Jachtwerf Daniël: Bellus Boats


Not only new boats are tested in this magazine. From time to time we also describe boats that have been bestsellers for years. This time ECB is testing a yacht that catches the eye by uniting a number of different qualities. The Bellus 750 is a large console boat with unmistakable features of a sloop that was already brought on the market, but has effortlessly endured the ravages of time.
	GENERAL The Bellus 750 is produced by Yacht Dockyard Daniël in Alphen aan de Rijn. This Yard has quite an age indeed, as originally steam boilers for boats were produced here. In 1984 Vetus den Ouden NV started a polyester factory in Emmeloord. Dick Koopmans was asked to design a sloop, which was put on the market by Vetus, provided with all Vetus products of course.
The disadvantage of this construction was that Vetus was not prepared for direct client service and did not have points of sales for the sloop. Therefore Yacht Dockyard Daniël was brought in to take care of the sales and the service. A Vetus boats-for-hire fleet was set up a.o. and in 1994 Pieter Beeldsnijder was asked to design a boat that had to be suitable for the Mediterranean. The Bellus 750 (Latin for “The Beautiful”, as Vetus is Latin for “The Old One”) was created, a boat inspired bay the longboat. In earlier days a longboat was used to bring officers ashore from the mother ship. Seaworthiness and comfort for a large number of people, had to be combined in this type of ship. In 1997 Vetus den Ouden NV decided to focus on the "core business", manufacturing parts and accessories; the polyester factory and the rent-a-boat fleet on the contrary were sold. But the boats are still produced in Emmeloord by the firm that is now called Flevo Mouldings, and Yacht Dockyard Daniël still brings them on the market. Some 25 Bellus boats are made each year and the Bellus 580 sloops form the largest part of them. The boats are delivered technically ready-to-sail by Flevo Mouldings. They are finished-off and fine-tuned to the customer’s requirements in Alphen a/d Rijn. The production of a Bellus 750 costs approximately 280 man hours, which means that a boat will be ready 2-3 months after the order. Some 100 Bellus type boats are sailing about at the moment, many of them were exported. And not to the least countries: you may encounter them from the from the Maldive Islands and the Seychelles to Thailand and Ireland. Apart from that most of the boats have found their way to the Mediterranean. The combination of lots of legroom, a perfect underwater ship and a strong engine makes the Bellus 750 ideal for sailing with a considerable number of people on turbulent waters.
	CONSTRUCTION & ARRANGEMENT The hull is made of full glass laminate composed of glass fibre and vinyl ester resin. The first layer is installed handlay-up and consequently the fibres are injected drenched with polyester resin. The laminate thickness varies from 12 – 15 mm. The boat consists of an outer and an inner shell plus a separate engine bedplate.
Between the inner and the outer shell, three wooden partitions have been laminated in. Nowadays Twaron® fibres are incorporated in the hull in order to obtain even more strength. There is a relatively small run-through balance rudder under the boat. The steering is hydraulic and an emergency tiller as well as short-circuit valves for the hydraulics are available in case that the steering system fails. There are trim tabs available in option, but we don’t advise this option. More information about this later. The tub is self-draining. For sailing on sea it is also possible to have a “quick drain” installed. The large engine room is located under the steering console.
	The best sold engine configuration was installed in the test boat, a Vetus Deutz DTA 44 four cylinder 140 hp (103 kW) Turbo Diesel with after-cooling. Lighter, but also much stronger engines can be installed, but with this engine you get the best performance / consumption ratio. The water-lubricated 35 mm thick RvS propeller shaft is connected with the bronze four-blade 170 x 210 screw by means of a flexible clutch. A 25 kgf (Vetus, of course) bow screw is optional, but was available on the test boat.
