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'RAGAMUFFIN'
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 'Ragamuffin' is a good example of a van de Stadt design built entirely by its current owner, Dave Nisbet of Essex,
England.
(Click on the miniature photo to see the full-sized version.)
Design : van de Stadt
Class :
Seal 36
Length: 11.0 metres
Displacement: 9500 Kg
Plate: 4 mm, grade 50B
Deck: 15mm teak on 10mm marine ply
Vessel name: ' Raggamuffin'
This is a centre cockpit, flush-deck, design. There are various options in the plans for the type of
rig; keel; rudder and skeg configurations; deck materials and even construction and plating methods.
A sloop rig, with moderate depth keel, spade rudder, and a timber deck with steel beams
was chosen. A frameless fairing construction with four millimetre plating, in a specially-fabricated jig, was chosen, rather than framed construction and three millimetre plate.
The hull is of multi-chine design, and has four strakes, and therefore three
chines, each
side.
It is felt that this provides a closer approximation to a round bilge design, in sailing performance, than a single-chine type. The strakes were plotted directly on to the steel plates, from dimensions provided by the designers on the paper drawings.
Technology has moved on in recent years and electronic data transfer, direct to CNC
machine which cuts the plating, is now very common, apparently. The method of manual plotting,
however, proved to be fast and accurate, using a nibbler, with all the plates aligning perfectly. There was a small deviation at the bow area, where it was not practical to make the plate physically achieve the exact theoretical shape, but this is of no real consequence.
The boat was launched in July 1997 and has first-class sailing qualities. The steering is very
positive. Motoring around in the marina, for example, can be done in reverse as well as (if not
better than) in forward gear. This manoeuverability is because of the keel/rudder arrangement. The keel option which was chosen for this boat is, in some respects, shoal draft, with a long fin
keel but with a spade rudder mounted well aft. The semi-balanced spade rudder, some 1.5 to 2 metres aft of the keel trailing edge, provides excellent turning force. The keel is of steel box construction, with the lead ballast cast in and plated over, so there’s no problem with the ballast moving or water ingress. The shape of the keel is a very pleasing
aerofoil which, obviously, contributes to good windward performance.
The sail area is well balanced, as would be expected from a quality design house. When compared with other boats of similar construction it proves to have a high sail area- to- displacement ratio, thus providing a good
power-to-weight ratio.
The designers have produced a relatively light boat with the frameless fairing method of construction. Newer designs have, perhaps, even less displacement, but the Seal provides a good compromise between performance and displacement,
which translates as cruising comfort.
Overall, the construction went extremely well, with no real problems, although
it involved a great deal of hard work, and the vessel sails really well.
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Many thanks for that piece from Dave Nisbet, on his excellent Seal 36, designed by vd Stadt of Holland. The deck especially, looks magnificent, with a serious thickness of teak.
Would you believe marble in the heads? (Heads: bathroom/toilet on boats) That would be material for a great
article some time – we hope... Dave’s now looking for his next project!
Care to tell us about your home-build?
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