Bestevaer 49

[noelex]

These are the commercial Tytec blocks.

They have a Dyneema soft shackle attachment with a leather cover instead of the more traditional stainless steel attachment.

Reducing dissimilar metal contact is important for an aluminium boat. We have reduced the amount of stainless by welding items such as the jib and stailsail track to the deck instead of bolting them on with dozens of fastenings. This also eliminates the chance of leaks, and the track serves as an additional above deck stringer, strengthening the whole structure.

The Dyneema loop also has the advantage that it is quiet. When sleeping, a banging block can keep the off watch crew awake. One of the keys to getting adequate rest offshore is reducing noise. The thick insulation fitted under the deck muffles most sounds, but a banging block can wake the dead.

The Tytec blocks are very well made with proper metal cheeks instead of plastic. They also have very high SWL for their size.

The drawback is the Dyneema straps will need periodic replacement due to chafe and UV perhaps so it helps to marry a Mermaid who can also make Dyneema soft shackles .

We have tried hard to reduce the maintenance and periodic replacement of components on this boat. Attaching blocks with Dyneema is more along the racing philosophy of reducing weight. At first glance it appears against the ethos of bullet proof and reliable, but I think with an aluminium boat it is a sensible compromise.

In addition to the tracks for the genoa and staysail, the toerail on top of the bulwark is immensely strong. As well, there is a multitude of aluminium handrails and pad eyes scattered around the deck. This allows multiple attachment points for blocks with a Dyneema loop attachment, permitting the ideal sheeting angle.

The Tytec blocs are beautiful, and lightweight for the strength achieved, but not as robust the custom designed KM hardware. Sadly It is not cost effective to custom produce these smaller blocks

 

[gregcope]

Please can you provide details of mermaid storage. I am sure it is as well thought through as the rest of your build.

Very interesting thread. More please.

PS where do you get the leather from?

 

[prv]

PS where do you get the leather from?

When I had a gaffer, with various wear surfaces protected with greased leather, I bought it from Classic Marine.

Pete

 

[noelex]

Please can you provide details of mermaid storage. I am sure it is as well thought through as the rest of your build.

Very interesting thread. More please.

PS where do you get the leather from?

Thanks.

Mermaids cost much more to run than boats .

The protective covering (I think it is leather) on the Dyneema is standard on some of the TyeTec blocks.

Leather is useful for chafe protection. A good source for thin cheap leather like this is old ladies handbags. These can be found at jumble sales for next to nothing, cut up they make nice chafe protection pads.

 

[noelex]

Some of the other deck hardware. The first picture shows the beefy Antal V Grip Maxi clutches. The second photo shows the Antal halyard slider and Spinlock XX clutch. One advantage of a custom boatbuilder is that you not locked into using equipment from one manufacturer and can pick and choose the best equipment for the job. So we have chosen deck hardware from Anderson, Antal, Spinlock, Seldane, Tye Tec and Harken. KM will fit whatever equipment you prefer so lets hope our choices have been sensible.

 

[noelex]

The tiller is beautifully constructed in anodised aluminium. The round handle portion extends with an ingenious twist lock mechanism if you want to helm sitting further forward with some protection from the rigid dodger that extends from the rear of the pilothouse.

 

[Boo2]

The tiller is beautifully constructed in anodised aluminium...

A tiller-steered 49 footer ?

Boo2

 

[noelex]

As you point out Boo2, tiller steering is not common on larger yachts, but I think it is a good choice.

The original 53 foot Bestevaer designed by and built for the famous yacht designer Gerard Dijkstra as his personal exploration yacht was tiller steered. Since then about half the Bestevaer boats ordered have been tiller steered including the larger 53 and 55 foot versions. The other 50% owners have chosen wheel steering.

Our previous 47 foot aluminium boat was tiller steered and we found it worked well so we had no hesitation ordering our new boat with the same system.

There are of course pros and cons, but tiller steering has the advantage that there is little to go wrong which is reassuring in those situations where a jammed rudder could be catastrophic. The reality is that a boat like this is normally steered by autopilot but for those times when you want to have some fun, tiller steering gives a wonderfully direct response. The loads are light for normal sailing. A visiting five year old steered our old boat for many hours (despite his young age he was a keen Optimist sailor) without any problems.

