Does anyone know if Feadship used a floating ground system in the mid 50's. If it didn't use a floating ground system, the hull corrosion would have accelerated based on what I have read here and other forums. Also did Feadship provide good access to bilge areas, hatches? What about other steel hull boat manufacturers; Burger,...? Thanks in advance
vintage Feadship steel hull Hi I dont know if they did or not but I cant tell you that the hull of my 1960 61ft van lent Feadship Tiky (aka Alto Volante) was in appalling condition when I bought her 4 years ago. what started as a small refit grew and grew and grew... We've replaced approx 27 sq yds of plating and amended the framing so as to remove water traps which had been the cause of a lot of hull corrosion . To do this we had to totally strip her out including removing all the furniture and BHs, so that meant rebuilding the interior from scratch (no loss really, as it wasn't very well built) . While we were at it we rebuilt the tanks, rebuilt the steering, built a new PH, then replaced much of the steel sub deck, and fitted a new teak deck. We junked all the old A/C. as well as the other gear & electronics etc and then fitted a bowthruster, new modern stabilizers, new shafts and 2 fully rebuilt Gardner engines ...finally we totally replumbed and rewired her ... etc etc etc ... not an inexpensive project but I dont regret it as she is now a beautiful and virtually new boat that with proper maintenance should last another 60 years or more best david
Wow, that is a major refit. It sounds like you took the time and the money to do it right. Do you have any pictures of her, I would like to see them.
feadship refit Id be happy to. I'll send a bunch of pics of her.. email address removed; READ THE RULES! regards david
Feadship Condition David, You mention that the interior of the ship was not very well built. Is that because of the original build quality or was it already changed from original? From what I have read, Feadships are quality builds. Does it then depend on the specific shipbuilder, ie. Van Lent, De Vries, or ...? Thanks
feadship Hi I dont really know how to answer that question. Today's Feadships are certainly beautifully built but I guess the boats they built in the 1950's & maybe early '60s were probably built to lower standards and not intended to last 60 or more years. Feadship is not actually a builder - it was a Federation of a number of Dutch yards that was formed after the war to market Dutch built steel boats to the USA, where boats were still mainly being built in wood and many Feadships were sold to the US in the 50s & 60s because they were so much cheaper than US built boats of the same size...maybe that had something to do with it also. My boat is an unusual amalgamation of a European design hull (ie round bilge, flared topsides and cruiser stern) with a Chris Craft style of superstructure. Thats what makes her so unique, best david
Vintage 61ft Feadship restoration here are photos of the hull work - next week I'll add some of the work to deck and interior etc best david
Are you asking about the AC distribution system or DC? Do you really mean an insulated neutral? Many older steel hull vessels used an insulated neutral to prevent a sngle ground fault from becoming a short circuit but the machinery was grounded to the hull for safety. Who knows what a generation or two of owners or electricians have done since the boat was built. You will need to do some detective of your own on the boat because it is likely that almost any configuration or mix may be found. In addition you will probably find enough ground faults to keep you busy and frustrated for a very long time.
