What Do You Know About this Boat ?

[blitzcurl]

Its a 30' Van de stadt, no mast, diesel volvo, 4500$.
I will be flying home in a couple of weeks and i am looking for a nice project.
Any info or help would be of interest.
Thanks
Steve

[Minggat]

I think I found the mast. Looks to me like it's hidden right there on top.

[GordMay]

Greetings and welcome aboard the CF, Steve.

See ➥ Sailboat Designs of E. G.*van de Stadt

And ➥ Off 4 a Sail

Or contact ➥ Cruisers & Sailing Forums - View Profile: harpoon71

[inSanity]

Nice looking boat. I'd buy her. Yup, looks like a mast to me.

[Pete7]

Yes, I would buy her too. Steel hull, brilliant at least you know just by looking at it if its a disaster or okay and easy to repair anywhere in the world, cheaply.



Pete

[tager]

I have never understood the "easy to repair anywhere in the world, cheaply" bit about steel boats. A GFRP boat can be repaired if you just carry a few materials that have really long shelf life and store pretty neatly. With a steel boat you need a welder, steel sheet, various extrusions, grinder, and skill.

It seems like "easy to repair anywhere in the world" applies more to fiberglass, and even wood boats than steel.

[hpeer]

Tager,

Don't know where you are located but if location works I would recommend a different boat I saw last summer. I (insanely) have two steel boats and I love them. You do need to be very careful when buying a steel boat because the rust can be insidious. If $4,500 is very dear to you I would spend a lot of time in the bilges, in the really hard and uncomfortable spots to look for interior rust. It may have been painted over and look fine but when you start poking around very carefully you find all kinds of issues. Sometimes you can have some surface rust that has run through the steel and weakened seriously. I have seen this. It must have a name but I don't know what it is.

Look at the stringers, they should have weep holes so that they do not collect water. Look at the ribs and floors, they too should have weep holes. If not you may well have serious rust issues.

I saw a Topper Hermanson in Florida this spring. 25 years old. The rudder had a 3 inch high pile of rust on the ground under it and there where holes big enough for your hat in the keel. Very pretty lines but she was completely rusted out from the inside out. Yet someone bought her. God knows why.

If the boat has been sitting for some time that is generally not good. They don't get looked at and water accumulates and then you can have a problem.

I had a rust hole through my transom right next to the SS fitting for my wind vane. Must have been dissimilar metal corrosion. Easy enough to fix once I found it but it was nearly invisible. In our "new" boat I found some bad corrosion near the galley thru hull. I had to have a section cut out and a new piece put in. The previous owner had the same problem in the same place and had also repaired it but for some reason his repair rotted out in short order. Perhaps it was not done right the first time?

[Pete7]

Originally Posted by tager

I have never understood the "easy to repair anywhere in the world, cheaply" bit about steel boats. .

Well because all you need is someone who can weld, be it cutting out and patching or just plating over, rather than a shipwright or boat builder. Steel is available the world over. Trimmed with an angle grinder (my favourite tool) slap some paint on and back to sea.

You can also sea when things are going wrong.

Pete

[eyschulman]

The use of a good marine surveyor familiar with steel construction is the answer as to your ferther involvement-don't jump before you spring for the survey