The only time the loads are high is in reverse, where a firm hand is needed, but the tiller is helpful for manoeuvring in a marina as it very quick to swing from lock to lock and the angle of the rudder is always obvious.

Most of the large Dutch working sailing boats, which are common in this area, are tiller steered. Some of these skûtsjes are up to 20 metres in length and are heavy displacement gaff rigged yachts so there is no need to be afraid of tiller steering on even large boats. Over the years there seems to have developed the incorrect perception that larger yachts need to be wheel steered. Experienced sailors visiting our old boat would always comment how light the steering was.

Many of the newer large, long distance racing boats such as the open 60s are now using tiller steering and hopefully this will convince boatbuilders to at least offer the option of tiller steering in some of their larger models.

Not our boat just a much larger tiller steered example:

 

[Ric]

+1 for tiller steering on a large cruising yacht. Less to go wrong, better feel when helming (depending on rudder design of course). Plus most of the time the autopilot is steering so why have the cockpit encumbered by one or two huge wheels and pedestals. Also the cockpit layout can have winches and instruments further forward, under the coaming or spray hood, where they are better protected and more convenient if you are sailing short-handed so spend time below.

A friend of mine who enjoyed hand-steering a lot had an autopilot disconnect trigger built into the underside of the tiller so that when he needed to drop the tiller to attend to something else, the autopilot would automatically engage. He could then resume hand-steering just by grabbing the tiller again.

 

[Kelpie]

If thr rudder is well enough balanced, then why not?
My dillema would be choosing between a spade+tiller, and a stronger but unbalanced skeg hung rudder that needs a wheel.

What's the rudder arrangement like on the Bestevaer?

 

[noelex]

What's the rudder arrangement like on the Bestevaer?

We went for a very overbuilt spade rudder. The rudder shaft is a whopping 130mm in diameter and the rudder itself has oversized 8mm skins with an additional central 5mm plate, which is surrounded by the ribs that are 15mm thick.

The rudder is stronger than most keels.

Of course it is pointless having a strong rudder if the hull is weaker than the rudder in the area surrounding it, so our rudder tube is heavily supported inside the hull by the keelson, stringers and frames, together with a web of bracing.

The whole rudder assembly is in the lazerette which has a full height waterproof bulkhead separating this area from the rest of the boat.

There is also an emergency rudder that can be attached to the transom.

I think the concerns about rudder construction are very valid. Rudders are a common failure point. Some of the rather flimsy spade rudders fitted to some modern boats are the worst offenders, but skeg hung rudders are only as strong as the skegs and many of these are not particularly well constructed. I think it was Bob Perry who famously said something along the lines that on many boats the skegs are held in place by the rudder rather than the other way around .

This oversizing also has the advantage that the Jefa rudder bearings are very under stressed and therefore should have a long and trouble free life. The rudder bearing required for this sized shaft has a maximum working load of 16600 kg. I hope our rudder never needs to support this force

We asked Dykstra to design as strong a rudder as possible while maintaining the advantages of a spade rudder. I think they have succeeded in making a rudder that is stronger than most skeg hung rudders.

This is the internal structure showing the reinforcing the lower rudder tube. It is difficult to gauge the size of the rudder tube and scantlings from the photo, but it a super strong rudder.

 

[noelex]

Tank mode .

We specified the provision for external fastenings around each of the pilot house windows.

These serve multiple purposes:

1. Attachment of shade cloth to serve as external shades.

2. Attachment of polycarbonate external windows. These can act as additional insulation with a double glazing effect or be tinted for tropical cruising in very hot climates. Polycarbonate is easy to cut with a jigsaw so these are a simple DIY project.

3. Aluminium "storm" shutters. These are simple sheets of aluminium. We specified thick glass windows that are very unlikely to ever break, but if this does occur these aluminium sheets are easily attached to seal the broken window. They can also be used when leaving the boat for long periods to provide UV protection and to stop prying eyes seeing the equipment inside and also to increase security from flying debris in hurricane conditions.

This photo shows a trial fitting of the storm shutters. All we need is big forward gun to complete the scene .

