Roaming the Duesseldorf Boat Show earlier this year I bumped into Italian designer and naval architect Maurizio Cossutti, who is a great, accessible guy. As we were cheerfully chatting, he almost dragged me onto the Bavaria booth, handed me a nice ice-cold beer and we talked. During our exciting conversation standing among the yachts on display, I got the idea of maybe telling the story of how it all began. Because, honestly: Nothing stayed the same with Bavaria after Maurizio was finished, launching the new C-line. A completely new style, a new image, a whole new look and feel to their products. I know best, because back then when I was still a Beneteau-dealer, I lost quite a few potential clients to the German brand. So apparently, he had done a good job here.
On the other hand, I “inherited” quite a few new ex-Bavaria sailors over to my brand, stating that these new boats aren´t relating to their taste anymore. So there was apparently something wild going on, and indeed, Bavaria – other than Hallberg-Rassy or Hanse for example, decided for a clean, clear and impactful cut with their past when launching this new line. So why did they choose the “hard cut” and what´s the story behind it? I sat down with Maurizio, took out my notebook and the pencil and listened. Here´s the story of Bavaria´s reeboot:
That day when Bavaria decided it needed a re-boot
Lars Reisberg | NO FRILLS SAILING.com: “Maurizio, thanks for taking some of your precious time to tell a story that already happened a few years ago! Tell us, when and how had you been approached by Bavaria Yachts to re-design their cruiser-range? Did you hade any previous contact or projects with that shipyard or the brand at all?”
Maurizio Cossutti: “It was very simple, Lars, to be honest: I just one day received a quick call from the CEO of that time. He just asked if we were interested and structured enough to design the new Bavaria flagship. That was it. We knew Lutz when he was CEO of the Salona shipyard in Split, but that call and its content was absolutely surprising and thrilling at the same time! That feeling got even “worse” when I visited the shipyard for the first time. That was during a dealers meeting and nobody knew what was going on behind the scenes. It was there when I realized how different the scale of a mass production yard is, compared to those we were used to work with. Like Italia Yachts for example. You know, the kind of documentation and paperworks to be prepared for an industrial environment …”
Lars Reisberg | NO FRILLS SAILING.com: “What was the briefing from Bavaria like? Had they wished for a complete re-design or re-shape of their product range or was it something you came up with?”
Maurizio Cossutti: “No, they gave us complete freedom to propose the new concept. You wouldn´t believe it as it sounds so cheesy, but curiously the very first sketch was drawn on a restaurant paper tablecloth during a dinner! Of course it was completely different from the final concept, but I guess that our open-minded approach to such a complicated task was really appreciated by the people in the shipyard.”
With an Italian touch: Re-inventing Bavaria Yachts
Lars Reisberg | NO FRILLS SAILING.com: “So that´s how it all started. A simple call. Now, Maurizo: From the classic Farr or J&J cruisers it´s a really big, big step to your edgy, very modernistic shapes and lines of the C-line – can you tell the story of how you invented this style? What were the main ideas behind the shapes?”
Maurizio Cossutti: “well, yes: When we started the first meetings with Bavaria´s technical and commercial guys, they presented us a design brief with their requirements. Those were focused on internal and external volumes, which already was a clear departure from their previous CR-line. Of course added to this, they wanted a new, innovative exterior design, possibly suitable to be scaled down to other models of a complete new line. Good sailing performance and seaworthiness are a a staple of our office. And so we started working on all this topics involving all of our team, in particular with my partner Alessandro Ganz, taking care of the new aesthetics, and myself more involved in naval architecture.”
Lars Reisberg | NO FRILLS SAILING.com: “So, what are the design-highlights of the new line? Which are you especially proud of?”
Maurizio Cossutti: “We have to say that up to now there is a common fil rouge going from the first C57 to the latest, the C46. But the individual boats are quite different in many aspects. Whereas all are recognizable as the new Bavaria C-Line. The very first models C57, 45, 50, had a more rounded hull, beamy sterns, but relatively narrow bows, and the characteristic “double level” deck to guarantee internal volumes and generous coachroof. Those aren´t necessarily perceived by the eye, due to the volumes splitting. The second series, after the management change and the ingress of CMP Capital, the C42 and then C38 received a chined hull, and an evolution of the deck design. Alessandro opted for a single level superstructure, but that was not an easy job to keep a nice streamlined appearance. Finally, working on hull height and its chine profile, we introduced a chamfered hull-deck joint. And as such, the end target was finally met! Not to forget to mention another little “breakthrough-solution”: Our a high volume, rounded bow! The marketing team calls it the “Bavaria V-Bow”, resembling modern offshore racers, that of course had an advantage also in terms of internal volumes. Let me add, Lars, that by improving internal volume and comforts of the yachts, at the time we always worked hard to further improve sailing performance! That said, we added much taller masts, refined keel shapes and such. From my point of view, these were key points for our C42 to win the contest for “European Yacht of the Year”, outpacing competitors like Beneteau or Jeanneau.”
