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This article is provided here with the permission of Yachting World/IPC Syndication. All pictures are credit of Malcolm White/Yachting World/IPC Syndication and the text is credit of Tim Thomas/Yachting World/IPC Syndication.
Bavarias in build
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 After the mold has been hand-prepared and robotically sprayed with gelcoat, the lay-up team start glassing in. There are up to 30 layers and Kevlar is laminated into the forward sections
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 Closed cell foam is laid above the waterline and bonded in. The whole hull is then cooked for two hours at 45°C before being taken to the main production line where the interior fit-out is completed |
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 The completed decks head to the robotic cutter, which automatically locates the decks and cuts the relevant holes in it |
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 On the deck production line teak, hatches, winches and other parts are fitted as the decks move slowly past. Once completed, they are lifted and lowered onto their respective fitted-out and finished hulls |
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 CNC machines cut flat panels of wood and provide the parts to build the interiors. The cutters are programmed to maximise each bit of wood, neatly fitting in as many parts per panel as possible |
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Size Matters
Drive south-west from Frankfurt airport for a little over an hour and you will find yourself in open countryside that looks a little like Norfolk, only not so flat and with fewer hedges. Turn off the autobahn near Würzburg and head for a small town called Giebelstadt. It is hard to miss due to the roar of green Chinook helicopters which wander the skies and are attached to a local US airbase. Opposite the base's perimeter fence, at the far end of town, lies Bavaria's factory. Covering
22,000m2 in production sheds alone, it is an impressive sight. It is here that every single Bavaria is built, currently 42 boats each week.
"We do not have enough space at the moment," says Roland Herrmann, sales and marketing manager, "which is why we are investing in a major expansion."This expansion involves investing nearly €25 million in 30,000m2 of new production area, bringing the total to 52,000m2. "The extension to the current production lines should be completed by
the end of this year," continues Roland. "We hope, within a couple of years, to be building 4,000 yachts each year." Currently, the factory produces 2,000 sailboats a year, and that includes three Bavaria 36s a day. There is still a waiting list, though – order a 36 now and you will be waiting until September at the earliest to get it.
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 In the deck lamination section of the factory, 10-15 layers are added. One worker cuts and wets chop-strand to shape and the lay-up team collect it as they need it
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 Reinforcing in the form of wood, or 15mm aluminium plates in the case of winch bases, is bonded in along with closed-cell foam at certain points. The Bavaria factory produces ten decks a day |
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 The interior for any given boat takes up around two trolleys' worth of wood, which is then wheeled away to be varnished |
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 Clever programming of the CNC cutters produces only five per cent wood wastage, but even this is recycled - burned to provide 50 per cent of the heat required for the lamination lines |
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 Varnishing á la 21st century. The wood panels are put onto a conveyor belt and a machine does the rest - 45 minutes for three coats - which sure beats sandpaper and a paintbrush |
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The company began in 1978, when Roland's father started building boats as a hobby then moved into production at Bavaria's first yard, just across the street from the current site. "The first yard built five boats a week," explains Roland, "and it wasn't until 1984, when we joined with the Meltl family, that we built the first real factory on this site."
At this stage the company were building 400 boats a year and this continued until the early 1990s when the true production line
at the plant was started. Bavaria now employ 550 workers and craftsmen on the factory floor and in a refreshing example of company organisation, there are only 26 staff in the management, marketing and secretarial roles. "We are hoping to increase our workforce to around 800 over the next couple of years,"says Roland.
The fact that the company employ relatively few people compared to other builders with a similar output is indicative of the efficiency and technological advancement of the
factory, which lets them build three 36s, two 44s, and two 32s a day alone. Production on these three models is set to increase by one a day each when the new part of the factory comes on line.
It is only when you see the place for yourself that you realise the scale of this pseudo-carplant operation. The woodwork section produces all the components for each yacht's interior thanks to CNC cutters which are programmed to make the most of each sheet of wood. The interior for a 36 can be loaded onto two
small trolleys, ready to be wheeled to the varnishing line before being assembled from its flatpack state into fully completed galleys, nav areas and cabin stowage.
All offcuts of wood from the cutters (there is around five per cent wastage) are ground down to sawdust and used to fire the heating system that maintains the temperature of the lay-up sections. In fact, 50 per cent of the heating fuel comes from the recycling of these offcuts, the other 50 per cent coming from gas-fired heating. The varnishing
is done by machine (of course) and the components are placed on a conveyor belt that runs through a cabinet. Spraying heads run across the belt from side to side in mesmeric fashion, spraying when they detect a component beneath. All wood parts are given three coats of varnish by the Pro 1400 Quick Wood System and the process, including curing, takes around 45 minutes for each piece.
