Buizen 52 Pilot House Yacht

Of course, Buizen is no stranger to cruising buffs. Yachts of choice for serious live-aboard adventurers, the Buizen 48 (designed by Paul Stanyon, 36 built to date) won the Round The World Millennium Odyssey Race, has regularly cruised and crossed oceans, and ranged from Tasmania to the Top End. Boat number one, owned by footloose Dr Bob Wright, has done the Tassie trip many times and is testimony to the brand’s enduring build.

There are also 10 Buizen 40s out there, but the 48 has held its value the best and, at the time of writing, there were five listed for sales at BoatPoint with asking prices from $635,000 for a 1994 model to $935,000 for a 2002 Mark II. Even the forerunners, the Zeston 40 and 36 motorsailers -- five listed from $175,000 to $269,000 -- of which Dutch artisan Eddy Buizen built 22 and 16 respectively, have a great reputation among motor-sailing buffs.

Clearly, when Buizen migrated to Australia in 1953, he brought with him considerable shipwright skills and vision. Having set up a modest yard on Sydney’s northshore, he then went quietly about building some 80-odd yachts by hand and gaining the respect of the discerning cruising clique. Buizen retired in 2004-2005.

While the founding Buizen family has moved on, former partner and current owner Steve Howe has inherited the brand-loyal shipwrights and continues the tradition in an albeit more modern way. The 52 Pilot House is a natural progression from the fabulous 48, which Howe will still build as a Series III on request.

For the 52, Howe engaged Peter Lowe Design (headed by Peter Lowe and Will Hardcastle), who worked closely with the late Ben Lexcen and, in recent years, was behind Warren Yachts among others. But while you can see some of the 48’s DNA in the lines, the 52 Pilot House is batting in a different league.

The latest infusion technology, CAD 3D systems and CNC routing equipment was employed by a select A Team headed by Anthony Starr who has superyacht-building experience. The brief was to produce a new-age performance cruiser with excellent sailing ability. The result is also Australia’s best luxury cruising yacht and an authentic craft built with love rather than sheer profit-driven motive.

While the test boat sold for $2.195 million as a loaded press-button cruising boat, future 52’s will wear the same ticket for a standard yacht. The options on the test boat included 48 nautical mile radar, satellite TV, teak side decks, 150-litre-per-hour watermaker, Miele washer/dryer, Fisher & Paykel dish-drawer dishwasher, upgraded radial-cut Hood Dacron sails, imported Italian leather upholstery, back-up autopilot, bimini and dodger, and a few other minor items.

Hull number two was in build at the time of writing and destined for a more experienced racing sailor who wants to optimise its performance. New Zealand Rigging has been engaged to create a full carbon-fibre mast and boom, with hydraulic sail handling using captive winches. Additional weight savingS were also likely. By the time the boat is (Hamilton Island) Race Week ready, it will be around $2.5 million, we guess.

Relatively speaking, that’s not bad value compared with other semi-custom luxury local boats like, say, a Palm Beach 55. Yet there is really no other similarly-priced yachts in the Buizen 52’s league. Oysters, Swans and so on are more production-orientated and, well, staid. Other lifestyle choices such as holiday homes and overseas travel are the likely competition.

The twin stylish helm pedestals with carbon-look wheels feature superyacht-esque button controls with red night lighting. There are electric/hydraulic main sail (in-boom Leisure Furl) furling controls and foot controller that let you reef and drop sail in a jiffy. Hydraulic Harken Radial two-speed 70 main and secondary 60 winches are controlled by “in” and “out” buttons, while others command the windlass.

With Lewmar flush-deck hatches, all halyards and sheets concealed under the side decks, and storage bins for their tails, the Buizen 52 can be sailed while remaining wonderfully uncluttered. Only the springer cleats amidships, sitting proud on the teak deck, might otherwise stub an unsuspecting toe. Up front, teak decks, half bulwarks and the inherent freeboard in the hull add to the seaworthiness.

The custom stainless-steel stemhead with double bow rollers, stainless steel Ultra Anchor, and 50 metres of heavy-duty 13mm chain let you swing at anchor without worrying about dragging. The boat had a forward deck wash, fuel and water fillers either side, and LED navigation lights with a cockpit light on the underside of the boom. Sail storage, for an MPS or gennaker, might be enhanced on future Buizen 52s by fitting a locker under the cockpit table that’s accessible via a deck hatch.

