tophatyachts.com

Hello chaps, I've checked carefully and this seems to be the best place for this question. I've recently bought a Mk1 named Tehane. It has a ten HP BMW diesel onboard. There's no evidence it's ever had an outboard well, the decks are solid, no core, but the year of construction is unknown. I'm told the Formit boats had an outboard well, so does that mean my boat's a Baker vessel, or was there another builder of Mk1s? Thank you, -Will

Will, you didn't read my post from last Tuesday!!!
Here it is again

Will,
Yes if you have some sort of proof it was built in 1969 and it has NO outboard well,
then the chances are very high [100% ] that she is one of the 59 that Baker Built.

Only Baker and Formit built plastic Top Hats.

Hello chief, I did read it but I might have been a tad unclear, my reference to 1969 was referring to your own yacht, you mentioned an outboard well and I wondered if you were saying there was an outboard well on your own boat. I don't know what year mine was built, I just know it's never had an outboard well, it has lots of stringers under the front deck -maybe they all do, this is the only TH I've been on - and it feels as solid as granite. I guess it must be a Baker jobbie. My boat doesn't have any canons or torpedo tubes, I'll have to install my own... Cheerio!

Chances are ma'Lord it's Baker built,
Can you post a photo of the reinforcements up under the fore deck?

Thank you for your help chief, my boat's in Lake Mac and I'm currently in Adelaide, so I don't have any pics of the stringers, but here's some pics of the vessel. Luxurious interior appointments, similar to 'er majesty's royal yacht. I've only added a float switch, (the internet reckons the $49 Rule switches often expire after a few months, so I had to fork out $99 for the heavy duty one) a new battery, and I'm chasing down proper bronze skin fittings, will search salvage yards and other places 'cos they're around $500 and upward for the proper ones that will last forever. Perhaps the ones that are in it will be fine, they're the first thing on my list.
I'll eventually take her on long sea trips, and if the Maritime authority allows, my mooring would be available for other TH people to use whenever I'm away. Not sure about NSW Maritime's rules, I've heard they're a bit strict.
Thanks for your kind help and your info chief, it makes a tremendous difference. One day we'll get a TH fleet together and strike terror into the hearts of the Maritime authority. Cheerio!
I'm not sure if I'm allowed to upload pics in the post, so I'll put them into the Member's Yachts section of the gallery if that's ok. Might take a while, need to resize some images, they're a bit big. Cheers.

You can upload pictures here Will, just follow the prompts.
Photos should be no wider than a 1000 picals, easy to resize in your picture edit.

Right, let's see if this blighter works. Wish I could just send a few framed canvases upon a Tea Clipper, but here goes. Magnificence awaits...



When I arrived to see the boat, the cockpit had six inches of water in it. The bloke in the yacht next door told me that some time ago, she was down by the stern. I'm sure the engine was submerged at some point, and oily water sloshed around inside.
Growth on the hull blocked the cockpit drains, preventing cockpit from draining. I've fixed this now, so no wading pool in the cockpit. The boat looks much better than this now, and will look better in Jan/Feb. Currently fighting my computer to upload photos. Cheerio chaps.

A slight improvement. Huzzah!

Bejeezus! What a task, hopefully you'll save her in the end, but it's not a task I'd want to take on. Good onya!

It's nearly half done already, just a couple of hours worth of white paint for the interior and I'll paint the hull too. Already looks much better than these photos. I'll be sailing her in a few weeks, I've got a replacement diesel, sails and rigging on the way, just scraping together the last grand and this grand old dame will be crossing the briny again... Cheerio!

The good news is most of the old interior paint will fly away by just opening the fore-hatch in a stiff breeze,
Much better to have paint that comes away easily like that should than having to endure days/weeks of sanding,
Timber work should come up a treat with just a good clean.