"imagineero" wrote in message
...
Hi all,
hoping someone can identify this 30 foot van der stadt for me and any
information available on it?

Dear Shaun
It looks like a Dogger, although I've never seen one with a lifting keel or
centreplate. Mine has a fin keel with 1,600 kg of cast iron in it (a bit
heavy to lift). In the fixed keel version, they are very capable sea boats
and used to do well in the Cape to Rio races in the past. A slightly
modified one came second, IIRC, in the Cape to Bahia race a couple of years
ago, with an octogenarian at the helm! They are quite fast, very sea kindly
and a pleasure to sail. There is a very similar boat, known in South Africa
as the Royal Cape One Design, which is about a foot shorter and a bit
narrower - the Dogger is 8'6" beam and 31' overall. I don't think RCODs
usually have sink, stove or heads.

They are built of plywood but the design is excellent and they last quite
well. Mine is 28 years old and although I have replaced a couple of metres
of deck (look for rot/soft ply at back corners of cabin) the repairs are
easy to do. If left in salt water the hulls seem to last - there are several
around here (Cape Town) which must be around 30 years old.

Cabin designs vary and my plans show two or three alternative layouts. Mine
has a longer raised section - the saloon - and a shorter forward section
than in the ebay photo. Layout is V berth forward; heads to stbd and sink to
port in between two bulkheads; and then the saloon with two settee berths
and rather basic galley. There are also two quarter berths but I use one of
them for stowage and on some boats it is closed off and used as a cockpit
locker. The cockpit is large and seats 4 in comfort or 6 at a push. There is
a large locker aft running the full width of the boat. Headroom is fair -
about 6' under the sliding hatch and about 5'6" to 5'8" elsewhere.

Hope that helps.
John.