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In the next section, the various components of each yacht's interior are assembled so that one area will build galleys, another handles the nav area, etc.These can then be wheeled to the hulls and dropped in already complete. All pipes and fittings are put in place at the unit's construction phase |
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 Using special jigs, the various pre-built elements of the interior fit-out are added |
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 With the bulk of the interior in place, the electricians add the wiring, which comes in pre-wound complete bundles for each yacht |
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 The completed matching deck can be craned over and fitted on top. From here the hulls are lifted onto their keel, which is lined up using lasers |
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From here the parts go to the assembly rooms and the hands of the fitters who put them together into completed sections. It is strange to walk through a factory and see a galley or a completed head cubicle, with all taps and pipes fitted, just sitting by the way ready to be taken to the hull construction line.
In a nearby room, a series of decks are being laminated, each in varying states of completion starting at first lay-up at one end and completed deck at the other. There are two teams of 45 laminators,
one team for the decks and one for the hulls. Laminating is all done by hand, and will continue to be so.
"I learned the lay-up trade while working in a boatyard in Finland,"says Roland, "and we will always do it by hand. And, contrary to popular belief, all the work is done here, not in Poland."
The decks are moved to the main factory, ready to be precision cut and trimmed by a £1 million robotic cutter which detects the position of the deck by laser then cuts the holes, hatch voids
and locker entrances with frightening accuracy. The machine moves over 400 steps and takes a little over one hour to do each deck.
From here, the decks are transferred to the production lines proper, where teams of workmen fit the teak, winches, hatches and accessories as the decks shuffle along a semi-automated line ready to be dropped onto the relevant hulls which are being fitted out in the next line.
Head up onto the gantry above the factory floor and you witness a staggering sight – we counted
no less than 30 individual components running from the basic deck moulding at one end to a finished yacht at the other. The scale of the operation is massive and this was only one of three lines that was churning out boats.
Expansion
But the most amazing part is yet to come. Following the investment and the extra factory space, the woodwork section alone will have 7,000m2 to itself. And to produce 4,000 yachts and motorboats a year means some serious automation. Another £1 million is being spent on
a second robotic cutter for the decks; the area that forms the current three production lines will be given over entirely to deck and hull lamination, with the new production lines moving to the new building; there will be new areas just for engine installation. In addition there will be a huge area of hard-standing at the back where the finished yachts can be stored ready for their collection by the various agents.
"We will be the most modern yacht producers in the world," says Roland determinedly, "and
we are aiming to become the largest manufacturer of yachts in Europe."
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Completed parts of the interior await removal to the relevant hulls, ready to be dropped into the finished hulls |
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At the first point on the hull fit-out line, a basic jig is added and the floor pan elements are glassed in place |
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The yachts are now nearly finished and Bavaria teams work on the last details and cleaning |
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Dealers come to collect the yachts themselves. The Selden masts and rigging are built separately and simply loaded onto the lorry |
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To acquire the extra land for this huge project, Bavaria had to buy some land off the Americans, taking over a corner of the airbase. The expansion programme is being funded from Bavaria's coffers and there is no question of credit or applying for a loan. "We have a very high output and therefore a very high turnover," explains Roland, "so we are able to fund this ourselves." Bavaria's turnover has increased nearly fourfold in three years and with this advanced facility well underway,
there is no reason to believe there will be a slowdown in their fortunes.
For now, Bavaria's future looks assured and by continuing to improve the efficiency of the factory, they aim to pass the benefits onto the consumer. "We will continue to produce good boats at an extremely low price, thanks to our method of construction,"says Roland.
Having sailed the 36 and seen the quality of the building, particularly with regard to the lay-up of the hulls and decks, I have had to change my perceptions
of Bavaria's range. True, there are still areas where cosmetics give way to the effects of mass production but the basic boats themselves are sound and, if the new 36 is anything to go by, are certainly nothing less than very able sailing yachts.
As for the factory, Roland claims that it will always be based in Giebelstadt: "We can keep an eye on every stage of the production process, and there is no reason to move. Although landlocked at the centre of Germany, we are in easy reach by road of all
our major markets."
When they were excavating part of the air-field to be turned over to the factory, they discovered a network of underground pipes. "The airfield was once a base for the Luftwaffe, and most of it is sunk down a few metres below ground level," says Roland. "When they thought that they were going to be attacked by the RAF, they would flood the whole airfield with 5cm of water and from the air it just appeared to be a large inland lake."
Perhaps, in a few years,
when they have taken over more of the airfield, Bavaria might employ the system again; if for no other reason than to remind themselves that they are a boatbuilder and not a car plant.
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