Bestevaer 49

[noelex]

Sight tubes are a great option, but they can only be used where there is access to the side of the tank with a protected space to mount a reasonably delicate tube. It is also worth considering the humble dip stick.

Sight tubes work well for diesel tanks, but tend to develop algal growth when used on water tanks and they cannot be used, unless you are very brave , for grey and black water tanks, although some use translucent tanks which serves the same purpose.

An alternative to a sight tube, but working on the same principal are the sight glasses. The advantage is the fuel level can be seen continuously without opening any valves and they are still visible from a reasonable distance away. The drawback is that the fuel level is only shown roughly (depending on the number of sight glasses).

We have had three sight glasses installed on our diesel day tank. These only show a crude indication of the fuel level, unlike the tank tender that has a very fine scale, but their purpose is only to act as back up in the unlikely event the Tank Tender fails.

This is a sight glass:

This is from another Bestevaer, but their diesel day tank is very similar to ours. You can see the three sight glasses on the left hand side:

 

[noelex]

Fuel fill:

There are a great number of small details that go into yacht specification. I dislike the commonly used flush deck fuel fill used on many yachts. It relies entirely on an "O" ring seal to prevent deck water from entering the diesel tank(s).

Another alternative is to place the fill somewhere protected in the cockpit, but it can be hard to find a suitable spot, especially one that will still allow the use of a filtering funnel.

This design was suggested by KM. It allows the fill to remain on deck, but the pipe is raised above most of the water and the seal is is more substantial.

The water fill has deliberately been left as the conventional flush fill and the bulwark has no low drainage openings forward of it. This allows rainwater to be collected from the deck. The risk of a small amount of salt water entering the fresh water supply worries me less than water in fuel, especially as we have three water tanks and a watermaker.

 

[Zing]

Fuel fill:

There are a great number of small details that go into yacht specification. I dislike the commonly used flush deck fuel fill used on many yachts. It relies entirely on an "O" ring seal to prevent deck water from entering the diesel tank(s).

Another alternative is to place the fill somewhere protected in the cockpit, but it can be hard to find a suitable spot, especially one that will still allow the use of a filtering funnel.

This design was suggested by KM. It allows the fill to remain on deck, but the pipe is raised above most of the water and the seal is is more substantial.



The water fill has deliberately been left as the conventional flush fill and the bulwark has no low drainage openings forward of it. This allows rainwater to be collected from the deck. The risk of a small amount of salt water entering the fresh water supply worries me less than water in fuel, especially as we have three water tanks and a watermaker.

You could put a ball valve in the water fill hose to guarantee no leak. Belt and braces.

 

[noelex]

We have had numerous handholds installed both inside and outside the boat. These are mostly aluminium tubes on the outside and stainless steel on the inside.

The primary purpose is to ensure there is always a place to grab on, important especially in a larger boat with a reasonably open interior plan. As well as their intended function, these rails serve as great mounting points for tablets, drink holders, monitors etc. The modern mounting systems such as RAM mounts are very versatile and enable virtually any moderately sized equipment to clamped securely to a rail. With many different sized arms, the attached device can be positioned to the ideal orientation. These are easy to relocate with a wide choice of fixed and removable clamps.

I think in addition to the normal chart plotter, we will have a couple of iPads clamped to to the rail just inside the companionway hatch. There is an overhang here creating a sheltered doghouse behind the pilot house, so I think the tablets might even be OK without any waterproof cover in most conditions. The roof also helps with sunlight visibility, which is one of the limitations of the tablet displays. The iPads can be used to display an alternative electronic mapping system (such as Navionics), mirror the chart plotter display (radar and charts and instruments) or mirror the Vesper AIS display.

This was a trial clamping one of our old iPads to the handhold just inside the companionway. This is a high position and I think it might be better lower, but one of the benefits of this sort of clamping system is that it can easily be moved.

 

[vas]

Fuel fill:

There are a great number of small details that go into yacht specification. I dislike the commonly used flush deck fuel fill used on many yachts. It relies entirely on an "O" ring seal to prevent deck water from entering the diesel tank(s).

Another alternative is to place the fill somewhere protected in the cockpit, but it can be hard to find a suitable spot, especially one that will still allow the use of a filtering funnel.

