Van De Stadt Black Soo 31'

C

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Van De Stadt Black Soo 31\'

After advice on this type of boat???

She is Marine ply deck and hull does this cause concerns???

Most I see of plywood are sheated???

Should I be looking for anything in particular with plywood hulls and if purchased should I spend the money sheathing her??? How much would that cost???

Built in 1961 by Richard Betts if that means anything to anyone.
Thanks in anticipation...
 
Re: Van De Stadt Black Soo 31\'

G'day Christmas,

Ply boats are very easy to repair and cost less than GRP to repair, fresh water leaking inside is your enemy, rain water is the main contributor. There are many old ply boats still around, some from the second world war that were built in a hurry are still afloat.

Proper treatment with epoxy eliminates the need for sheathing, thou I prefer a ply boat to be sheathed myself. This is also a simple project, just apply a coat of resin and stretch the sheathing to eliminate creases and roll on a little more resin.

Check what the hull has been treated with, most were sheathed early in their life, the sheathing material is very thin and may be obvious.

Check for wood rot with an old dart (Flight not required) holding in your fingers push the point side on to the area being checked and see if you have a mark, test the pressure required on a known good lump.

Any areas of end grain such as chines and the bow or transom to hull are the areas to check first.

Van De Stadt designed some very nice looking and very sea worthy boats with good performance in their time, so enjoy.

Andavagoodweekend......
 
Re: Van De Stadt Black Soo 31\'

I don't know this particular boat but have had the experience of restoring a ply boat. If you find any rot, the chances are that it will have spread into adjacent hidden places. As oldsaltoz says, it is fresh water that is the enemy of wooden boats and they usually rot from the inside out. Condensation and rainwater leaks are the usual source (assuming the boat normally floats in salt water). You need to look for any places where water can sit, such as on top of the chine logs or on top of any stringers that haven't been provided with a drain hole. Check for blocked drainage holes between bilge compartments. Have a good sniff around inside the furthest reaches and lockers for the smell of dry rot. It has a very distinctive odour. Be careful when prodding round with a sharp object. A seller must expect a surveyor to do that, but several prospective buyers can make a lot of holes! I hope she is sound- if so, when she is totally dry inside, it is worth giving the bilges a good soaking in wood preservative such as Cuprinol. I had my boat resheathed and went well over budget in the process, and with hindsight it probably wasn't necessary.
 
Re: Van De Stadt Black Soo 31\'

There are a lot of Black Soo's in Australia, very popular in the '60's. Fast, wet and with the Van De Stad pedigree how could you go wrong. With the recent increase in interest rates here a dead yacht market is going to get worse so there are going to be some excellent buys about.

The plywood available in the 60's was very good quality {my yacht has a cedar ply hull}. As Oldsalt has said, fresh water is the problem. It lays in the hull, evaporates and condenses on the deck and under the cockpit. Check carefully under the cockit, this seems to be the worse place for rot.
 
Re: Van De Stadt Black Soo 31\'

[ QUOTE ]
Thanks to all for the info much appreciated,
What is a Chine???

[/ QUOTE ]

Boats constructed of sheet material like ply or steel often have chines, they the change in angle from one sheet to the next, most noticeable at the bow, where the sides are rounded to form the pointy end, then a change of angle that continues under the boat to form the underside of the hull.

Chine - The angle of intersection between the topsides and the bottom of a boat. In a hard-chined boat this angle is pronounced.

See http://www.marinewaypoints.com/learn/glossary/glossary.shtml#C

Andavagoodweekend......
 
Re: Van De Stadt Black Soo 31\'

I patched up a ply chine boat for a friend ( YM Senior - about 16' ). Repairing bits in the middle of a panel is a comparative doodle. Inevitably, however, water had settled along the chine stringers and that's where the rot was which meant much more serious surgery.
If twere me I'd have a really good suspicious look and don't be optimistic.
 
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