Well after all my questions on the forum, I am now the proud owner of a Van De Stadt 34, aluminium hull, perfectly suited to surf and kitesurf trips to the Abrolhos Islands, lots more questions to come. So stoked, but fully aware of what I have got myself into!:-)
Congratulations Nigel. Van De Stadt 34s are a fantastic yacht with great interior room for a 34 foot yacht.
I have one myself built in steel.
Yours being alloy, you should be able to load her up with plenty of stores for longer trips away.
Have heard the alloy 34s do sit a tad higher in the water than they should.
Some pics would be great. Hint, hint.
Sorry have not taken many photos yet, plenty of work to do, but all really basic stuff, she sails very well and is quite lively, lots of fun ahead.
Congratulations. She looks terrific.
I have a contract on a steel version at the moment. Wish me luck.
Beautiful yacht. Deep fin, spade rudder version like mine. Will be a great windward yacht. She has an inner stay sail too. Perfect for heavy weather.
Yanmar 3 cyl 30 hp heat exchanger engine. Spot on.
Quick tip for alloy yachts. When screwing stainless bolts into or through aluminium, apply Durolac insulating grease to the bolts. Sticky and messy but worth it. You will be able to get the bolts out at a later date.
Hi Cisco, that one is Ruby Tuesday(steel) and immaculate with everything, I had my mind set on an S&S 34, when I was viewing one, the agent took me over Ruby Tuesday and the space inside completely made me rethink, the Van de Stadt is so spacious. The one I have bought is called Jezebel, listed by Martin Box Marine, not sure how to put a link up but will post more once I have her up in Geraldton. Good luck for yours Perfwise.
Ah, definitely busted the price, I got a different ship! Thanks for pointing that out because you make me think I am getting a great bargain. Mine is 10 years older but with nothing to do (well...almost nothing 8<)...) and has an interior of solid Queensland maple which makes the one you sent over look pretty cheap by comparison. Mine was built by NQEA up in Cairns, supplier to the Navy and builder of megayachts. And I even got a little off the asking price:http://www.australiawide.com/list-boats.php?dealer=australiawide&ToDo=show_details&cate=Sail_mono&de=117406
Again: Thanks for pointing that one out: made my day!
...russ
Sunburst is a lovely looking boat but the deck layout is unsuitable for singlehanded sailing or husband wife combo. Looks suspiciously like running backstays as well!
It really depends on what kind of a trooper the wife is and the age of the crew members.
In 1979 when I was 29, I crewed aboard a similar yacht (Philip 43) from Tonga to Fiji then to Sydney.
The master was Phil Wade who was a professional yachtsman and would then crew and campaign the Admiral's Cup for the Brazilians. The Brazilians flew home after the race and Phil and his wife (a 60 kg slip of a girl) would deliver the yacht back to Rio via Antigua Race week, sometimes just taking one other crew aboard.
On the trans Tasman trip we had an Aries but no auto so most sail changes were two up, one helming and the other fore decking. Sometimes it needed the three of us.
The halliard and reefing winches were on the mast and boom which is the set up I prefer.
The high aspect ratio of the mainsails on these yachts means the main will be lighter than the No 1 and 2 genoas at least.
It had twin forestays also which made sail changes quite efficient.
Sun Burst needs re-rigging anyway. You can't trust old rod rigging. So with the rig down I would fit halliard and reefing winches to the mast and boom or even have the reefing winches on the mast too.
She does have running backstays which can be annoying, but set far enough aft can be out of the way of the boom and mainsail.
They are quite handy though as they will be attached at or near the second spreaders which is where the spinnaker pole topping lift will exit the mast.This is ideal for setting up an inner forestay and using the topping lift as a halliard for the staysail.
Sun Burst has 16 sails so there is plenty of gear to play with. With that kind of set up, foresail management could come down to 2 staysails (one overlapping and the other not for heavy weather) and 2 headsails (one say a high cut reefable yankee and a deck sweeping No 1 or 2 genoa) or you could have a furling head sail with the inner stay removable for easier tacking.
We are not usually racing so spinnaker use is optional however I would recommend keeping a smaller flat cut tri-radial in a launch-retrieve sock aboard. These yachts lift their skirts and fly with a good spinnaker.
That is all just to say that the yacht could be made quite manageable for a couple or trio. A tight trio would be ideal. It is not a learner's yacht but it will teach those who sail her. Much depends on physical fitness and skill of the crew.
If I was 20 years younger, I would have no hesitation buying her.
The VDS 34 is an ideal live aboard platform for a cruising couple that provides a high level of comfort, non arduous manageability and exciting performance if not overloaded.
The capability of being singlehanded I believe is an important consideration for a cruising yacht and auto pilots really assist with single or dual handing.
Single handing is not a thing I do by choice. It is a tad anti-social for me.
