Bellatrix, originally named Water Rat, was built in 1956, and was a standout in the fleet. In these days of molded fiberglass boats with wooden accents she is the real McCoy – a true classic. If there’s metal, it’s chrome, and if it’s wood, it’s varnished. Bellatrix arrived at Pendleton Yacht Yard in distress and departed in Bristol condition.
Although all of the systems that we installed aboard Bellatrix are absolutely state of the art we recognized that classics need to stay classic. As a result we had all of the hardware re-chromed and polished. Where necessary, we had hardware recast to match the original, even the cabin bulkhead lights are custom cast.
When Bellatrix came to Pendleton Yacht Yard, many of her structural members were severely degraded. We replaced many of her steam-bent oak frames and cedar planks, her stem, engine mounts, and garboard strake. Her deck had to be taken up and redone, as well as most of her mahogany interior, We splined her topside planks for a smoother appearance.
Our PYY systems experts outfitted Bellatrix with two new Mercruiser 315 Black 
Scorpion gas engines coupled to a Newage 2.5:1 transmission, allowing her to cruise at 18 knots and top out at 23. We gave her a Heart battery monitor, house bank, Kohler generator, and a Marine Air two zone heating system for comfort at anchor.
Projects like Bellatrix make Pendleton Yacht Yard the ideal place for a large scale yacht restoration.