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LOCATION
Palma de Mallorca Spain
YEAR
1995
LENGTH
55.12 ft.
Condition
Used
Name
Truant of Sark
Year
1995
Make & Model
Van Dam Nordia 55
Boat type
Sail
Length
55.12 ft.
Fuel Type
Diesel
Location
Palma de Mallorca Spain
Tax status
Paid
Beam
15.58 ft.
Draft Max
6.56 ft.
LWL
47.57 ft.
TRUANT is a blue-water cruising yacht of fine quality. Van Dam Nordia is world-renowned for producing semi-custom yachts with the highest quality joinery and superb systems. The owners of Truant were very involved in the build of this first Van Dam Nordia 55, which set the benchmark for this new model for the yard.
TRUANT has had one owner from new and was commissioned as a family boat for long-distance cruising. She has always been maintained to the highest professional standard with a budget to match. Her owners have always invested in equipment, improvements and modernisation over the years, so that her appearance belies her age.
The owners completed a circumnavigation between 1995 and 2000. TRUANT was then in long-term storage for eight years from 2003 to 2011 inside a shed and shrink-wrapped. Following a full and extensive refit in 2011, she has had light usage for 3 to 4 months a year only, and, when not in use, she was stored under a full winter cover.
TRUANT returned to Europe from Antigua in June 2017, and is in first class order, ready to go again. She combines comfortable, secure sailing, with high quality build, engineering and powerful sailing performance. Her flexible layout works well for a family, or two couples to cruise in great comfort.
TRUANT Build History, owners' comments: “When deciding to commission the build of TRUANT, we carried out extensive research to find the right yard. We chose Van Dam for their engineering skill, their craftsmanship in aluminium and wood finishing, their flexibility, and their overall attention to detail.
We wanted our Nordia 55 to be a new, more modern yacht than the existing Van Dam 54 and the team at Van Dam were ready, willing and able to help us with that.
With Robert Van Dam we modernised the hull shape, to achieve improved performance and enhanced aesthetic appearance. This increased interior volume considerably in the saloon width and length, and in the owners’ aft cabin and sugar-scoop stern width. We also moved the backstay off the stern and onto the deck, uncluttering the bathing platform.
On deck forward we moved the anchor windlass from electric to hydraulic, put on a pulpit seat, and a flush hatch for the forward lazarette. The cockpit was lowered by 10cm to make it safer and the combings more comfortable; a new design of integrated sprayhood and bimini fashioned; and the 16mm teak deck added to all flat surfaces, coach roof, cockpit sides, and stern.
However the most major changes to a traditional Nordia were in the interior. We really liked the skill of the yard, but not their traditional rosewood and detailing. We commissioned UK designers, Fieldwork Design, to create a wholly new, cherry wood interior, with a high level of investment in wood design and the creation of the feeling of space. We created flowing lines of sight with runs of ebony inlay and bull-nosing in cherry. We used panelling on larger surfaces in all cabins, to bring out the curves and contours in contrasting cherry woods. We softened the interior lines by using curved surfaces throughout, with beautifully crafted entrance steps, curved forward cabin doors, and curved cupboard doors, which transformed the traditional harder edges of the traditional Van Dam design. Fieldwork’s skill with lighting and mirrors, plus all white bathrooms and white spaces in the external cabin walls throughout also enhanced the overall feeling of light and space.
On the floor we chose cherry and holly, to harmonise with the rest of the woodwork. Again detailing was key with curved lines around curved furniture and staggered line endings to emphasise the shape of the interior and furniture.
The chart table and saloon table were inlaid with ebony in a simple compass design, drawing all the design elements together.
The overall effect was a totally new style of Van Dam, using the great skills of their craftsmen to transform their brand. TRAUNT’s interior then formed the basis of the new Van Dam yachts going forward, but no other Van Dam had nearly so much intricate woodwork detailing or such extensive woodworking time investment. From the outset TRUANT was recognised as a unique vessel, the result of a unique investment in crafted care and attention to detail. She was quickly voted the Most Beautiful Boat by all other boats in the 1995 ARC (Atlantic Rally for Cruisers) and has been much admired all over the world ever since”.
Construction:
RCD Status: Our understanding is that the yacht is exempt from the essential safety requirements of Directive 94/25EC (Recreational Craft Directive) as she was built and placed into use within the EU prior to 1998.
Hull, Deck & Superstructure Construction:
Keel & Rudder:
Machinery:
Engine & Gearboxes:
Maintenance & Performance:
Propulsion & Steering:
Electrical Systems:
Voltage Systems:
Battery Banks:
Battery Chargers:
Alternators:
Generator:
Shore Power:
Other Electrical:
Plumbing Systems:
Fresh Water & Water Heating System:
Watermaker:
Bilge Pumps:
Tankage:
Fuel:
Fresh water:
Grey/Blackwater holding tanks:
Navigation Equipment:
Galley:
Heads/Showers:
Heating & Ventilation:
Entertainment:
Lighting:
Summary of Accommodation:
Rig:
Winches:
Sails:
General:
Anchoring & Mooring Equipment:
Covers, Canvas & Cushions:
Tender & Outboard:
Safety Equipment:
Fire-fighting equipment:
Spares:
TRUANT Upgrades:
Since build, TRUANT has been through a number of upgrades and modifications. She has always been maintained to a high professional standard, in care and systems. The aim has been constant maintenance and improvement from the time of build, with the budget to match.
The interior has been treated with the utmost care, with protective covers and wrapping when appropriate for ocean crossings and local passages. The floors have been protected with fitted covers and rugs.
2011 Refit:
In 2011 TRUANT underwent a substantial refit at Berthon Boatyard, UK.
All machinery and equipment was either replaced, or stripped and fully serviced. For example, all the Reckmann furlers were sent back to the manufacturer in Germany and returned as new. All main engine pipes were changed, the heat-exchanger removed, oil samples were taken and the injectors serviced. Steering cables were replaced. The Maxprop was manufacturer stripped and serviced. All deck hatches, front-opening windows and port lights were replaced; the sprayhood and bimini were replaced; new heads were fitted; and so on.
All the electronics and communication systems were upgraded and modernised with a PC-based navigation system, with Maxsea chart-plotting software. In addition new Furuno displays and a Furuno chart-plotter were put in the cockpit. A Yachtspot wifi system was added, to supplement the Fleet Broadband system.
Some other new items were added or refitted such as; on-deck forward fresh water flush; fresh water hose in the cockpit; fixed dimmable LED bimini light and fixed LED boarding light; fresh/salt water option on aft loo; all new curtains and blinds, and sofa in the forward starboard cabin. A dry-exhaust system was installed for the generator.
The aluminium hull was repainted and clear-coated in 2011 and is a very distinctive metallic green colour, with silver detailing. The mast was stripped, repainted, and all reassembled. All new standing rigging was installed with customised fittings.
In the 2011 refit, the owners worked closely with Berthon Boatyard, to change the configuration of the forward cabins, so that there can be one VIP, en-suite cabin, with a full-sized double bed and sofa arrangement, or two cabins, as originally designed. This is a most ingenious design and execution, utilising the original centre panels and allowing fully-flexible accommodation. Much time, effort and skill were expended to ensure that the quality of the woodwork matched the excellent craftsmanship of the original build quality.
Engine Count
1
HULL
Designer
Robert Van Dam
Hull Material
Aluminum
OTHER
Displacement(kgs)
27000 kilograms
Drive Up
2 meters
Keel Type
Fin Keel
The Van Dam Nordia 55 is a 55 feet long that boasts a 16 feet beam. and a draft of 2 meters.The Van Dam Nordia 55 is made of aluminum.