If you are lucky enough ever to pay a visit to the beautiful and intricate coastline thatbounds the Baltic – perhaps a sortie to Norway, Sweden or Finland – you’ll find no shortage of the ‘double-ender’ style boat.

The canny locals find them just the job for dipping and diving around the myriad of inlets and islands that this part of the world offers.

The aim of the double-ender is to provide an easy-to-operate, low-hassle inboard vessel with a bit of everything. There’s a decent cockpit, good shelter afforded by a wheelhouse and just sufficient accommodation to make the most out of those long, long summer evenings. There’s more: you’ll find space to relax on board, and the layout means this is a perfect fisher too. So you can drop a line overboard in the afternoon and barbecue the catch come the evening.

This practical formula translates nicely to other boating scenarios too, as we found out when we took this Finnish builder’s 23-footer for a run on a genteel stretch of the Thames.

The 703 is not a new model by any stretch of the imagination. It is – as Bella’s brochure points out – more of an updated classic. Yet, save for a few examples cropping up occasionally from the likes of Fjord and Nidelv, we have seen little of this kind of boat here in Blighty.

The double-end design, with its canoe-shaped aft sections, rather than flat transom, helps the hull to run tidily along at displacement speeds without the stern getting too dug in. Furthermore, this rounded contour reduces the area that can be pushed about by following seas, making downwind motoring serene and steady. In fact ‘displacement’ is not perhaps wholly accurate for this boat as the underwater sections do – it would appear – give a degree of lift. Out in open water, this Bella will break into double figures rather than simply strap itself down to a six or seven knot hull speed that can make estuary work a bit laborious.
As mentioned, power comes by way of an inboard installation, which then drives a conventional shaft arrangement – the engine box of the single compact Yanmar diesel then disguises itself as the cockpit table. The propeller and rudder are supported and protected by a metal shoe protruding from the hull’s slight run of keel.

You might think that the rounded stern, over and above a full beamy transom, would shortchange the cockpit when it comes to seating. But not a bit of it. Not only is there plenty of room, you get a shape well suited to sociable pursuits, whether lounging with a book or sitting around chatting.

The versatile wheelhouse is extremely light and airy, not least because of the sliding sunroof, and although it is open plan through to the bows, the forward vee-seating area is tucked away – so that when you’re down here, you feel you’ve your own space. An infill makes this area into a berth and, if needs be, the dinette table can drop to give a further spot in which to bed down. Tucked in and around the helm itself is a small (but still adequate) galley, while the rear portion of dinette seating hides the final piece of the ‘all-thingsto- all-men’ jigsaw: a sea-toilet that can be made private by the judicious pulling of a curtain.

If you’re around six feet tall, then you will have to mind your head here and there; stooping a tad to clear the sliding door to the wheelhouse, for instance. It’s a small thing, though, and that sliding sunroof does allow the skipper – however tall – to stand to keep an eye on things when mooring up. It also adds to the already light interior, which with those deep windows, afford a great view right round.

The small dinette, with its rather smart fiddled wood table, seats four at a pinch and drops to form an occasional extra berth. Its forward seat also sports a flip over backrest, which allows the occupants to face the same way as the skipper across the way – although this means remembering to hike the vee-berth’s base cushion clear, or you’ll end up resting your feet on it.

There is space under this forward seat for the optional fridge, while tucked under the rear seat is the sea-toilet installation which comes complete with a holding tank. The lack of privacy might be something of an issue, but in fact with the accompanying curtain drawn, no-one ashore will be any the wiser... and anyone else aboard just needs to find something to do in the cockpit!

The helm is pretty basic, as you might expect, but the wheel and throttle are well placed and there is room for a few electronics. It was also good to find a demister blower to help keep the screen clear here. Both screen sections are also serviced by a wiper, not simply the area in front of the skipper. And here, as elsewhere, the mouldings are nicely finished.

Hinge forward the helm seat and you’ll make more of the galley by exposing the sink – fed by a manual faucet from the water tank within the seat plinth – while just adjacent is the standard Wallas twin-burner hob, which handily doubles as a heater unit. Set within the galley moulding are three drawers and a small cupboard plus there is a shelf outboard for mugs, tea and coffee; allowing the basics to be kept ready on board while more expansive culinary delights need to be catered for on a day-to-day or weekend basis.

The forward vee-seating is a comfortable spot to tuck yourself away in, with decent width seat bases incorporating tidy, lined lockers. Useful, wide shelves run outboard of the backrest cushions.

The boat’s LOA includes the bolt-on bathing platform and by nicely aping the stern’s rounded shape (rather than being a cumbersome, if more expansive squared-off job) it helps streamline the hull, as well as providing some extra locker space – and a spot to board.

