Van Dam Custom Boats – Part One

Fall 2015

The boat this article calls the “Van Dam Limousine” was christened LUV N IT after completion. —Ed.

By Bruce Niederer — GBI Technical Advisor

I begin a two-part series that will feature a custom boat project being built by Van Dam Custom Boats in Boyne City, Michigan. We featured a Van Dam-built boat in Epoxyworks 14, the beautiful and unique Alpha Z. We want to give our readers a glimpse into what is currently happening at this world-class boat shop.

I traveled to Boyne City in early May and was graciously greeted by Steve Van Dam, the owner and founder of the company. We chatted as Steve showed me around. He introduced me to the guys working on various projects including a modified Sandbagger sailboat and a 32’ VZ custom powerboat reminiscent of Alpha Z.

We then went into the room where the Limousine was sitting. There were a couple of guys working diligently on it installing one of the engines and fitting other various components. There certainly is no moss growing under anyone at this shop. Steve expects the boat to be completed and launched fairly early this summer. But this story begins much earlier, in autumn of 2014.

The limousine build begins by constructing a strongback and ladder frame. Steve explained that they like this method because it quickly allows for the station frames to be installed, squared, and the basic hull shape in place.

Always multitasking, while the station frames were being installed the limousine's transom was being laminated and vacuum bagged in a jig.

This is a view from the bow with all the frames in place. The Limousine is now ready for installing the keelson, bulkheads and spreaders.

We see here the bulkheads and “girders” installed viewed from the port side. There are two girders (stringers) mounted 1’ off center on both sides. Notice the guy working on the installation – his head is where the keelson will go along the centerline. The frames are removed to install the girders. The permanent bulkheads are also in place.

Good quality Honduran Mahogany is getting harder and harder to find. Van Dam buys entire logs or even entire tree trunks from sources developed over many years of building boats.

Before the final "show planks" are bonded to the Limousine's hull with epoxy, templates are made and placed on the hull to make sure the characteristics of the wood are uniform and parallel to the lines of the boat. Each of the templates are numbered to make sure that the planks, when cut using the templates, are placed in the exact position.

Typically the bottom gets glassed with either 2 layers of 6 oz. cloth or 1 layer of 10 oz. cloth.

The deck consists of ¼” plywood glued to the deck frames followed by mahogany deck strips. In this photo you can see both the plywood underlayment and the mahogany decking as it gets planed smooth by Ben Van Dam and Chad Buras.

The Van Dam crew all apply stain to the Van Dam Limousine by hand to get it done quickly.

To finish part one of this two-part series, I’ll end with a photo of a custom-built stainless steel Cutwater built in the Van Dam metal fabricating shop, a fairly new addition to the business. Jess Brown checks the fit during installation.

In Van Dam Custom Boats Part Two, I cover the build starting from where we stopped in this issue. You’ll see the cabin top, steering/nav station, the engine and electrical systems installed, finish applied and the completed boat.