Hi I've been looking for a yacht to sail around Aust solo, (with my german shepard). I am considering moving to Tas from SA as there is a 1988 Steel VDS 34. From the pics on boat sales tas she look's alright, 'yimkin' is only 5'4 tons and from what reading i have done this seems a bit light, Can any owner's let me know about their VDS 34, there is some yachts here in Adelaide but they seem to over priced and not cared for.

I have an aluminium VDS 34, and can't praise it highly enough, superb in the rougher stuff, light on the steering to windward and well balanced, a little heavier down wind but I wouldn't call it a handful. But it's the space down below that sets it apart, for yachts in the sub $100,000 they have space getting near a modern dual wheel yacht. I have had a couple of trips now with 6 on board for almost a week, with paddle boards, surf boards, fishing gear and beer, no problems at all. My aluminium is only 4.5 tonnes, but handles well and from what I have been told the 5.5 tonnes of steel handle just as well especially as the wind gets up. Friends of mine have lived on board a steel VDS 34 for almost 20 years now and bought up a kid on board, I think that should satisfy any live on board fears.

Remember harbour007 intends to sail this vessel solo! Lots of money and work is needed 0n Yimkin to make her handy. Though she does have a good windvane gear. Looks like the autopilot is used to set it up though.

I agree with Ramona that the non steel VDS 34s are worth a look, especially considering their price.

Blue Eagle is a fantastic yacht too though possibly not what you are looking for in a yacht.

Yimkin looks to be a very well set up yacht, for CRUISING. I wouldn't hope to win any races with her as by the looks of the fit out and extra gear fitted I guarantee she will not be at the designed displacement of 5.4 tonnes.

Likes:-

No deck locker in the bow, anchor chain straight down a hawse pipe. Very good.

The solid dodger as long as it is fibreglass, not steel.

The nav station with folding seat.

The overall presentation. This guy has cleared out all the personal bits and is a genuine seller.

Dislikes:-

That thumping great anchor winch. A low profile Muir would be a whole lot better.

That thumping great steering console in the middle of the cockpit. Wheel steering is more weight, more to go wrong and is misplaced on any yacht under 40 ft. Tiller steering is much easier to set up for self steering even with a bungee cord. Tiller pilots are a lot less expensive and simpler to use. A Simrad TP 2 would be ideal for this sized yacht.

The halliards and main sheeting arrangement. Halliard winches on the mast and main sheet traveller down in the cockpit within arms reach of the helmsman.

No boom bag and lazy jacks. Fairly much essential for single handing.


I do question taking your German Shepard along. That is a fair lump of dog to be handling between deck and dinghy and it will not oblige you by going limp during the transfer. If it falls in the drink anywhere north of the Tropic of Capricorn, it will make a tasty snack for a croc or shark. Have you had it out on the water before??

A interesting article on steel boats

www.thecoastalpassage.com/rust.html

Regards Don

BlueMoon said..

Ramona, First thing I noticed on the links of the VDS34 is the lack of a coaming around the cockpit, wouldn't they be a wet, uncomfortable place to be for a single-hander in a bit of a blow? (I really don't know about this design, just asking the question), I'd be a bit worried about the dog in the cockpit too, a lot of boat for the money tho. The Peterson32 looked very nice, cheers

Yes the links I posted are for race cockpit layout Van de Stad 34's. The cruisy versions have cockpit coamings and the heads in the rear of the main cabin. The main sheet hawse across the cockpit gives a better advantage when hauling in the main. The steely with the airbrake has the traveller on the rear of the solid dodger, must be awkward to adjust, especially if solo.

I would check the dog out too. Mine gets seasick offshore. He has his own jacket/harness and in calm waters wants to wander about. When it bumps up he gets real miserable and collapses in the cockpit.

Hmmm, steel is real for sure. Iv talked to a few sailors that have Landed on rocks, been hit by trawlers and struck reefs and the boat survived.
Rust can be a pain if you got it! So can osmosis in fibreglass and rot in wood etc. condition is important.
Iv found pictures online show very little and when seen close up the wonderful looking yacht is a wreck.
Having a think steel hull myself I enjoy the quietness of it, some glass hulls and other thin hulls are noisy at anchor and sailing.
Go on a snell easy cat when there is 10 knots of wind and see what I mean, I think aluminium needs insulating to be a good hull material. Well so would any thin skinned steel hull too.
It's good to have an open mind to what yacht you want, try and get to a marina to talk with cruisers and jump up and down on some boats :))...

Donk107 said..

Hi to all

With the link i poster earlier it was not to ridicule steel boats just to let Harbour know of some of the stuff to look out for


Regards Don

No I didn't think you were ridiculing at all Don and even after all the work those people put in they were still happy having a steel yacht.

I think the main thrust of their story is that there are surveyors who know their stuff and there are charlatans who have done a TAFE course, got a certificate and pose as surveyors using a document template 20 pages long which demonstrates their lack of knowledge about even a dinghy and for a print out of the document in which they just fill in some blanks, they charge the princely sum of $5,000.

When I was buying a 42 ft Peterson alloy charter yacht in Cairns years ago I asked around "Who is the expert on alloy yachts in this town?". I got his name and number and got him down to the yard when the yacht was lifted. He looked at it and he said "The anodes are working, there is no paint being blown off therefore you have no electrolysis problem and that will be $100.

I paid him, thanked him and he went on his way. That is the type of surveyor people should look for because he knew that I knew what I was about and had already gone over the yacht with a fine tooth comb.

Be very wary of the "surveyor" who comes to the yard with white pants, blue monogrammed polo shirt and matching cap and Sperry Topsiders, an insidious grin on his face and says "Oh hello there. What a fine day it is to go sailing it is today. Here is my card."

Listen and talk with the guy who comes down in slightly grubby work dungarees, steel capped work boots, a broad brimmed hat and says "Don't ask me to value the boat. That is for you to decide. What specifically do you want to know about the boat and if you want a written report it will cost you another $300 on top of my $50 hourly rate.