Top Hat 27 Magic

[Hugo]

Hi

(To admin: I posted this message also in the members forum, I hope posting same message in two different groups is not a problem. Please let me know if it is.)

I am the very happy new owner of a Top hat 27, named "Magic" here in Western Australia. With the great seaworthy reputation of Top Hats in general, and with that a bit of extra room and the way she looks, she is just what I am looking for! The seller is hanging onto her for this summer season so I will only start sailing her in June. I have been looking on this site and also googled extensively to find anything about her specifications, because as a 27 footer she is probably a bit different from the Mark I, II and III 25 footers. I cannot find much and there is nothing on sailboatdata. I found that Bill Bollard was the designer and asked him some questions on facebook, but it looks that for for him this was a long time ago and he could not tell me that much.

So if it is OK, I might ask a few questions here about the TH27, maybe someone knows or can point me in the direction of someone who knows.

Ballast / displacement ratio, anyone knows those figures?

I am wondering whether the prop is positioned between the keel and the rudder, or is sitting aft of the rudder and slightly above? The boat was in the water when I inspected her and the broker could not tell me, and because she isn't mine yet, I can't really dive under and have a look.

How was the fibreglass laid up? Is the deck cored or solid fibreglass?

This particular model has an 18 HP Yanmar engine which is great, providing plenty of power for a boat this size. However, the engine is positioned "backward" that is, what is normally accessible from under the stairs, such as the alternator, the fan belt and the impeller, is now on the aft side. Instead what you see when you take away the stairs is the other side of the engine with the gearbox. So where you normally do maintenance such as tightening the fan belt has to be reached by opening a panel in the port locker. Apart from possible access issues, are there any issues with such a "back to front" design?

Any information about sail area, comfort and capsize ratio?

Does she point well upwind? I am thinking because the front end of the keel has a steep downward "edge" to it, perhaps she might point a bit better compared to a full keel that follows the curve of the underside of the boat more closely.

Anything else someone can tell me? Does she perform well in light winds? Does she heel easily? Is she a wet boat or relatively dry (there is no sprayhood at the moment).

Basically anything you can tell me is about the TH27 design and this boat in particular is most welcome.

Thanks very much.

Hugo