A bow screw is not an advantage at sea, because the tunnel disturbs the underwater ship’s profile. In the ship a 300 litre fuel tank is located under the floor. At top speed the engine needs some 15 litres per hour, so with this amount of diesel on board a maximum of 20 hours can be sailed over a 750 km’s distance. That appears more than sufficient. A 70 litre water tank can be built in. This is mainly meant for the shower after a swim and it may be useful to rinse the salt water from the ship. For the electric circuit a 105 Ah maintenance-free battery has been built in. Another battery was placed on the test boat to supply the (optional) anchor winch and the trim tabs with electricity.
	The Bellus 750 appearance is a cross between a sloop and a console boat and it is available in two versions: the de "open water" version with steering console inclusive window and the sloop version that offers a lot of woodwork and even more comfort. The bow of the ship has a strongly fanning-out line which makes it possible to sail at high speed, without being bothered by water spray.
In the front part there is a large U-shaped bench that easily seats seven people. In front of the steering console there is a small seat for two passengers. Behind the console window there are two comfortable chairs and there is another seat for three persons against the stem. Fourteen spacious seats together on a seven and a half metre boat, that will do for a small sailing party, won’t it?
	COMFORT & ERGONOMY The revolving chairs on the steersman’s place are comfortable, provided with arm supports and well adjustable. Meters and instruments are well readable and within reach. The seats on the benches have all sufficient depth, back support and legroom. So: no critical remarks here either.
You find the storage facilities under the large hatches in the benches. Between the outer and inner shell as a matter of fact and consequently the shape is not very practical. Small things will always fall to the deepest point and then you have to reach very far indeed to get to them. It would be of help if a bin was placed in one of these rooms which would allow you to transport a few things upright. Indeed, where are you going to put your salade niçoise now and your glassware? There is no pigeon-hole for your small things (such as car keys or a box of cigars) either, unless you use the small compartment in front of the main switch for these purposes.
	A sun bed can be made in the front part, although this option will mainly be applied in the sloop version. In order to protect you against the sun – the rain in the case of our test – a bimini top can be placed. This is a simple but efficient system. We did not see a centre bollard and there is neither separate storage room for fenders, nor a separate hanging system at the gangways.
But this is not a real problem actually if you fasten them to the low sea rail and just hang them inside the tub after sailing. Plenty of room! Instinctively the noise level is low. Much of the measured noise is caused by the force of the wind and the water that is stirred-up via the screw by the relatively silent engine. This is due to the good and solid engine room insulation.
	FINISHING As said before, the engine is located under the steering console in the middle of the boat. There are two ways to get to it: the easiest way is to take away the hatch in front of the steering console. Then you come to the weed filter, the V-belt and the filling mouths for coolant and oil.
You can also uncover the entire engine. In this case you have to remove the chairs behind the console and sway back the entire steering stand until the steering wheel rests on the small pillar in front of the steersman’s chair. One single damper would make this rather complicated intervention much easier, without the risk to damage the steering wheel. All parts are easy to check though and there is enough room for maintenance. The steering cylinder and the emergency tiller system are there for the taking in one act. The finishing of the tested, two seasons old boat is satisfactory. Some parkers were screwed though the stern an were not finished-off, but for the rest the workmanship looks good at first sight. The engine installation is solid, even if some tubes were strapped up with tieraps instead of clamps. The sea rail is solidly mounted and the fastening system of the cushions is also satisfactory at full speed. Hull and tub make a sturdy impression, particularly due to the 65 mm Ø kabelaringh.
SAFETY There is no separate extinguishing installation for the engine room in the Bellus. An engine fire can be nipped in the bud by means of the delivered 8A34B 2 kilo extinguisher via the hatch under the small bench in front of the console. The height of the tub is 60 cm, enough to keep small children inboard. A midship curve next to the bench can be used to get on board, but it is not provided with antiskid paint. The tub floor does have a waffle profile. You have a good grip everywhere at the sea rail or at the handle near the console. It goes without saying that a owner’s manual with clear instructions is delivered as well. A dead-man’s-button is only installed in option. That goes as well for the swimming board and the swimming stairs.
