Van De Stadt 34

[thehorsey]

Hi all,

I'm looking at a Van De Stadt 34 steel hull built by Doug Knight. Does anyone have any opinions or information on the builder and the design? Apparently he featured in a book named "Steel Away".

Thanks in advance.

Hayden

[Jon Neely]

Van De Stadt designs are no joke sailing machines generally. We have met a few VDS designs while cruising here in the Caribbean and all the sailors are well traveled. That said most of the VDS boats we have seen are all 40+ feet, but needless to say the guy knew how to design a proper sailboat with an emphasis of good all around sailing performance. That's all I'll claim to know... but if you are looking at steel/aluminium, it's probably one of the best designers you can go with. His ocean series of larger ketches are world famous for sea worthiness and good ride and the trintella line of yachts are probably one of the best series of ocean cruising boats that where made from frp, steel and aluminum.