For Sale: Songbird

Songbird is a sloop-rigged centre cockpit Bavaria 40 Ocean, built in 2000/2001 in Giebelstadt, Germany.

For sale by owner, currently located in Cartagena, Spain (berth paid until mid April). EU VAT paid, German flagged.

SOLD

Interested? Contact us!

Songbird at anchor

Songbird has been in our ownership since 2015, and after a thorough refit we've been liveaboard cruising in Atlantic and Mediterranean Europe. The boat is a great design for this, one of the best layouts we've seen, and we toured quite a few boats. Not only that, the "Ocean" series compares very well to other boats in ease of access, which makes them much easier to maintain, with a spacious engine room and accessible routing of cables and plumbing. The boat is very sturdy and has many upgrades over the charter "Cruiser" models, including a lead keel (instead of constantly rusting iron), massive stainless steel cleats, a layout optimized for providing comfort for a small crew instead of packing in lots of guests and a very spacious galley ideal for cooking proper meals at anchor or underway. It also has standing height for tall folk and a big bed where your feet won't dangle off the bottom.

This boat has seen us safely through anything from bashing upwind in a sudden gale to breaking speed records running from a Medicane on passage between Greece and Sicily. We've been upgrading and adjusting things for optimal performance over the years and have been cruising until Winter 2022, so everything is fully working and the winter maintenance already done.

We've removed the failing old teak deck (a major liability on many boats) and this is now done, restoring the original patterned gelcoat deck underneath. The deck still looks grey while the sun finishes off the remaining adhesive. This will happen on its own, with just the routine deck cleaning (see comparison photo below). The only outstanding work at the next haulout is a few hours of abrading the Coppercoat, which as per manufacturer instructions is due after 5 years and fixing up some spots on the rudder. The necessary supplies are already on board.

Deck after teak removal, and 2 years later. Expect in another year or two, the remaining adhesive is gone (also based on another Bavaria owner's report).

I have done all the maintenance and upgrades myself and know the boat inside out and am happy to do a thorough handover and be available for questions/advice after purchase. I also happen to be the operator of bavariayacht.org, where you can find lots more advice from other Bavaria owners.

Engine during timing belt replacement, front cover open.

We're still staying onboard, which means the boat is full of our belongings. The plan is to put these into storage here if a buyer is found and hand over the boat minus our personal belonging and tools, but with all the boat specific spare parts and cruising kit, as we're looking to move back on land and won't have another boat for the time being. This is a great opportunity to get a boat that is ready for cruising, with everything already set up. And located perfectly for either going into the Med or off to Atlantic adventures.

Cartagena, winter 2022/23.
View off the bow, at anchor in the Baleares.

Highlights

Side view, summer 2022. Mermaid not included.
Stern view, summer 2022.

The very safe and dry cockpit is ideal for short- or single-handed sailing, with the boom-end mainsheet directly behind the helm seat and the primary winches in easy reach too. Everything can be controlled from the secure and dry centre-cockpit, with a canvas sprayhood on top of the tempered glass windscreen and an optional Bimini or cockpit-tent to suit weather conditions.

Cockpit at anchor, bimini up, drink in hand.
Binnacle with instruments, radar (covered) and outdoor-proof OpenCPN tablet. No speed record that day!
Keel view, summer 2022. Fishies not included, but usually around.
Rudder, starboard side, summer 2022.
Rudder, port side, summer 2022. Note aforementioned spots (not blisters).

The cabin layout is suited for 1-4 people living aboard whilst cruising: An extra-long central double bed in the aft-cabin, with another spacious double-cabin forward. Starboard of the engine room is the head, with separate shower/wet-locker area. This has doors on both ends, so is accessible from the companionway for use underway as well as from the aft cabin when resting. The galley is on the opposite pass-through, with a large workspace, storage lockers, double sink, cooker/oven, microwave and enourmous top-access fridge with storage baskets. Between them is a spacious engine room with large doors in front, aft and galley, offering excellent access to engine and saildrive as well as ample storage for tools and spares. Some owners have fitted a washing machine and/or generator in this area instead.

All seacocks replaced with Tru-Design composite with load-bearing collars. Immune to corrosion, electrolysis, dezincification and acids. Maintenance free and never need replacing again.

Hull

Glass-reinforced polyester covered in a thick layer of white gelcoat (with blue stripes). Airex foam core above the waterline and much of the deck. Kevlar reinforced bow. Embedded aluminium plates for bolting on winches, rope clutches, etc.

Propulsion

Main sail, in-mast furling (Selden Furlin) with short, vertical battens, leech line, telltales.

Ground Tackle

Electrical

Electronics

Pilot books, cruising guides, Hayes manual for engine, all included.

Safety

Chirp is Songbird's tender, which folds up and stows on the toerail. Suzuki 2.5 DF outboard also included (now with running cover).

Dinghy

Other

Small example of spare parts that come with the boat. Also Engine starter motor, fresh water and raw water pump, control panel, rigging spares and lots more for self-sufficient cruising.

History

Broker photos of Songbird from circa 2012, showing the bare boat before any upgrades/modifications.

Downloads

Bow cabin, looking forward. Under bed is a huge storage area and in the tip an extra water tank.
Bow cabin, looking aft to main bulkhead. Storage cupboards both sides and under small seat.
Salon with laptop on raised swivel arm. Fold leaf table, starboard side folded down. Storage under and behind seats (some taken up by batteries and electronics)
Galley, with cooker cover closed. Microwave above cooker. Fridge on the right. Food net above. Storage cupboards/drawers above and below counter.
Head with diverter valve sea/tank (gravity drained). Shower doubles as wet locker, there's also a transom shower.
Aft cabin with huge double bed, settee and lockers either side, plus extra shelving and storage behind and under seats. Tanks under bed. LED reading lights. Center door gives access into transom to steering system, shower and diesel heater.
Aft cabin, portside view, showing one of the seats, shelving, large locker and LED ceiling light.
Cockpit tent zips to sprayhood. Perfect in winter and can sit outside when it's wet. Ignore sponge drying on boom!

Interested? Contact us!

February 2023: Fresh coat of varnish and cockpit teak refreshed

More photos from March 2023

Interested? Contact us!