	SAILING QUALITIES The Bellus test took place on a windy day in May on the Braasemermeer. At a low-speed engine (max. 2500 rpm), when still a high speed has to be reached, slow sailing is sometimes a problem. At stationary rpm the boat reached a maximum speed of 4,1 knots (7,6 km/hour).
Therefore, if people often sail in areas with a speed limit, a smaller engine (59 kW = 80,3 hp) with proportionally smaller screw is advised. In that case the maximum speed is a few knots less, but sailing slowly and touring is much easier. Because of the long keel, you would expect a large turning circle, but that turned out better than expected: 10 metres to port and 14 metres to starboard. The boat is very steady and steering is very direct with its 60 cm large steering wheel and the 3,5 rotations. While accelerating the ship’s nose rises a few degrees. When the hull speed is exceeded, at approximately 6,8 knots (12,5 km/hour), the stern wave becomes a little bigger at first, and afterwards it decreases a little in the (half) glide-run. The slope of the boat can be corrected by means of the optional trim tabs. Then the boat sails flatter indeed, but it makes the speed decrease and in the waves it is better that the nose points up a little, because that makes it easier to climb over the wave peaks. At full power it is possible to sail through water with two metre high waves. Therefore, on this boat you don’t really need trim boards. Straight through the waves hardly any fluctuation is noticed. Then the stability and the manoeuvrabilty attract the attention and it is very well possible to make turns (without lying on one ear) until you get sick. The real roller coaster feeling. In just 19 seconds the ship speeds up from 0 to 20 knots. At maximum speed (21,4 knot = 39,6 km/hour) every steering correction can be made to the minutest details, and you succeed effortlessly in passing the buoys at millimetres. An emergency stop gives a good score as well: less than two ship lengths (15 metres) and that is an excellent result at this speed. Sailing backwards requires some exercising in order to be able to compensate the wheel effect of the right turning screw. You stay very dry in the boat, even while making fast turns, only sailing backwards made us a little wet. And that is allowed, too: it belongs to the water sport fun to feel at least some spatters on your body.

CONCLUSION The Bellus 750 is a very spacious and well sailing ship, that reaches a high speed without effort. The sailing qualities are fantastic and the comfort is good. As for the safety, some small corrections are still possible, but as to the design and the construction, the Yard can be satisfied. A perfect boat for long distances on open water but also spacious enough to give lots of fun to a large group.
	BELLUS 750 TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS SPECIFICATIONS: Overall length (in metres): 7,50 Hull length (in metres): 7,50 Water line length (in metres): 6,90 Maximum width (in metres): 2,70 Water line width (in metres): 2,60 Vertical clearance: 1,20 Maximum draught: 0,70 Weight (loaded) (in tons): 2,00 Hull speed (in knots): 6,00 Maximum speed (in knots): 23 Engine capacity (in kW): Max 94kW Number of engines: 1 Number of cylinders per engine: 4 Consumption (litres per hour): Max 14 Radius of action (in km): 800 Rudder: steering wheel Sense of rotation screw: Right Battery capacity (in A/h): 108 Capacity fuel tank (in litres): 300 Hull material: Polyester/ Vinyl ester Œ design category: C Max. number of persons. on shipbuilder’s plate: 6 Max. load on shipbuilder’s plate: 750Kg VERSIONS: Bow/ stern screw optional; onboard lights: optional; kabelaringh standard: bow fender optional; fittings (bronze, stainless steel or other) standard; rudder position indicator: optional; revolution counter: standard; oil pressure meter: standard; temperature meter standard; log/speed meter: optional; fathometer: optional; tank content meters: standard; 220V shore current: optional, 220V converter: optional, battery charger: optional, refrigerator: not indicated; running water: optional, toilet(s): optional; (electric) bilge pump: standard; swimming stairs: standard; deck tent: optional; spray hood: optional. Price standard version (excl. VAT.) : Euro 34.875,00 Price tested version (excl. VAT.) : Euro 64.285,00 SOURCE: YACHTVISION nr.3, 2003