Damstra Bestevaer 60

Additional Specs, Equipment and Information:

This Dutch built expedition blue water cruising vessel was expressly designed to cruise the oceans of the world. NOVARA was built to exceedingly high construction standards with emphasis placed on safety, comfort, reliability and ease of operation by a husband and wife or otherwise short-handed. NOVARA comes as a schooner rig with highly efficient modern carbon fiber Aerorig spars. She has electric winches, variable pitch prop and bow thruster for ease of handling under sail and power. She is well suited for ocean voyaging with her extra thick aluminum hull, watertight bulkheads, inside/outside steering stations, high-strength thermopane raised salon windows and efficient circulating hot water radiator central heating system. She has abundant natural ventilation for comfort in warm climates, with many opening port hatches and dorade vents. Her decks, cockpit and cabin trunk are sculptured in aluminum with not a piece of wood to varnish and very little else requiring time-consuming maintenance.

NOVARA is a proven passagemaker that has been meticulously maintained since new by her two owners. For the last four years she has been cared for exclusively by Wayfarer Marine in Camden, Maine. She is a unique and very inviting vessel that, with inspection, simply earns respect and admiration. Her robust and salty good looks are consistent with her mission.

NOVARA sleeps six owners and guests in three sleeping areas consisting of two private staterooms, both with large double berths, and two additional single upper and lower berths in the forward passageway. There is a large comfortable raised salon with nav area (complete with inside steering "joystick" and throttle control), a large very well-equipped galley and a single head with separate sliding door shower stall amidships. The vessel was custom designed and built for serious blue water cruising. Her insulated hull, thermopane insulated deckhouse windows and diesel fired central heating with circulating hot water radiators provide comfortable below deck accommodations when the weather is cool. And, she provides equally good natural ventilation for below decks comfort in warmer latitudes by way of multiple companionways, Goiot deck hatches and dorade vents.

The interior finish consists of painted Yacht White bulkheads, complimented by beautifully detailed varnished mahogany locker fronts, joinery and trim creating a light and bright interior. The cabin sole is a darker African Bugimba hardwood with varnished mahogany margins. Overhead are Goiot hatches, each with its own internal roll-up/roll-out spring-loaded Skyscreen screen/sunshades. There are numerous opening port lights, each with its own integral satin finished inside hinged aluminum storm shudder to block out light and provide heavy weather security. There are numerous stainless bulkhead directional lights and overhead stainless lights. There is abundant natural light and ventilation, as well as tasteful lamp lighting throughout the vessel.

The Architect NBA Gerard Dijkstra-Amsterdam-Holland, who designed this very purposeful vessel, is the architect who refit/coordinated the rebuild on the J-class boats Endeavor, Adix, Adela and Shamrock, as well as the super-sailing-yacht Maltese Falcon. He also designed the newest Dutch Tallship "Stad Amsterdam," the Besteavar series 50' to 110' and hundreds of one-off conventional sloops, Aerorig sloops and schooners.

Under her second and present ownership, Novara’s interior was completely refinished/rebuilt, her galley updated, and the electronics were updated at the famed Brooklin Boat Yard in Maine. In 2008, Novara was Awlgripped by Wayfarer Marine in Camden, ME, from the waterline up, including her decks, cabin house and cockpit surfaces; even her spars. She looks stunning.

The forepeak is accessed by a large aluminum deck hatch and provides substantial storage for anchor chains, rode, dock lines, fenders, dinghy motor, and assorted deck gear in a completely water tight compartment.

Just aft of the forepeak (and accessed from the companionway forward of the master stateroom, as well as through a large deck hatch), is a full-width workshop and scuba room with abundant storage and counter space. This space also includes a scuba air compressor, tank storage, wet suit- and equipment storage, and a washing machine. This area also functions as a second watertight compartment, with a watertight passageway door as its access.

The master stateroom is aft of the workshop near midships and extends ¾ width to starboard with the forward passageway off to port. There is a fore/aft facing queen berth, hanging locker, mahogany bookcase and abundant storage lockers and bureau drawers. This is a comfortable and quite spacious stateroom.

Two guest berths on the port side in an over/under singles configuration, just outboard of the passageway, are ideally suited for offshore passage making. They are equipped with lee cloths for use in a seaway.

