Van de Stadt 36 Zeehond Buyer's Guide
The Van de Stadt 36 Zeehond, also known as the Seal 36, is a 1976 E.G. van de Stadt design built in steel, aluminum, or wood, with many hulls finished by amateurs or yards from kits. Shopping the used market means judging not just the design but the execution of a boat whose original construction path may have been a home workshop rather than a production line.
Layouts on the Used Market
The Zeehond is a true flush-deck yacht whose hull is raised to give standing room below without a long coach-roof, producing a compact topside profile with a roomy interior. A completely separate aft cabin is reached safely below deck, a feature that sets the layout apart from open-plan cruisers of the same length. The high freeboard that enables this headroom also keeps less water on deck, though headroom itself is below average for the size.
Equipment and Common Upgrades
Because the sail plan is slightly underrigged for a boat of this type, buyers should look at how previous owners addressed light-air drive: a 135 percent genoa lifts the SA/D from 13.4 to 16.2, and many cruisers will have fitted a larger overlapping headsail or a masthead asymmetrical spinnaker for downwind passages. Rig hardware follows documented diameters — 12 mm halyards and 14 mm sheets — so any upgrade to modern low-stretch line is a consequence-free improvement. Beyond sail handling, the deep fin keel drawing near two meters means a windlass and well-routed ground tackle matter more than galley gadgets for practical ownership.
What to Inspect
The flush-deck configuration and high freeboard are design strengths, but the deep fin keel drawing 1.90 to 2.00 meters restricts the boat to major marinas and exposes the keel-hull junction to load-dependent grounding risk. Steel hulls demand close inspection for corrosion at welds and coating failures, while wood and aluminum versions each carry their own material-specific checks. The slightly underrigged status is inherent, not a defect, but verify that the masthead rig and standing rigging match the 33.5 meter halyard lengths and have not been quietly downsized.
Availability and Buyer's Takeaway
The Zeehond appears across the used market in all three construction materials. When evaluating a specific boat, work through this short list:
- Confirm construction material and inspect accordingly: steel for corrosion, wood for moisture, aluminum for isolation
- Verify keel-hull junction and fin condition given the deep draft
- Check rigging lengths and diameters against documented specs
- Assess home-completed build quality through systems routing and joinery
- Evaluate sail inventory for adequate area given the underrigged baseline
Price & volume trends
Monthly asking-price and listing-volume trends for the Van de Stadt 36 Zeehond. The line shows the median ask each month; the bars show how many listings appeared.
Monthly breakdown · 7 rows
| Month | Listings | Median ask | Δ vs. last mo. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 25 | 1 | $39,178 | — |
| Jan 26 | 3 | $44,344 | +13.2% |
| Feb 26 | 1 | $50,628 | +14.2% |
| Mar 26 | 1 | $33,581 | -33.7% |
| Apr 26 | 1 | $6,624 | -80.3% |
| May 26 | 1 | $33,581 | +407.0% |
| Jul 26 | 1 | $62,267 | +85.4% |
Where they're listed
Van de Stadt 36 Zeehond listings appear across 3 countries. Netherlands has the most listings with 4 (44.4%), followed by Australia and United Kingdom.
Country view
9 listings · 3 countries| Country | Median ask | Listings · 12 mo | Active · 90 d | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Netherlands | $36,379 | 4 | 0 | 44.4% |
| Australia | $50,628 | 3 | 0 | 33.3% |
| United Kingdom | $34,446 | 2 | 1 | 22.2% |
Comparable models
Similar length, displacement, and era. Open a row to compare that model's market page.
Similar boats to compare
6 similar designs| Model | LOA | Median ask | Listings · 12 mo | Active · 90 d |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gozzard 36 | 36' | $ 65,000 | 33 | 4 |
| Rustler Yachts 36 | 35.33' | $ 99,363 | 31 | 8 |
| Cape George 36 | 36' | $ 112,250 | 12 | 5 |
| Roberts Roberts 36 | — | $ 39,679 | 11 | 4 |
| Van De Stadt 36 ZeehondYou are here | — | $ 40,625 | 9 | 1 |
| Koopmans 36 | 36.75' | $ 33,021 | 7 | 1 |