Bestevaer 49

We wrestled a bit with the design of the stainless steel drip tray. Despite being harder to make we felt it needed a round front matching the curve of the heater, both for aesthetic reasons and because we will be walking past. The sharp edge of a square tray would not be ideal.

Despite the fashion trend of square corners on newer boats, we think curves look nicer and function better.

The curve left an awkward area between the drip tray and the drinks cabinet next to the heater. Extending the tray to the cabinet filled the gap neatly and at the same time increased the volume of the drip tray, which helps if diesel ever leaks out of the carburettor.

The tray has been beautifully made by KM with thick solid edges that have been welded together rather than the simpler folded stainless sheet construction commonly used.
 
noelex said:
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.

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The late great Philippe Harlé was against skegs. He said that there was a risk of the skeg blocking the rudder in the case of a shunt but that a spade might continue to function even if the stock were bent.
 
noelex said:
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.
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Did you consider Aluminium for the Stanchions and if so, would you mind explaining the reason(s) for your eventual choice?

Oh btw, did you decide on the genset model yet?! :p (Yes I've followed your thread on CF too. Congrats for staying true to your principles and what's shaping up to be a mighty fine machine)
 
Yes we did consider aluminium stanchions, if fact they were in the original specifications. We changed back to stainless because the isolation incorporated by KM between the aluminium and stainless was very well done and with Dyneema lifelines the amount of dissimilar metals not great.

WhiskeyTownRacer said:
Oh btw, did you decide on the genset model yet?! :p
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:).
 
Pilothouse windows:

The pilothouse windows are thick tempered glass. This is the most durable solution that is least likely to give future problems.

Modern fashions dictate the edges of these types of windows are hidden behind internal furniture trim. The streamlined flush appearance looks great, but if there are any leaks sometimes major surgery is needed before the windows can be accessed.

We wanted a simple bolt on internal flange that would make future rebedding or even replacment of windows easy. The drawback is that it is difficult to make this sensible and workmanlike solution look attractive.

In the end I think KM have done a great job. They used an anodised aluminium plate so there are no dissimilar metals. The 5mm plate is proper marine grade 5083 aluminium so there should not be any corrosion problems associated with the simple aluminium extrusions that are frequently used. The thick flange and multitude of bolts keeps the windows secure with even pressure.

The flange of the windows has become, I think, a feature of our pilothouse interior. When done well, these types of engineering details do not need to be hidden behind trim.

One Bestevaer owner even specified a glass floor in the pilothouse above the engine, so anything is possible.

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I trust the windows are double glazed. Mine weren't originally, and used to suffer badly with condensation in a cold climate.
 
Double glazing is great for reducing condensation, but after a lot of research and talking to owners we went for single glazed windows.

Unfortunately, even with the best quality double glazing there were too many reports of moisture becoming trapped between the panes, inside the window. The only solution seems to be to replace the window. We have nine windows in the pilothouse and this increases the chance that at least one would develop problems long term. Double glazing is very trouble free on houses, but boats are subject to more vibration, shock loads and moisture, so reliability suffers.

While we designed the windows to be removed, we have, above all, tried to design a boat that will be as trouble free as possible. With a large boat such as this, it is easy to end up with complex systems where a lot of time is spent fixing problems rather than enjoying new places.

The outside of our windows has the provision for easy attachment of storm shutters, shade, or an additional polycarbonate layer. The latter can be used to create a double glazing effect without the potential long term problems of permanently trapped moisture. If storing the boat for long periods the storm shutters will also create an air gap that will reduce condensation while away from the boat.

The ceiling hatches also have provision for the easy attachment of an external cover (which can be insulated with some foam). In hot climates the same attachment points will be used for wind scoops. Internally, a polycarbonate layer can also be easily added to help reduce condensation problems and fly screens can be added as well.

Condensation is a big problem especially for people such as ourselves that cruise full time in different climates. So we have given the matter a lot of thought. With our previous aluminium boat we found that the thick insulation on the hull and deck (which we have duplicated or exceeded in the new boat) goes a long way to reducing the problem, but even so, double glazing does have a lot of appeal. Like many boat systems there is no perfect answer.
 