The spacious central head, in a comfortable position amidships to port, contains a separate large circular sliding clear door shower stall. The head has good storage and excellent natural light and ventilation. It opens onto the common ship's passageway and is easily accessed by all aboard.

The guest stateroom is off the passageway, across from the starboard galley and just aft of the centrally located head. Guest quarters have a generous queen size quarter berth, abundant storage locker space and a hanging locker.

The galley is starboard amidships. It has a large well-insulated icebox and separate freezer box chilled by (2) 24 volt compressors that run (2) separate cold plate systems. There is also a small Frigobot+ refrigerator for ice cubes and beverages. There is a gimbaled stainless propane stove with (4) surface burners and oven and broiler and heater element, (which also provides backup heat). The counters are all a beautiful marble with (3) Alpes brand stainless steel sinks with faucets for salt water, filtered drinking water and regular water. Cabinets and drawer space are abundant.

There is a large L-shaped settee with settee table to port of the companionway with an adjacent forward facing nav station forward, with joystick helm and throttle/gear controls. There are built-in flush mount electronics. Visibility is 360° through large thermopane safety glass port lights on all sides. At the nav station and inboard of the dining table, there are counter-style stools for additional seating. The salon table has a varnished burl veneer surface and, like all the other joinery, is gorgeous.

The nav station is at the forward portside end of the raised salon and is set up for comfortable watch keeping, navigation management, radio usage and computer usage. The windows are double-glazed thermopane and are reported to be impervious even to the blows of heavy hammers, built strong against the possibility of taking heavy seas.

All the way aft is the cockpit. It’s sole and seats are finished in teak, which is comfortable even in hot sun, and there are cockpit cushions. The cockpit is permanently covered by a sun awning. The wheel faces a binnacle with a GPS/chartplotter/radar, as well as an autopilot, sailing instruments, the forward-looking depth sounder, a regular depth sounder, propeller controls and bow thruster controls. The cockpit has comfortably high coamings for security at sea. The pilothouse and cockpit complement one another nicely. There is a varnished teak drop-leaf wood cockpit table for dining.

• Raymarine GPS Chartplotters/Radars (at helm, nav station)
• Icom M710 SSB and VHF radios; Pactor III SSB modem
• FLSS II forward looking depth sounder
• Brooks and Gatehouse Hydra sailing instruments, depth sounder, autopilot
• Radar detector
• Navtex receiver
• Motorola satellite telephone
• Laptop computer with RayTech navigation software
• WIFI amplifier and external antenna
• Cell phone amplifier with external antenna (re-broadcasts inside the boat for unconnected usage)
• Navigation lights: new Hella LED low-wattage navigation and anchor lights
• EPIRB
• Stereo system
• Flowscan fuel flow gauges
• RDF Ocean 8-person life raft

The boat’s electrical system is the very high quality Mastervolt system, set up originally for 220 volts/ 50 cycles. However, the shore power system has been converted over to American 120 volts by using the supplied jumper settings on the isolation transformer. There is a shore power connection on each end of the boat fitting standard cords. The main 220 volt distribution panel is behind a door in the forward part of the master cabin. The 24 volt distribution is on the forward bulkhead of the starboard cockpit locker. Additional 12/24 volt distribution is controlled from a panel in the salon, along with the charging system and the generator. There are complete Mastervolt monitoring, battery condition management and generator management instruments on the lower companionway panel.

There are a number of 220 volt electric tools on the boat: two Bosch electric drills -- one corded and one cordless, a Bosch electric wood/aluminum saw, a Bosch sander and others. The galley is equipped with some typical galley tools, also in 220 volt, including a hand mixer, a coffee grinder, a vacuum cleaner, two hand vacs and possibly others.

