yachts

Lan Menzies Re

ports from Darwin:

• NIRVANA 111. In every sense of the word she is a home. From a fluffy poodle called Casper to home-made apple pie, Fred and Jill Bettwieser’s Nirvana 111 is in deed their water-borne, mobile home. And they have set her up beautifully.

Fred Bettwieser, a retired en gineer and industrial designer and his wife Jill, always wanted to go cruising. So the pair of them decided to build a boat.

They started out in 1973 with the plans for a ferro-cement Hartley Tahitian 44, and lots of enthusiasm.

When launched in Brisbane in 1980, the only resemblance Nirvana 111 bore to the original Hartley plans was in her hull design. It is patently obvious that Fred’s engineering skills have come to the fore, and they are reflected in his superb re design of the interior and the subsequent fit-out.

The completed Nirvana 111 displaces 21 tonnes, has a beam of 3.86 metres (12’8”), and with her comparatively “long short” keel of 2.44 metres (8’), draws 2.0 metres (6.56’). She is a solid, stable craft and yet still retains the lovely Tahitian lines.

From the dog house, with its starboard inside steering posi tion, it’s a few steps down to a galley to port and dinette to starboard. The dinette is a little bit different to most, for it runs across the vessel, and also doubles as a chart table. The Bettwiesers have found it works admirably.

Forward of the saloon area is a head/shower and double V berth forecabin. The starboard aft walkway contains a quarter berth and leads into a very spacious owner’s stateroom, complete with large twin berths and ensuite head/shower.

The interior throughout is fitted with white panelling trim med with Queensland maple and Philippine mahoghany.

The overall impression is one of light, airy spaciousness, with

just enough woodwork to retain a traditional touch.

Opening ports in the sheer line, together with a number of well-sited deck hatches, makes for a cool, well-ventilated in terior with excellent air flow.

This is aided no doubt, by the 72 mm (3”) of polystyrene insulation foam that Fred has placed between the ferro-ce ment deck and the headliner.

And it’s that well-ventilated interior that allows Jill Bettwies er to practice her own particular art to perfection good, old fashioned home cooking. From New Zealand to New Britain, Brisbane to Darwin, she is known throughout the cruising fleet as the “best cake maker on the high seas”!

To assist her in producing her culinary delights, Jill has a gim balled, double burner Rinnai gas stove with grill, plus a custom built (by Fred) fixed oven, placed strategically be neath. Prominent among Jill’s extensive range of cookware is a large stainless steel pressure cooker a veritable must for the sea-going chef.

With Fred’s background in engineering design, one would expect to see all sorts of gadget ry “hung off” the Perkins 4- 236 M 72 hp diesel located under the cockpit floor. There

is, but in a rather unique fashion. Fred has installed an offset, stainless steel shaft that is belt driven at one end from the Perkins by an electrically oper ated clutch. This shaft, in turn, drives two alternators, the com pressor for the refrigerator and freezer, a hydraulic system and a large capacity bilge pump.

At the other end of the shaft, connected by a similar belt system, is a 6 hp auxiliary Yanmar diesel. This diesel not only has the capacity to drive the accessories in isolation (thus reducing fuel consumption dur ing daily battery charging), but may also be inter-connected to the propellor shaft. In the event of a main engine break-down, it can also drive the 3-bladed propellor (albeit somewhat slowly).

With large battery banks, and plenty of charging power avail able, Fred has been able to install an extensive range of electronics. These include a Walker 402 Satnav; a JRC 24 NMI radar; two depth sounders, including a video hydrograph unit; a Dick Smith VHF and a GME Marine CB.

On deck, Nirvana 111 is cutter rigged and equipped with Allmast roller furling making life that much easier for older limbs! A hefty range of ground

tackle is also stowed, and in cludes three CQR anchors; 45 lb., 75 lb., and a massive 140 lb. cyclone anchor. Throw in a few Danforths and over 100 metres of chain, and you can see why Fred also installed a large hydraulic winch! 1981 saw the Bettwiesers eventually set sail from Bris bane with their first foreign landfall being Samarai in Papua New Guinea. Heading north ward they cruised through the Trobriands, to New Ireland and then Rabaul in east New Bri tain. Southward again through the Buka Passage and on to Kieta in North Solomons.

Then, with special permission granted by the Government of Papua New Guinea, Nirvana 111 was allowed to do “the mail run” to the remote and re stricted Mortlock Islands. Iso lated from the outside world, the Mortlocks have retained their original unique culture, thought to be more Polynesian than Melanesian.

A second visit to the Mort locks resulted in the Bettwies ers’ participation in a unique

“Nirvana III”, the Tahitian 44 of Fred and Jill Bettwieser of Bris bane, at anchor off the Darwin Sailing Club. Photo: Ian Men zies.