To lend a steadying hand, the coaming here is equipped with a couple of handrails and the same consideration goes for when you are boarding from the pontoon, with handrails set by the break of the cockpit. To save scuffing the gelcoat here, the coaming top is thoughtfully finished with teak slats.

The coachroof is also equipped with handrails, but the slim sidedecks are not a place to dally. You are best off sorting ropes out from either the safety of the internal cockpit steps or the foredeck. The latter boasts a good-sized locker, and because there are midships cleats (as well as those fore and aft) there is plenty of mooring hardware to hand.

However, it is the cockpit that makes the boat. The coaming – and hence seat backs – are a good depth, so you feel well and truly ‘in’ the boat. And with the optional canopy arrangement in play, this is a truly useful area, no matter what the weather, or what you are up to, whether taking it easy with your feet up or having some friends over for a drink. Indeed, there is room for half-adozen of you without getting too sardine-like. The top of the engine box has been extended to form a handy table, and there is quite a bit of space in the seat locker voids despite the presence of a fair few ancillaries, such as the battery box and holding tank for the toilet. Also located here, and easy to operate, is a useful sized manual bilge pump.

Our test model had one of Yanmar’s ultracompact three-cylinder 40hp units, and although the brochure alludes to a smaller engine still, there does not seem anything to gain by downsizing on the horsepower. With 40hp to call on, the boat’s capabilities – in terms of going coastal – are nicely catered for.

The GRP engine box, lined with a modicum of foam insulation, simply hinges back... and there she blows, sat on a moulded liner to make cleaning up after any spills that bit easier.

Service points around the engine are all easy to get to, although the impeller is quite tight on to an adjacent bulkhead. The raw-water strainer and header tank reservoir are located in the port-hand seat locker, which helps keep the actual engine box smaller than it might otherwise be, and ensures these two important service items are readily accessible. The batteries are housed beneath the starboard seat, while the actual switch is positioned behind a lockable door set in the seat base, so it can be readily accessed when arriving or leaving the boat.

As our test boat was based on the upper Thames, we had to curtail our usual roster of rough-’em-up sea-trials, and simply spent a leisurely spell messing about on the river. But in fact this gentle pottering at little more than 1400 rpm for just under five knots showed just how useful this sort of hull is for river work. It’s easy to push along with excellent straight-line stability, so you are not always tweaking the helm as you would do with a sterndrive or outboard leg. There is quite a useful portion of boat in the water, too, so windage plays less of a factor.

On the other hand, a sizeable rudder gives plenty of kick, and the hull will turn round in just about its own length. It’s a pleasantly predictable sort of boat in matters of slow speed work. Because of the Bella’s rounded stern, there is much less chance of catching it, so you can ease away ahead without worrying about the quarters snagging on lock walls. Indeed, somewhat by chance perhaps, this is a commendably serviceable riverboat hull, on top of which the helm affords an excellent view right round.

As to what can be achieved in open water, we have had to dip into the manufacturer’s own test data. But given this model’s respectable longevity and the fact that there is a whole raft of knowing home-grown Finnish owners with experience of these boats, Bella’s claim of a tad over 10 knots does not seem at all unrealistic. And considering that this hull is clearly better suited to displacement work than anything too speedy, it is unlikely to want to stretch itself further. We did note, though, that the engine was pulling just 3000rpm out of a possible 3800rpm.

Small, jaunty, inboard craft like this are rare. Of course there are a fair few pêche-promenaders available that have the same wheelhouse/inboard configuration, but they don’t really lend themselves so much for inland work. And most dedicated inland craft of this size will invariably be outboard powered, and so less geared towards more onerous estuary and coastal waters. All of this means that it is tricky to make like-for-like comparisons with ‘rival’ boats. On top of that, we found it hard to find practically any inboard diesel boat as keenly priced as this Bella.

Sure, you still have to spring for the cockpit cushions and the canopy – which are really essential to the enjoyment of the boat – plus most of us would opt for the convenience factor of a fridge. But even allowing for those options, you’re still only up to £35k.

We also liked the fact that it is tidily finished with decent quality joinery, and that most lockers and tucked away areas benefited from GRP liners. So there’s no missing that ha’penth of tar. And yes, the spec fulfils all you would ask: the toilet is a proper pump-out jobbie complete with holding tank, and there’s that useful hob-cum-heater too. All in, a great package.

T L Harvey Ltd, Whitworth Close, Darlaston, West Midlands WS10 8LJ.
Tel: 0121 568 8837.
Email: marine@tlharvey.com
Web: www.bellaboats.fi