This design was suggested by KM. It allows the fill to remain on deck, but the pipe is raised above most of the water and the seal is is more substantial.

The water fill has deliberately been left as the conventional flush fill and the bulwark has no low drainage openings forward of it. This allows rainwater to be collected from the deck. The risk of a small amount of salt water entering the fresh water supply worries me less than water in fuel, especially as we have three water tanks and a watermaker.

nice detailing noelex. Keep on thinking that most of the mobo water in fuel and bug issues come from the flush mounted diesel filling points seen on most premium brands! Mine is hidden under the step from aft deck to side deck and there's no way in hell water is getting there...
How is that going to work with barefeet moving about, isn't there a danger of breaking small toes on it? Is it hidden somewhere that you're not meant to walk by, or am I missing something?

A few more built pics wouldn't go amiss!

cheers

V.

 

[Neeves]

After the rousing support you gave the Mantus anchor, to the exclusion of almost everything else, I am assuming you are installing another, or even the same, Mantus. You mentioned there was an issue with the bowsprit fouling the roll bar, of the Mantus and I assume other roll barred anchors, but that the builder was sure he could overcome the issue. With your unquestionable support for your favourite model I am sure you have encouraged the builder to resolve the issue to your satisfaction as I cannot think you will be happy with what you considered previously as 'second best'.

From another post, or maybe another but similar thread, I recall the yacht should be launched in October so assume the bowsprit/anchor issue has been resolved - it would be odd to launch without an anchor! and even more odd not to have resolved the bowsprit issue.

So what was the eventual outcome - many bought a Mantus on your recommendations - and I am sure they will be pleased to see you continuing your support and maybe question if you change camps. Many will also be pleased to see how the bowsprit/bow roller were modified to accommodate a roll bar.

Jonathan

 

[noelex]

You could put a ball valve in the water fill hose to guarantee no leak. Belt and braces.

Mine is hidden under the step from aft deck to side deck and there's no way in hell water is getting there...

These are all good solutions that should be much more waterproof than the traditional flush deck fill. Hopefully boatbuilders will more frequently adopt some of these ideas on production blue water boats. The solutions are not expensive.

How is that going to work with barefeet moving about, isn't there a danger of breaking small toes on it?

Deck safety has been a consideration. The a high bulwark/toe rail, plenty of handholds, and reasonably high lifelines should make it a safe boat. Eliminating all the potential toe snubbers is difficult on a yacht. Cruising almost 365 days a years we have found you learn where the hazards are and avoid them, without thinking, even at night. It is more of a concern for those boats that frequently have new crew, such as charter boats for example. It does take a while on a new boat to learn the safest way to move forward.

As well as the fuel deck fills there is plenty of other raised deck gear on our boat such as lots of handholds, chain stopper, large non retractable cleats, raised hatches and even tie down points for wind scoops and storm covers around the hatches. While these are potential toe snubbers they serve as good spots to brace a foot when heeled over.

The modern flush hatches, minimal toe rail, retractable cleats mean there is nothing to snub your toe. It also gives the yacht a beautiful and racy low profile, but especially when going from the mast to the bow across a wet and angled foredeck, there not many places where your feet can a get some grip.

 

[noelex]

So what was the eventual outcome

There is still a lot of work to be done on the boat and a myriad of details to sort out so we are no further along with the anchor than the last couple of times you have asked.

We need the retractable bow sprit before we can start trial fitting the anchor and I am not sure on the timeline for that at the moment, but I am reasonably confident that the Mantus will fit fine.

 

[ianabc]

1. I had a 12 inch high standpipe welded to the metal deck INSIDE a deck locker at the bow end of the cabin. Tight diesel seal and inside the locker.

2. Float gauge stainless steel as used in commercial storage and truck tanks works for me as a diesel gauge in the day tank and main tank. Inexpensive and corrosion and leak proof. Just like the gauge in an outboard tank but much deeper and in stainless

 

[Mister E]

Can I ask what sort of heating system you are going to use?

 

[noelex]

Can I ask what sort of heating system you are going to use?

Certainly. It will be a Reflex drip diesel heater. Model 2000K.

Unlike the hot air systems like Webesto, the drip fed units use no power. They are very simple and reliable, but often difficult to fit unless the boat has been designed with a suitable location for the flue.