• Westerbeke/Mastervolt 8/6 kw generator
• Mastervolt shore power isolation transformer
• Two Mastervolt automatic three-step battery chargers
• Mastervolt 2500 watt inverter
• Wind generator
• 70 amp alternator for engine start batteries
• 110 amp alternator for house bank
• 1200 amp hour/24 volt battery bank

• Canoe underbody with central hydraulic aluminum centerboard (with 1 ton lead weight). Aluminum keel with prop in aperture and barn door rudder
• All aluminum construction, strongly built: ALMG 1.5-116, 40 mm in bow stem area, 20 mm at keel stem base, plating 10 mm keel sides, 8 mm topsides, 6 mm deck plating. Closely spaced framing for extra strength. Double bottom for much of the boat’s length (fuel, water, gray water, and ballast tanks). (5) separate watertight compartments (aft storage areas, engine room, main living quarters, tool room, forepeak)
• There are (2) manually operated daggerboards (wood/epoxy coated glass) in the port and starboard aft quarters, an architect’s suggestion for more comfortable downwind roll stability in trade wind conditions.
• Internal lead ballast (8.5 tons), with a 31% ratio. Including full fuel and water tanks, which are low in the bilge, 39% ballast ratio

• (3) Windlasses, (1) Forward halyard winch, (2) Primary winches: Electric
• Bow anchors: (1) CQR plow, (1) Bruce, each 125 lbs and on 220’ of 12 mm stainless steel chain
• Stern anchor: Navy style. 110’ galvanized steel chain. Permanently mounted, with its own windlass and ready to be let go
• Monitor windvane self-steering system
• Numerous large Goiot hatches on the overhead, most with screens and shades built in, providing substantial ventilation on hot days
• Companionways, forward and aft, and a large hatch on the overhead above the salon table for even more ventilation

Aerorig schooner, built by Carbospars of South Hampton, England. The rotating carbon fiber rig is easily handled, with the sail plan divided between just four sails, two on each mast, all normally left fully rigged and ready to go (no sail bags). In addition, two storm trysails are permanently rigged on their own independent tracks, against the occasion when it might increase comfort in heavy seas to use them instead of the larger primary sails. There are two single-line reefs in the two mains and a single reef in the two roller furling jibs, so there is a great deal of flexibility in matching sail area to current wind and sea conditions.

The mains are brand new, very efficient full-batten, highly-roached sails, designed and built in 2007, with the personal assistance of both Robbie Doyle and Gerard Dijkstra. These sails, with their substantial additional area, have dramatically improved the boat’s light air performance, which before was a bit under-canvassed for light air (the original mains were hollow-roached sails). Lazy jacks and zippered covers make stowing these sails an easy task.

Tacking is just a turn of the wheel, a non-event. And going off the wind, the rotating mast, with its attached foreboom, assures that the jib is always pulling efficiently, just as if the boat were going upwind. A full flying jibe is also a non-event, since the jib’s effect ahead of the mast largely tames the force of the mainsail behind the mast. This is an under-used rig and has much to commend it to the short-handed cruising sailor.

• Perkins Sabre 135 hp diesel engine
• Adjustable pitch propeller: Hydraulic, from West Mekan
• Centerboard: Hydraulic
• Bow thruster: Electric
• The boat has a dependable Kabola heating system for cool nights, sufficient even for the occasional high latitude destination. This is a small diesel-fired circulating hot water/radiator system.
• Gray water: 135 gal, in two tanks
• Blackwater: 30 gal

• European VAT was paid by the first owner, and the current owner has a copy of the receipt.
• Deck railings: Substantial and very reassuring stainless steel double rails surround the whole boat, for complete security at sea (no flimsy wires!)
• Spare parts: The boat is well-equipped with spare parts for most equipment. There are two lockers devoted to spares inside the boat, and additional space devoted to spares in the port cockpit locker (and small screws, bolts, and other miscellaneous repair items and small spare parts in the tool room, forward).
• Dinghy: Avon, fitted with an 8 hp Yamaha outboard. (both new, 2006)
• Fenders, dock lines, anchor buoy on spring-loaded line, rigging chair etc.

NOVARA is a very serious all-ocean short-handed cruising vessel. She was designed and built to exacting Dutch standards for a couple to comfortably cruise the oceans of the world. She is equipped for comfort, reliability and offshore adventuring. Her good looks and purposeful character attract attention from those who appreciate the true ocean-going vessels.

One's first look at the boat, with her massive triple ground tackle systems, her full perimeter double solid stainless steel life rails (no wire lifelines), her very serious-looking rig, and her on-deck reels with 300' each of ready-to-go shore lines signals the level of attention given to safety and security throughout the vessel and of its immediate readiness for its next voyage.

NOVARA is truly not your everyday boat, but a serious, seaworthy vessel that garners admirers in every port.

Personal effects