicing, the main points are the winch on the mast and the outhaul blocks. There is a lot of load on all blocks so check for wear. Best to replace with ball bearing blocks. The top swivel generally does not give trouble.
 
There is a lot of merit in having the mast down and getting a rigger to check everything for wear, replacing anything that is suspect. I have been fortunate in owning two Bavarias with in mast from new and one can really appreciate how easy it all is to use before things wear and sails stretch.

#2

Bavaria Yacht Help! / Re: Bavaria 49 – in-mast furli...

Last post by Happysailor - September 17 2026, 19:52

Hi Jurre,
I think every owner of a main furling sail has had this experience. Last weekend in our Marina I supported a charter Bavaria with same issue... also I learned from experience..

In addition to Sean, which is also the method I applied.. sometimes you need to tighten the messy bundle a bit by means of the winch at the mast and sometimes give a bit way to unfurl. Gently pull out the leech of the sail. A wooden spatula from the kitchen may be of help to "spoon" the sail out if you feel you need to put too much tension on the sail... Don't worry, it can handle a lot! From my experience I managed to get it out without going up the mast. The guys last weekend, really messed it up en needed to take a bosun's chair to support locally on the spot of the mast at the leech exit. Take your time, slight to no wind and if some, as Sean already detailed, from the SB side with the boom over PS.

Good luck and be patient,
Patrick

#3

Bavaria Yacht Help! / Re: Bavaria 49 – in-mast furli...

Last post by sean c - September 17 2026, 14:13

Jurre,
I have a Bavaria 47 and had a similar jam in my main sail in mast furling. It was caused by incorrect furling during a sudden increase in wind. Wind should be on the Starboard side when furling so the sail furls around the foil in the correct direction.
It took me a while to un-jam mine as I was single handed. I rotated the in mast foil by using the winch at the mast. It can be worked backwards and forwards to work the sail free. If the sail is wound in too loosely it can roll over itself and jam up.
It should be furled in with the wind on the Starboard side and a bit of tension on the haul out to prevent it overlapping and jamming.
Sean

#4

Bavaria Yacht Help! / Bavaria 49 – in-mast furling m...

Last post by MindZero49 - September 16 2026, 16:50

Hey salty sailors,

We have a problem with the in-mast furling mainsail on our Bavaria 49 (MindZero) and I'm hoping someone here has experienced something similar.

The mainsail is currently completely jammed inside the mast and we are unable to unfurl it in the normal way. From what we can see, it looks like the sail may have become twisted or wrapped incorrectly around the furling foil inside the mast. The situation appears different at the top of the mast compared with the lower section, so we suspect there may be more than just a simple tight wrap.

We have tried carefully tensioning the outhaul while operating the furling system, but the sail will not come out and we don't want to apply excessive force and risk damaging the sail, furling mechanism or foil.

The whole in-mast furling system has also become quite stiff, so our plan is to remove the mainsail completely and service/inspect the furling system while the sail is off.

A few questions for Bavaria owners familiar with this system:

What is the safest way to remove a mainsail when it is already jammed/twisted inside the mast?
Is there a way to release or remove the furling foil/drum to get the sail out without damaging it?
Are there any common causes on the Bavaria 49 / Seldén in-mast furling system that we should specifically check?
Once the sail is removed, which parts of the in-mast furling system should be cleaned, inspected and lubricated?
Is this realistically a job that can be done with the mast stepped, or would you recommend getting a rigger involved?

Any tips, diagrams or experience with a similar jam would be very welcome. I can also add some photos/video of the top and bottom of the sail if that helps diagnose what has happened.

Thanks in advance!

Jurre
MindZero – Bavaria 49

#5

Bavaria Yacht Help! / Re: Persistent Stray Current L...

Last post by SYJetzt - September 04 2026, 11:52

Is your saildrive including the gearbox isolated from the engine...?

#6

Bavaria Yacht Help! / Re: Persistent Stray Current L...

Last post by Yngmar - September 04 2026, 09:08

Often its a forgotten/damaged saildrive cone washer: https://fybmarine.shop/volvo-penta-saildrive-cone-plastic-washer-part-number-850888

[Control Comparison:]

#7

Bavaria Yacht Help! / Persistent Stray Current Leaka...

Last post by ravid007 - September 04 2026, 07:58

Hi everyone,

We're dealing with a frustrating electrical issue on our 2012 Bavaria Cruiser 36 and could really use some insights or outside-the-box suggestions from the community.

We've had a persistent stray current leakage for a while now, and it's severely accelerating anode/metal corrosion around the underwater gear. No matter what we test or disconnect, we cannot get the voltage reading at the engine down below 1.0V.

Here are a few key details and steps we've already taken to isolate the issue:

• Control Comparison: By chance, we have an identical Bavaria Cruiser 36 (same year, same specs, same options/equipment) berthed right next to us. When testing her in the exact same spot, her reading shows a normal 0.3V.
• Location Check: We tested our boat in a completely different marina to rule out shore/pier-induced stray currents or neighboring vessel issues. The reading on our boat remained unchanged at 1.0V.
  
• Isolation Testing: We've tried turning off individual DC breakers, isolating batteries, and disconnecting shore power, but we haven't been able to identify a single source bringing the potential down.
  

Given that the engine/Saildrive is reading 1V while our neighbor's identical setup sits at 0.3V, we're running out of ideas on where this current is bridging to the water.

Has anyone with a similar Bavaria setup experienced this? Are there any hidden ground bonding loops, battery charger/inverter leaks, bilge pump floating grounds, or Saildrive isolation issues specific to this model that we should inspect?

Any advice, suggestions, or troubleshooting steps would be hugely appreciated!

Thanks in advance!

#8

Bavaria Yacht Help! / Re: B32 forward hatch seal

Last post by Fenders - September 03 2026, 11:17

Diverphil and Odysseus,
Many thanks for your posts.

After the horizontal rain had eased, we managed to take a closer inspection. We discovered a small gap in the seal joint.
We have managed to source the correct seal which we installed yesterday. For those that may have the same problem we can confirm that for a B32 2004 the forward and galley hatches are Lewmar Low Profile 556mm x 556mm, sn: 361251999 sold by Ocean Chandlery, Thornham, £28.

Hope this info is of use to others.

#9

Bavaria Yacht Help! / Re: DST800 replacement — locat...

Last post by Diverphil1 - September 03 2026, 09:57

on ours it goes to the st60 unit in the binnacle

#10

Bavaria Yacht Help! / Re: B32 forward hatch seal

Last post by Diverphil1 - September 03 2026, 09:51

we had a leak that i thought was the lip seal but turned out to be the gasket and screws for the hinge, once nipped up a bit while i got new seals the leak stopped. its happend on both of the large hatches same thing.