Van de Stadt Spirit 28 Buyer's Guide
Shopping the brokerage market for a Van de Stadt Spirit 28 means looking at a Belgian-built, early-seventies Van de Stadt design with 284 hulls to its name — a masthead sloop of just under 28 feet that has circulated long enough to show up in meaningful numbers. Ex-charter examples are common, and the four-cabin charter layout is the more frequently seen version on the used market, though other layouts do appear.
Layouts on the Used Market
The dominant used-boat configuration is the charter-oriented four-cabin arrangement, which reflects the boat's time spent in fleet service. Both the charter layout and other configurations remain available, but a buyer should expect the four-cabin boat to be the easier find. Ex-charter history is a common trait rather than an exception, so survey and logbook scrutiny for hard use matters more than on a privately owned sister.
Equipment and Common Upgrades
On the used market, a dodger and a chartplotter are commonly fitted, and a short-handed setup, dinghy davits, and a cockpit shower are also typical. For a buyer, the short-handed setup is the item with the most day-to-day consequence: it speaks to simplified sail handling that suits a couple or single-hander. Davits change stern trim and dinghy stowage, the cockpit shower affects deck hardware and through-hulls, and the chartplotter is now baseline navigation rather than an upgrade. A dodger is a comfort item that also signals how exposed the companionway is without it.
What to Inspect
The construction is solid fiberglass throughout hull and deck, with a fin keel and spade rudder on a shaft-drive driveline. Verify the masthead rig's standing and running rigging against the 3/8-inch sheet diameters, and confirm the shaft drive and rudder stock are free of play. The immersion rate of about 727 pounds per inch means load and ballast integrity should be checked where keel meets hull.
Availability and Buyer's Takeaway
The Spirit 28 turns up in Australia and the Netherlands as the principal markets. For a shopper, the short list is:
- Expect a four-cabin ex-charter boat as the common find; inspect for fleet wear.
- Confirm the fin keel bond and spade rudder on any example.
- Check that rigging matches the standard 3/8-inch sheet sizes.
- Treat dodger, chartplotter, davits, cockpit shower, and short-handed rig as normal rather than premium.
Price & volume trends
Monthly asking-price and listing-volume trends for the Van de Stadt Spirit 28. The line shows the median ask each month; the bars show how many listings appeared.
Monthly breakdown · 3 rows
| Month | Listings | Median ask | Δ vs. last mo. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 26 | 1 | $18,272 | — |
| Mar 26 | 1 | $12,539 | -31.4% |
| Aug 26 | 1 | $19,700 | +57.1% |
Where they're listed
Van de Stadt Spirit 28 listings appear across 2 countries. Australia has the most listings with 2 (66.7%), followed by United States.
Country view
3 listings · 2 countries| Country | Median ask | Listings · 12 mo | Active · 90 d | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australia | $15,406 | 2 | 0 | 66.7% |
| United States | $19,700 | 1 | 1 | 33.3% |
Comparable models
Similar length, displacement, and era. Open a row to compare that model's market page.
Similar boats to compare
5 similar designs| Model | LOA | Median ask | Listings · 12 mo | Active · 90 d |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jeremy Rogers 28 | 27.67' | $ 9,705 | 30 | 11 |
| Cape Dory 28 | 28.1' | $ 18,750 | 20 | 6 |
| One-Off 28 | 28.18' | $ 40,758 | 14 | 3 |
| Jeanneau First 28 | 28.21' | $ 26,587 | 12 | 3 |
| Van De Stadt Spirit 28You are here | — | $ 18,272 | 3 | 1 |