These are my step notes for replacing systemd-udev with vdev in a Devuan
desktop installation.

1) Devuan CD installation: with DE, Xfce, printer server, ssh server
and standard utilities. This typically red-screens me once during the
package installation, but works fine when repeating the step.

2) install git, build-essential and emacs24-nox (optional :-))

3) git clone https://git.devuan.org/unsystemd/vdev

4) Follow instructions of INSTALL.md, but:
    + before making 'example', edit example/vdevd.conf to use
    "corrected" paths (all else the same):
      acls=/etc/vdev/acls
      actions=/etc/vdev/actions
      ifnames=/etc/vdev/ifnames.conf
      pidfile=/run/vdev/vdevd.pid
      hwdb=/lib/vdev/hwdb/hwdb.squashfs
      logfile=/run/vdev/vdev.log
    + after making 'example', verify and correct /etc/vdev/vdevd.conf

5) # mkdir /etc/vdev/acls
    # cp example/acls/00-whitelist-root.acl /etc/vdev/acls/
    # make -C hwdb PREFIX=
    # make -C hwdb install PREFIX=

7) # make -C example initramfs
    # cp example/initrd<TAB> /initrd.img
   ** NOTE: the above overwrites initramfs. You might want to instead
   ** copy to /boot under new name, and merely change /initrd.img

8) # cd /etc/rcS.d
    # rm S03udev S10udev-finish
    # ln -s ../init.d/vdev K02vdev
    # update-rc.d vdev enable S
   ** Gains a warning: "insserv: script udev: service udev already
   ** provided!" which I ignore.

9) # reboot