by Dallas O’Brien.
I would like to introduce our new boat, SV Eternity.
Build
She was built by Mastercraft Marine in Terrey Hills in 1996 by the late Eddie Buizen. The boat was designed by Paul Stanyon, and was the first pilothouse yacht built in Australia. There were 36 Buizen 48’s built and 10 only Buizen 40’s. A number of 52 feet models were also produced up until 2012, until the passing of Eddie Buizen.
What is a pilothouse yacht?
The yacht can be sailed from the confines of the warm and secure confines of the
saloon rather than a wet cockpit in times of inclement weather. Autohelm, instruments, engine controls, and steering wheel are duplicated both inside the pilothouse and the cockpit. 360-degree views are also an essential feature of a pilothouse.
Features worthy of mention
The Buizen 40 features:
- a boom-furled mast (which has taken some getting used to!)
- A sub-floor engine room compartment (luxury!)
- A bow thruster (more luxury!)
- A 50 HP Volvo engine (a great size for this yacht)
- Beautiful hand-crafted timber work
- 2m draft, 4m beam
- Displacement 9000 kg
We gave her an extensive makeover, including new
instrumentation, new lithium batteries, new solar
panels, a new refrigeration system, new headlining, and a new engine and sail drive.
Our impressions
Changing from a 2012 modern production boat, a Hanse 385 to this grand old lady of the sea, was quite an adjustment….
What we love
The Buizen 40 is “built like a tank” and is a true blue-water cruising vessel. On a recent cold stormy day in Pittwater where the rain came down and the breeze hit over 30 knots, we really appreciated the warmth and comfort of the pilothouse. It felt like we were sailing in much more benign conditions.
We also love the easy single-level access from cockpit to saloon, which is achieved by having the engine below the floor.
The sunken galley with 2 fridges makes live-aboard very easy.
What we miss
We do miss a large and spacious cockpit, designed for entertaining. More modern boats do this aspect very well.
Only main halyard and jib sheets and main-sheet run back to the cockpit, so there is much to do at the mast. Again, more modern yachts have really improved in this aspect.
The wonderful swim platform on La Madre’s transom facilitated easy and safe access to the boat. We now have a sugar scoop transom, making it more challenging to step on and off the boat.
Whilst the pilothouse affords great visibility from the inside, it does restrict vision for the skipper in the cockpit, when it comes to docking.
In summary
We love our Buizen 40. She is a luxuriously appointed boat built by a boat builder who did not take shortcuts. As the 5th owner, we are glad to give her a new lease of life and we are sure she will give us many years of happiness. We are now set for some extensive coastal cruising.
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