BAVARIA - TEST CENTEr
The work of Frank Seuffert and his team
colleague Joshua Meffle is not just boating,
56
on the contrary. In addition to carrying
out the practical tests, they are also
responsible for the certification of all Bavaria
yachts, and what this in the first
place means, is a lot of paperwork and
time in the office. "We are more or less the
interface between the project managers
for the individual models at the factory on
the one hand and the inspectors of the
Germanischer Lloyd on the other," explains
Seuffert. "We moderate, so to
speak, the process of CE certification and
other requirements. We create the technical
documentation, schedule appointments
and much more - the GL inspector
comes to the shipyard three or four times
for a type approval."
In addition, the two take care of the manuals
and specifications for each yacht.
The manuals must not only be created,
but also kept up-to-date - if something is
changed in the production of a yacht, this
must also be taken into account in the
manual. And the specifications for individual
boats are often needed by dealers
beforehand. The two also answer technical
questions from dealers or customers:
"Sometimes we feel like the extended arm
of customer service," Seuffert laughs
cheerfully.
But what happens in the test center?
After all, Seuffert and Meffle spend 30 to
40 percent of their working time here by
the Main and mostly on the river itself. All
prototypes of new models are checked
here: motors, functioning, trim, systems,
everything is tested completely. In the
case of sailing yachts, the masts are placed,
a heeling test is done. They also
check whether all the shrouds and bottle
screws fit perfectly and if everything on
the rig is correct.
In the case of motor boats, the propeller
adjustment is important: Which propellers
drive the boats as fast as possible and
with what consumption? This is quite different
depending on the engine, the
weight and the load, so it is all about finding
the best propeller for every model
and engine. This is not so dramatic with
the sailing yachts, even with a displacement
yacht like the Bavaria E40. It is a
completely different issue with planing
yachts. There the propeller has to be absolutely
perfect so that they plane at the
correct speed and do not cease planing
unexpectedly. This is not a simple task,
since such boats are rather weight-sensitive
and a propeller has to be chosen
which is optimal as an all-rounder in both
empty as well as fully loaded yachts.
A challenging job - what do you have to
know to pull it off? Frank Seuffert says,
"Above all a lot of practical experience
with boats," says Frank Seuffert, "and a
technical background." He has been with
Bavaria since 2000, is a shop mechanic,
carrosserie builder,an Industrial Master in
metalwork, and he also has all the usual
boat driving licenses. At Bavaria Yachts he
first worked in production, then as technical
consultant in customer service and
now for four years as head of the test
centre and certification department. His
colleague Joshua Meffle is a mechatronics
engineer and grew up with boats
on Lake Constance. "Practical engine
experience and technical knowledge are
important for the tests, but also for
practical operation", he says: "When a
warning lamp lights up or the engine cuts
out, we can usually fix it ourselves!"
In addition to the test drives on the Main,
tests are also conducted out on the open
sea, which is then mostly on location with
the larger distributors, for example on
the Baltic Sea, in the Adriatic Sea or in
the South of England. "With the large
Bavaria C57 it would have been a bit of
a tight fit here in the test centre," says
Seuffert, "with that one we spent a whole
week testing her in Portoroz, Slovenia."