Owner gets preview of his Bavaria Vision 44

by Jane Pares, International Marine Brokers on 12 Oct 2006 It’s a very unique happening when an owner gets to go below on his new boat before it leaves the factory – when it’s a production boat - due to the nature of the process. But Neil Stanley and his partner Alison Verazoni were rapt to be shown aboard their new boat at the Bavaria factory in Southern Germany last week.

Neil had placed an order in June with International Marine Brokers in New Zealand, for one of the new Bavaria Vision 44s and will take delivery in early December in Auckland.

Norman Gee of International Marine Brokers flew over to Germany at the end of September, to take Neil and Alison to both the Bavaria Factory and the Friedrichshafen Boat Show.

They were given a very warm welcome at the factory by the Bavaria management team, who they’d met the previous weekend at the Boat Show, and shown the boat production process in great detail. Neil, as an extremely experienced engineer himself in the world of car design and production, was able to talk ‘shop’ with the Bavaria team and was very impressed by the facilities.

All members of the team are extremely proud of the production facility and a friendly, industrious atmosphere permeates the entire operation. As a private company there is a strong sense of belonging to a Bavaria family.

Towards the end of their tour, they ended up outside the factory and Mike Reuer, the General Sales Manager, looked at Neil as he pointed to a Vision 44 lined up for shipping out, 'The next time you’ll see that boat will be in New Zealand!' Neil and Alison’s faces lit up in amazement! Climbing all over their boat they couldn’t believe how lucky they were to see her fresh from the factory – talk about service!

This was certainly a one-off event and timing was everything! Plus the fact that she was the first one ordered for NZ. This is definitely not normal practice when buying a production boat! Despite the strict disciplines necessary at the Bavaria Factory, they went out of their way to make the yacht available for our inspection.

Innovative features on the Vision include a folding transom seat providing access to the boarding platform and a new profile, deep draft lead keel. She is a very beamy boat and carries it all the way aft. The cockpit layout is, as always, spacious and has the added feature of moulded decks at the helm stations.

Neil’s Vision 44 arrives in November and will be seen on the water from December onwards.

If you are interested in sailing a Bavaria Yacht, then you are welcome to join us in Westhaven Marina on Sat 14th or Sun 15th Oct. Please call the office for more details – 09 366 6165 or Jane on 021 517 568 or visit our website www.internationalmarine.co.nz