Lars Reisberg | NO FRILLS SAILING.com: “That´s an interesting point here, Maurizio: The old J&J-designs as well the Farr-hulls sail very nicely on any point of sail, at least that´s my impression. What´s about your new designs? They have far more volume, huge stems and bow-areas … what are the main sailing characteristics, “chocolate” or preferred sailing-courses and which are the compromises a modern Cossutti-hull asks for?”
Maurizio Cossutti: “Good question! So, before we even started with new Bavaria C-boats, we just went on one full week of sailing and thorough testing of all the previous Cruiser-line yachts in Alachate in Turkey. The aim was to get a clear idea of the good and weak points of those yachts in terms of sailing, layout and structure. Every day sailing out, driving the boats hard, testing and learning. The big challenge for us was to demonstrate that was possible to have more volume inside and on deck and still receive a better performing hull at the same time! For the C Line-models we follow the same procedure we use for racing boats: Checking competitors, trying to be better, refining things with VPP and so on to have good all-round boats. Let me make a guess now: If you sail on a Bavaria C-series, Lars, you will not hope to return to a previous J&J-designs boat!” (smiles)
Polarizing the cruising world?!
Lars Reisberg | NO FRILLS SAILING.com: “Did you anticipate the – let´s say – polarizing impact the launch of the Bavaria C-line would have on the regular customer base of Bavaria?”
Maurizio Cossutti: “Well, you know, when you make such a big change you know there will be many critics, for sure. But there will be also as many new customers appreciating the positive features of the new concept. In this regard, together with yard, we were absolutely convinced of the choice and aligned on target. At the time of the inception of the new boats into the market we often heard from the shipyard that customers were asking whether it really was a Bavaria! Because the design was so modern and cool. So, maybe it is polarizing, but to the vast majority, its polarizing to the good side.”
Lars Reisberg | NO FRILLS SAILING.com: “So your new style managed to attract new customers who would previously think of Bavaria as “outdated”, “boring” and “dusty”, because that – just my personal opinion – seemed to be the problem of the brand back in the day.”
Maurizio Cossutti: “Yes. Partially I have answered to this in the previous point, but one thing was clear from the first meeting with management and investors during the first presentation of the C-line drawings in Cannes: Our main goal had to be in elevating the brand perception with a clear break from the past! Bavaria was and still is known and praised for being reasonably well built with sufficient sailing characteristics. But they were missing a bit of style and this was where the main competitors and the market were going. So: Yes, the new boats indeed attract many sailors who hadn´t have Bavaria on their list before.”
Maurizio Cossutti: “It was a commercial success from the start and now we arrived to the third evolution with the C46: She received an even wider and rounded bow, coupled with a different stern treatment, giving her a more elegant look from the stern and cleaner lines with lower wetted surface. The Cossutti-Ganz design team again introduced more refined details, the hull-deck chamfer was rounded, the bowsprit integrated. Together with other design details and a further step in hydrodynamics and sailplan-study, the boat stunned against all competitors for the “European Yacht of the Year” again, a prize we won convincingly again! Let me re-iterate that Bavaria in all these projects left our office completely free to develop our ideas in close collaboration with the product managers and the technical office. It was a perfect working environment! With them we built and still have a very strong and productive partnership. Moreover, especially for the C46, the interior design done by the yard made a great step forward in creating a super nice interior, but also keeping in mind the needs for industrialization and building times.”
Lars Reisberg | NO FRILLS SAILING.com: “Last question: Is your work for Bavaria concluded? Are you working on “facelifts” or other C-line boats or maybe there is a completely new thing coming up?”
Maurizio Cossutti: “As you know, market dynamics have been slowed down in the past couple of years. That said, the Bavaria management decided to be careful with investments, keeping shipyard in safe waters, and be ready for the market restart. We have a strong relationship with yard management and complete trust in their choices. Of course we are talking about different options, new models, and other options as ideas are flowing and there´s always potentials to improve … so, yes, we will see, Lars.”
Thank you so much for this insight, Maurizio. I am looking forward to meeting you again in person and maybe chat about a new project in the future!
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