 

[prv]

I can't see you breaking that little lot :encouragement:

On the window fastenings - how are these done? I presume female threaded stainless inserts to take bolts (for outer windows), wing-bolts (for fast-fitting emergency shutters), or possibly eye-bolts to tie the fabric shades to? Some people seem to opt for protruding male threads which spend most of their time acting as defensive spikes to anyone walking past

Pete

 

[noelex]

They are simple female threads that will take metric bolts, so there is nothing to snag.

These are easily incorporated in the building stage, but would be hard to add later. I think they will be useful, although probably more as a means to attach external shade than anything else. Still, it is nice to know an opening can be quickly sealed if the worst happens.

 

[jonjo7]

Noelex I would be interested to hear what your calculations are for tank capacity and cruising independence in cold high latitudes.

Do you have a predicted heating fuel consumption rate for when daily temperatures are below 10 degrees?

 

[noelex]

The original specifications were for 860 litres of fuel. 2 x 400 main tanks and a 60 l day tank. Since the original specifications, we moved the grey water tank, which enabled the port fuel tank to be extended giving more capacity, but the exact gain has not been calculated.

The best way is of course to fill the tanks and see exactly what they will take, but we should have a reasonable fuel capacity.

Sorry I don't know the likely consumption of the Refleks heater at different temperatures. Perhaps someone can chime in with an estimation. Most of the equipment specified for the yacht is gear that we have used in our 10 years of cruising and has proven reliable, but we have never owned a boat with heating.

We did question owners about their experiences with the Refleks and all reports were positive. Many of the Bestevear owners cruise arctic waters so there is lot of experience. Owners praised its reliability, minimal maintenance and the benefits of no electricity consumption. The only negative was the need for some care when lighting, especially when inexperienced. The danger is with too much initial fuel it could become very hot before the starting fuel is consumed.

One of the owners has recently designed and developed his own heater, which sounds like it will be an advancement on the Refleks. It was too late to incorporate into our build, but may be worth looking into if you are considering a drip diesel heating system.

 

[Yngmar]

Apologies if this came up already (longish but interesting thread), but why no fixed (tube) guardrails? Worried about bending them?

 

[noelex]

Yes, it is a good question and something we debated about. Fixed tubes do add to the security.

In the end we decided with this boat the combination of high bulwarks, deep cockpit, extensive handrails and the rear solar arch (which provides a solid brace at the rear) meant that solid guard rails were less necessary and in the end we felt the drawbacks (just) outweighed the advantages.

One advantage of the tough aluminium skin and rub rail is that docking accidents, or another boat dragging into us are unlikely to do any damage. The stanchion bases are very solid, welded through the deck and cross braced underneath so the stanchions themselves are the weak point and will normally bend first. Bent stautions are easily replaced (in fact we asked KM to supply a couple of extras), but a fixed handrail is lot more work to restore back to new. On an aluminium boat it is helpful to minimise the amount of dissimilar metals. Conventional stanchion can be rigged with dyneema lifelines so the amount of stainless steel is minimal.

KM isolate the stainless steel stanchions from electrical contact with the deck so in theory a solid stainless hand rail should not be in electrical contact with the deck, but in practice is always difficult to obtain complete long term isolation and a solid rail is a much greater mass of stainless steel than stanchions with Dyneema lifelines.

KM have also fitted a great sliding tether system to some of their yachts that was very appealing. Basically a long traveller running the full length of the deck that you could clip onto with only a short line. With this it is possible to walk the length of the deck while remaining clipped on a very short line. In the end, the multitude of stainless fastenings and difficulty of fitting such a system with no deck penetrations meant we elected for the simpler conventional approach.

Our previous aluminium boat had relatively high bulwarks and together with the slightly higher conventional wire lifelines we felt more secure when going forward than on most yachts. The new boat has duplicated or exceeded all the good features so I am sure we will happy with the security, but there is no perfect answer.

 

[noelex]

The Refleks heater. There is a matt finish stainless steel handrail/drying rail, drip tray and heat shield.

 

[prv]

Never mind the heater - Refleks is a Refleks - I'm admiring the rest of the interior visible in the background. That's a beautiful boat you have there.

What's going in the square section of the drip-tray behind the heater? Local diesel tank or something?

Pete