A deep foot well and fold-down ‘stable’ door facilitate access into the pilot house, but you still have to duck at the companionway due to the height of the concealed mainsheet traveller support beam above. Once inside, headroom (about 2.1 metres) is abundant and the sense of connectivity is enhanced by swing-open rear saloon windows and deep surrounding safety glass (14mm forward) windows.

Local superyacht artisan Anthony Starr designed the interior, resplendent with Italian orange leather upholstery, timeless American light-oak joinery and flooring (all CNC cut but outsourced varnishing), dark Wenge skirting and eye-catching Zebrano timber for the high/low coffee and dining table. Practicality is reflected by the ceiling handrails and fiddles on most counters. Of course, there’s a pop-up flatscreen television.

The L-shaped main lounge and two-person settee will swallow a crowd, while the loose backrest cushions and cupboards behind grant brilliant access to the boat’s sophisticated electronics. There is BEP digital switching, a 5000W inverter that lets you run the fridges, AV system, GPOs and microwave oven, and will even power one air-con unit for a number of hours, we’re told.

Set down on the same level as the forward stateroom, the u-shaped galley has all the home-away-from-home amenities including custom gimballed electric stove atop a combination microwave oven. The custom fridge/freezer is a 24/240-volt eutectic number, with scope to fit more refrigeration aboard. Franke sinks are recessed in the Corian galley counter and laundry space opposite. Twin sinks and counters will please entertainers, but there’s also scope to create an office if you prefer to get away from the throng.

The standard accommodation plan features three cabins, two aft as per usual, each with en suite with handheld shower. But the owner’s en suite features a great big shower stall and a louvered access window from the main cabin. There’s a queen-sized bed, leather seat and desk, and cupboard than can be specified with hanging space.

While the aft heads could do with some form of ventilation, the inverter, generator and air-con mean you have climate control. Brodware tapsets, Tecma heads, oak-laid flooring and teak shower grates add to the bathroom styling. Elsewhere, storage exists under beds, the galley floor and in nests of cupboards and lockers.

Back at the helm, the  recessed Raymarine multifunction display, autopilot (with second backup unit) and data screens will keep you on course. Electronic engine shifts for the 160hp Yanmar diesel engine with shaft drive and switchable-pitch Gori prop add to the refinement. You can motor using one litre per hour per nautical mile, we’re told, for a range of more than 1000 nautical miles. Hull speed is about 10 knots, with 8.4 knots at 2000rpm producing a smooth cruise. The 52 is also bundled with a Maxpower tunnel bowthruster (controller at the helm).

Underfloor, we noted first-class installations on the engineering in the utility room. All the seacocks are labelled and the plumbing manifold system is similar logical. Fuel (and water tanks) are polypropylene, with Racor filters and sight gauges. Sound insulation and the balsa-cored decks help keep operating noise to a minimum.

The alloy, keel-stepped, triple-spreader near-masthead rig carries a relatively small self-tacking headsail in keeping with today’s easy-to-sail trends. With those press-button primary and secondary winches, you don’t need to do much more than extend the pointer finger to set and trim sail. Hydraulic backstay and vang let you change sail shape effortlessly.

Views from the twin wheels and trendy helm pods are reassuringly clear forward. But you can also steer the yacht from the internal helm with engine controls and autopilot joystick. In this way, the 52 is a true pilothouse yacht. Sail while doing breakfast. Or just stay dry.

Needless to say, there was a huge investment in tooling and 3D CAD modelling for the resin-infused hull built to international code ISO 12215 to meet CE standards. Balsa coring, E glass and Kevlar are used extensively. CNC cutting of interior joinery ensures everything fits together without undue fairing or guesswork. Mastercraft Marine’s production foreman, Phil McIntyre, has worked on some of the largest superyacht in Europe and it shows.

As we lifted off the easterly swell and beat a path north, I couldn’t discern a single creek or groan. Although we had only 10 knots, the Buizen 52 seemed eager to reach around six knots upwind and a tad less on a beam reach, where we needed that MPS. In 18 knots, Howe says they’ve had the 52 doing 10-10.5 knots while maintaining 8.5 knots up wind.

The six-tonne lead bulb on a relatively short cast-iron fin create a medium-ballasted yacht. Add aN MPS or asymmetrical spinnaker and, additional sail storage on future boats, and the 52 would make a real five-star fast passage-maker. I thought the Lewmar Mamba steering, with rod transmission, was nice and direct unlike the floaty hydraulic steering on the 48.

But to be honest, we went nowhere much at all. Before long we were motoring back down Pittwater  to catch the setting sun. This was the culmination of a build process I’d been following for many months.