 

[Mister E]

Thanks for the reply you make a very good point about designing these thing in from the start so that you get what you want.

I presume that the heater will be in the main cabin so will you be heating the other cabins?

 

[noelex]

I presume that the heater will be in the main cabin so will you be heating the other cabins?

The Reflex is centrally located. This, combined with a very well insulated hull and reasonably open plan, means we are hopeful that the heat distribution will be acceptable.

I was tempted to add heat to the shower, but this adds a fair bit of complication as the hot water has to be piped through a waterproof bulkhead.

We have tried hard to make the boat as simple as possible. Too many complicated boats end up waiting for repairs and the owners end up spending their time fixing instead of enjoying. There are some luxury touches, but these are backed up with redundant systems. For example, like our previous yacht we will be fitting a water maker, but we also have large water tanks and a system to collect rainwater from the deck.

 

[Neeves]

And which water maker have you fitted? and why?

 

[noelex]

The watermaker has not been fitted yet. It is something we are installing ourselves. KM have installed the through hulls. These are all on standpipes that raise the seacock 200mm above the waterline, removing the risk of a leaking seacock sinking the boat.

KM have also installed a large aluminium shelf with a raised waterproof lip to catch any drips.

We had a Spectra unit on our previous yacht and it was brilliant. I estimate it made over 60,000 L of water for us and the only service needed was filters and one feed water pump. So it will be a Spectra unit again, but probably the next size up (as we have more solar), which is the Cape Horn model.

 

[Neeves]

The watermaker has not been fitted yet. It is something we are installing ourselves. KM have installed the through hulls. These are all on standpipes that raise the seacock 200mm above the waterline, removing the risk of a leaking seacock sinking the boat.

KM have also installed a large aluminium shelf with a raised waterproof lip to catch any drips.

We had a Spectra unit on our previous yacht and it was brilliant. I estimate it made over 60,000 L of water for us and the only service needed was filters and one feed water pump. So it will be a Spectra unit again, but probably the next size up (as we have more solar), which is the Cape Horn model.

Thanks

And the next question was:

How are you to generate power? Obviously 'some' solar (but how much) and what else?

Living in the 21st Century, on a yacht, demands an ability to use and charge an increasing number of electronic devices and more mundane items like washing machines, bread makers and water makers and even boring items like autopilot and radar. I'm of the sobering experience that it does not matter how much generation capacity you have - it will always be too little (but having a clutch of granddaughters does not help).

 

[noelex]

Solar, a bit over 1000w, will be the main source of power. There are also a couple of large alternators (that are yet to be fitted).

 

[Neeves]

No WattnSea, or equivalent?

We have found our Aqua4gen (no longer available) - but there are alternatives and WattnSea are a more impressive iteration (at a cost) - has been invaluable on longer passages especially overnight when everything is running (autopilot, radar, nav lights, fridge, freezer etc, etc). We have 650w solar, wind gen OR aquagen, and 400amphr house - but on a gloomy Tasmanian day we would not survive reliant on solar. We have a 150 and 60 alternator - but they (or the engines) as noisy (and use diesel).

 

[Neeves]

You did not seem to have much luck with your previous chain (issues of galvanising, or lack of) - what have you gone with (supplier, size, length and grade) and what focussed that choice? Will you carry a spare rode?

And noting you have an initial Baltic focus - what ground tackle, extra, or focussed for Baltic cruising will you carry to allow to for Baltic mooring/anchoring.

Edit:

There is an article pending in SAIL on Baltic and higher latitude anchoring in the near future - but it will be well after your commissioning is over I fear.

Close edit.

 

[noelex]

I had a great time today hooking up all the new toys, sorry I mean important instruments in the workshop at home. We are fitting most of the navigation instruments ourselves, although KM are installing the equipment that needs engineering such as the autopilot drive and radar dome.

I have fitted instruments to several yachts and enjoy the work. It is also much easier to troubleshoot when you have put the system together personally.

KM have been very accommodating. A boat like this takes a long time to build, but part of the pleasure is regular visits that allow us to see the details unfold and plan things such as where instruments will be installed.

We sometimes just sit with a beer in the half finished pilot house and imagine the adventures to come .

The proper installation should be a bit neater than this .