We have 5 separate watertight compartments. KM installed the door between the owners cabin and the salon yesterday although the frame has been welded in place for some time:

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noelex said:
The flange of the windows has become, I think, a feature of our pilothouse interior. When done well, these types of engineering details do not need to be hidden behind trim.

One Bestevaer owner even specified a glass floor in the pilothouse above the engine, so anything is possible.

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great feature indeed!
look perfect, very well done!
Only one tiny complain, why not use allen (sp?), or better torx countersunk screws? Phillips doesn't feel right there, few look slightly bashed as well.
are they M4? Also what do you do for SS bolts in two or three ali layers?

Glass floor is a bit too much, I have 20mm thick textured glass in a strip along the living room at home, so I can have a look at the car underneath in the garage, but looking at the e/r full-time goes to another level!

cheers

V.
 
Lifelines.

Dyneema lifelines were specified. These have the advantantage of reducing the amount of dissimilar metals, which is particuarly important for an aluminium boat.

Dyneema is relatively new in this application and it does require a slightly different design of stanchion. Dyneema is stronger than stainless wiring of the same diameter so some have replaced their stainless lifelines with the same sized Dyneema. However, Dyneema is more effected by UV and chafe so some care is needed.

UV radiation does not penetrate deeply into Dyneema so increasing the diameter has more effect on preserving long term strength than might be expected. Oversizing the line also provides much greater strength so even a significant loss leaves the lifelines with plently of reserve. Oversizing also allows for some chafe before replacement, but here the smoothness of the stanchion's ferrule is important. Oversizing also improves handling.

Unfortunately, most stanchions are designed for stainless wire and will not always except the thicker diameter that should be used if the change to Dyneema is made. It is also important to check the smoothness of the ferrules although sometimes this can be fixed with a polishing wheel.

8mm Dyneema was specified here, which allows for plently of reserve. Our stanchions are beautifully smooth, but the rigger added some protective covering on the top line to further reduce the problem of chafe. Little details like this show the company cares about quality.

I think for most cruising boats uncoated stainless wire is probably the sensible choice, but for a weight sensitive boat like a cat or an aluminium boat where it helpful to reduce the amount of stainless then Dyneema while more expensive is the better choice.

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Spinnaker sheets, and presumably any other sheet, will cut through dyneema lifelines very quickly - which is why after initial approval it no longer cuts the mustard on racing yachts. I believe the issue arose on Comanche running downwind to Hawaii 3 or 4 years ago. When we raced we had the opposite problem - the stainless lifelines cut the sheets.

We have been using dyneema, Liros, now for about 5 years - but our sheets do not impose on the lifelines. The dyneema sleeves are a good idea - a number of companies make hollow dyneema tape - excellent for snubber protection and soft shackles (see Nautilus Braids NZ or Lancelin, France for example)
 
We are in the water!
What a great Christmas present. I must have been a very good boy this year :).

There are still be losts of photos to come, as details are being completed. I will also post more about the systems and the equipment choices.

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noelex said:
The interior is a mixture of white ceilings and walls together with with Bubinga, a beautiful and a very hard South African timber for the furniture, doors and floors. This has been combined with stainless steel for the kitchen work surfaces. As always, these finishes are personal taste, but the overall result is coming together just as we hoped.

We have tried to avoid veneer and so all the Bubinga is solid. Here are some of the cupboard doors awaiting their final sanding, but this shows the solid timber used in the construction:

Thak interest I always through Bubinga from the Guibourtia flowering tree

http://www.rarewoods.co.za/wood-browser/bubinga

Its some times referred to as African rosewood. I have about 1/2 a cubic meter of African rosewood in my yard, together with about 1 cubic meter of African mahogany that I used to fit out my boat some years ago

Very nice boat and I am a fan of metal boats although mine is steel which is not favoured on this forum.
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