Bestevaer sailboats for sale

Buying a used Bestevaer: two companies, one line

A used Bestevaer isn't a used boat from a conventional single-company marque. It's a Dykstra Naval Architects design built by KM Yachtbuilders, a Dutch aluminium yard that treats the Bestevaer as its semi-custom range alongside fully custom, one-off commissions. That matters to a buyer: because KM Yachtbuilders carries out hull construction, engineering, technology, and interior work entirely in-house, and many Bestevaers were built to individual owners' specifications, two boats of the same model can differ from each other more than a conventional production hull of similar size would. The line isn't uniformly sailing yachts, either — KM Yachtbuilders launched the Bestevaer 53 M/Y, a motor yacht, in 2020, so a buyer searching the name should confirm which category a given listing falls into before comparing it against sailing Bestevaers.

Which era to target

Construction within the line has shifted over time rather than following one continuous production run. The core sailing range — including the Bestevaer 53 ST lineage that traces back to Bestevaer II, Gerard Dijkstra's own personal yacht — is built entirely in aluminium, with the hull, pilot house, superstructure, and rudder all in the same material, watertight bulkheads dividing the hull into separate compartments, and the rudder stock and engine set above the waterline. The Pure series, introduced in 2016 as a semi-custom 45, 49, and 53-foot range derived from Bestevaer II, sits within that same aluminium, pilothouse-forward approach. The Bestevaer 36, launched in 2023, took construction further toward sustainability, with KM Yachtbuilders building it from a majority-recycled aluminium hull, recycled sails, and cork-and-mineral-wool insulation in place of a conventional paint system. Choosing between an established sailing hull and the 36 means choosing between two different build philosophies within the same line, not simply an older or newer copy of one design.

Navigating the lineup

Sizes run from the compact Bestevaer 36 up through 53 and 55/56-foot sailing yachts, with the Pure series offering a semi-custom middle ground at 45 to 53 feet and one-off custom commissions — the largest being the 72-foot Symbiose — above that. Buyers drawn to the cold-climate, long-distance voyaging pedigree Dijkstra built the line around will find it most directly in the larger sailing yachts; those wanting a smaller, sustainability-focused build should look toward the 36. The full model directory on this page breaks the range down further.