Belle Bateau is a Gozzard 44’ cutter-rigged sailing yacht
“beautiful boat”
Belle Bateau means Beautiful Boat in French. Well, sorta. We took liberties with a feminine adjective since boats are generally referred to as females.
Belle Bateau was designed by Ted Gozzard in Goderich, Ontario. She is hull #11 of only twenty-three 44’ sailing vessels built by Gozzard Yachts. Commissioned in 1997, she is a 44' aft cockpit sailing yacht with a 6' bowsprit and cutter rig (jib, staysail, and main sail). We are her second owners and bought her in August 2014 in Oxford, Maryland. We enjoyed sailing her for a few months, testing her existing systems, including generator, air conditioning, bow thruster, galley equipment, etc.
In the fall of 2014, we had Belle Bateau trucked back to her Canadian birthplace for an extensive 6-month refit by Gozzard Yachts. There she received many upgrades, including: Raymarine chartplotter, autopilot, and other navigational upgrades; AIS; hydronic (hot water) heating system; Raritan electric macerating heads (2); hard bimini; solar panels; watermaker (30 gallons/hour); washer/dryer; and stern thruster. When Belle Bateau returned to the Chesapeake in May 2015, she received three new North Sails, a 73 lb. Rocna anchor, and a new D400 wind generator. She was mightily ready for our 2015-2016 sailbatical to Florida and back.
Since then, she’s received lots of love and care, and new parts as needed. In 2023, she received new standing rigging as well as some new running rigging, a new windlass motor, and a Dometic freezer to increase existing capacity. Her solar panels have been tripled with new locations on the bimini and on the davits. She is indeed a beautiful boat, inside and out.
A few specifications, for those who geek out on such:
Length Overall: 50'
Length of Deck: 44'
Length Water Line: 37' 3"
Beam: 13'-9"
Draft: 5' 6"
Mast Height: 62'-5" w/antenna
Displacement: 35,000 lbs
Ballast: 10,500 lbs
Sail Area: 1,560 sq.ft.
Hull Speed: 8.4 kts
Cruising Speed: 6- 7 kts
Helm: Raymarine e95MFD, auto-pilot
Engine: Westerbeke 82hp diesel
Generator: Northern Lights 653M 7KW
Diesel Tanks: 110 gals
Water Tanks: 110 gals
Watermaker: 30 gals/hour
Hot H2O Heater: 11 gals
Holding Tank: 50 gals
House Battery: 800 Ah
Total Battery: 2,000 Ah
Total Solar: 620 watts
Bow Thruster: 7HP
Stern Thruster: 8HP
About Belle Bateau’s unique interior:
The Gozzard philosophy is to design their boats for two owners because the majority of cruising boats are owned and sailed by a couple who have overnight guests only occasionally. The interior layout is therefore designed to increase the space for its occupants while providing the means to create a separate cabin when overnight guests do arrive. And we choose to sleep most nights in the forward section where there is ample head room and natural light (see images below). The two salon settees slide to join in the middle, supported by the cocktail table, forming a centerline queen. We use a roll-up mattress, stored behind the settee back cushion, for added comfort. It takes less than 2 minutes to make the bed, and return it to be a settee in the morning. Genius.
Gozzard 44’ Interior Layout, Type A
Salon that converts to bed or dining table
View from Galley to Salon (in bow)
View from Dinette to Companionway
Looking aft from salon
Galley
Galley
Forward head
Aft head
Shower between two heads
Aft cabin
Navigation Station near companionway
Washer/Dryer behind nav bench
Salon converted to private cabin
View from converted cabin with door closed
Salon with dining table