Dutch Treat

By Capt. Bill Pike — February 2001

More of this Feature • Part 1: The Marvelous Moto-Cruise • Part 2: The Marvelous Moto-Cruise continued • Dutch Treat • Photo Gallery

Related Resources • Cruising/Chartering Index • Cruising/Charters Resources

From Other Guides • Hudson Valley • Hudson River Valley Wine • Vintage Cars

Elsewhere on the Web • Mallory Line

The Linssen 410 Grand Sturdy is indeed that. Built of plasma-cut steel plates, MIG (Manganese Inert Gas)-welded to cut temperatures and reduce distortion, she's as solidly put together as a supertanker, with a box-type keel, deep web framing, and closely spaced carlines. Above the bootstripe, 1/4-inch shell plates are shop-primed and hand-filled with fairing compound, then coated with two-part epoxy. Below, a nontoxic Sikkens Chlor-Rubber antifoul coating is added. According to Capt. Cesare Sorio, a retired supertanker captain and expert on steel shipbuilding, modern epoxy coatings like this all but nix rust problems of yore common to steel. In fact, he says, "A steel boat like this Linssen is actually easier to maintain and repair than a fiberglass one."

The quality of the finish is surprisingly good, akin to fine fiberglass and a tribute to Dutch shipbuilding. Machinery spaces, accessed through the saloon sole, are replete with familiar brands names like Separ, Onan, and Vetus. Interiors are smartly wrought and comfy.   --B.P.

Mallory-Linssen Yacht Sales (203) 326-2830. Fax: (203) 363-5346.

Next page > Photo Gallery > Page 1, 2, 3, 4