tophatyachts.com

Hi All,

My newly acquired Tawny Port and I have finally got our act together after a problematic start to the relationship. To be on the safe side I got the diesel serviced prior to summer but the very next outing produced an overheating situation when we were a little too close to some rocks for comfort. To add to the excitement for a relatively new crew the cabin rapidly filled with ominous smoke. I later determined that some rubbish must have been sucked into the water intake causing the overheating and the plastic pipe that vents the overflowing coolant moved against the exhaust pipe, melted and produced the alarming, but ultimately harmless, smoke.

The other problem was the furler drum rotated the first couple of times I used it and wound the furling line around itself, which of course I didn't notice until we were underway and therefore created an interesting time when we wanted to furl the headsail. This was due to the furler being installed with way too much rope on the drum when the sail was furled and therefore the drum filled up, jammed and rotated as the sail was fully extended. This is probably a trick that only newbies fall for, but I mention it in case anyone else is heading down the same path of installing a furler as it is well worth avoiding the hassle it causes.

Having figured these two things out I have now managed several problem free sails over to Williamstown and down the bay and my confidence in the boat is growing with every sail. They truly are a great little yacht and I am now looking forward to summer and getting maximum use out of the new sails and subsequently well-behaved engine. I thought I should share my trials and tribulations as well ultimately my enjoyment with others as I have found this site to be of great value in getting up the learning curve when it comes to sailing and Top Hats.

Incidentally, I also replaced the headsail winches with self-tailers and I have to say that has made a big difference when short-handed. That only took a day of work myself and they have worked faultlessly so far. Maybe that is a bit of a hint that doing it yourself is ultimately a more sure fire solution when it comes to yachts. Hopefully this smugness doesn't tempt fate and the winches fall off next weekend!

My next project is to restore the ability to put the kettle on when I get somewhere. I have got a metho stove and some gimbals but have yet to instal them. I notice many Top Hat owners line the hutch where the stove goes with metal sheeting. Any thoughts on whether this is really necessary? I was hoping just to spruce the area up with a new paint job.

Regards,
Brandon

Hi Brandon

That is fantastic news! Great to hear you are out enjoying ya boat.

Haha, with the furler, I know the feeling: One of the first times I pulled out the jib on Windchaser, I was coming out of Scarborough heading north but the winds picked up. When I tried to haul in the jib on the furler, it jammed and after some mucking around with wind starting to howl, I turned around and headed back to shore and feeling very desperate. However, I managed to get the jib furled and so headed north again using the motor. The furler needed some adjustments and fine now but back then I had a moment of panic.

Thank you for sharing your experiences.

I've included a dodgy pic of my stove hutch. It has the top three quarters lined with ss sheet welded to shape. I do not think I would use a cooker in the hutch without the metal lining as it gets very hot. That's my opinion.



troppo

Troppo,

I've also got a SS lined stove area, seems to be the norm.

Brandon,

Metho stoves are good but they can produce quite high flames when first lit. A metal surface above the stove is highly desirable. I am not sure that metal sides are necessary. You might consider whether the sides are far enough from the burners to be safe. I have a metal tray below the stove to collect any spilled and burning metho.

Stainless is probably ideal but aluminium is much easier to work with. Thin aluminium sheet is available from Bunnings. You could investigate fire retardant paint which might save you a lot of trouble.

It is definitely worth getting to know how to use the stove in the backyard before taking it on board. It is also useful to have nearby a plastic water bottle with nozzle so that you can squirt water onto any metho which is burning out of control.

Steve

Hey Troppo,
I guess living up in those cyclone and flood prone areas, you are used to risk, but some of us chicken Southerners believe that the LPG portable gas stoves can be an explosion and fire risk. There is heaps of discussion on the matter on a number of forums, so you pays your money.......

Ianb wrote: LPG portable gas stoves can be an explosion and fire risk.

I think there are significant differences between the butane stove I use and general LPG portable gas stoves. The butane gas canister is tiny compared to a LPG cylinder so in the event of a disaster it will only blow up half your boat not your whole boat. So you have a 50% chance of surviving an explosion from my type of stove but 0% chance with a standard LPG cylinder unless you were on the beach at the time of the big bang [I just made this up. It is a fact there is way less gas but I don't know exactly how much difference there is in danger between big and little gas cylinders].

The key difference is that the butane cylinders have a safety valve and no piping. When you go to turn on the stove, you push a lever which allows the gas to flow straight from the tin to the burner. There are no connections that can be loose or cross threaded and leak, there are no pipes that can crack. Once that lever is flicked off, the gas is shut off, the can is safely removable.

In my opinion, the butane stove has the danger same as all gas stoves that the flame could go out when I am cooking and gas can build up inside my boat. However, I don't leave my stove unattended when cooking as burnt food does not appeal to me. Some would say my cooking does not appeal even when not burnt but that is another story. The butane stove can not leak gas when just siting there as the gas is turned off at the can and there are no pipes or connections that can leak. I would prefer a metho cooker as I personally like them, but my risk assessment of the butane stove is that it has way less risk than a typical LPG cooker. I think there is more danger from eating my cooking than from my butane stove blowing up.

troppo

I have a 2 burner metho stove & made the error of overfilling the trough when doing the preheating sequence. The subsequent fire heated the inbuilt metho storage tank , pressurising it & sending the fuel through the breather pipe ONTO the fire! A wet towel put the impressive fire out & I have been much more careful since.
I like the metho stove but carry the portable butane stove as well because they are so convenient. I think the major danger is leaving the can on board too long & risking it rusting through & leaving a pool of gas in the bilge. Not a huge amount but enough to cause an explosion if not aired before using the boat.

Hey Woodsy, that would have been one amazing fire! Wow!

I am impressed with your quick and calm thinking in putting it out.

I had a phone call from a mate one time telling me about his new metho stove for hiking. He asked if there was some way of controlling the flare-up as whenever he lit it, the flames would shoot up almost to the ceiling of his verandah. After he explained some other symptoms I asked what fuel he was using. He said, "What they sold me in the shop to go with the stove. Shellite." Shellite is petrol and I was shocked the sales guy had sold it as fuel for the metho stove as it is not fuel for a METHO stove. It is amazing my mate did not burn his house down. Stoves can be dangerous without helpful advice like this from the shop.

troppo

Troppo, re. your friend......£%&)<>=:;!!
Re. me.....I was not calm!
This happened on my Hood 20. No standing room so the flames reached the cabin sole.
I first tried the fire extinguisher but could not undo it from the wall....rusted retaining bracket.
I ripped the whole panel & extinguisher from the wall. Still unable to use the extinguisher. Threw the towel over the fire.
It caught alight!
Filled my toilet bucket with sea water & dumped it over the lot!
That worked!
Suffice to say I was a tad excited.
What doesn't kill you, makes you stronger.

Thanks to all that have responded. The info about the lining was most useful and the resultant stories about metho v butane and subsequent arguments are definitely part of the charm of this site.
I did not realise I was buying into so much virtual as well as actual sailing enjoyment when I purchased the Top Hat. By the way, I attached an old halyard decked with solar powered Christmas lights to the main halyard yesterday and was happy with the result (the lights were on special for $8!). The boat is looking quite Christmassy now. I would load up a pic but every time I try I seem to have too big a file. Maybe I'll have another try...

Regards,Brandon