... and another one ... $8000 in Cairns

[bearmcnally]

Kevin and Foina,
Any design that has been around for nearly 50 years and still has a "colt " following can 't be bad. Apart from the odd mishap due to misunderstanding the Top Hat is a proven blue water design . Like I have said in prior posts ,these little yachts are starting to get up there in age and need to be treated the same .It's a shame the used boat market is flat as the asking price of a Top Hat does't reflect true value . Yet on the other hand for people like yourselves now is the time to buy one . MK 1,2 or 3 does't really matter it's really what you fancy .(Bear loves the MK1 )Inboard or outboard again you choose ,I still believe going off shore inboard is the way to go.
I've sailed many small yachts from Tritons ,Endeavours,Spacesaliors ,Hoods and even the Cavalier 26 and still think the Top Hat leaves these for dead when it comes to handling and forgiveness . Don't be afraid to ask questions as this site has a lot of knowledgeable Hatters on it with answers ?
Re; Clansman 30 run a mile ,they had bad osmosis problems to name one ,no no no!

cheers Bear

Troppo no story , sometimes I think ,I'm a know it all ?

[livinglife]

Thank you troppo, we are leaving Townsville on the 20th and will certainly let you know before we leave. Your boat is certainly worth a serious look at to find out what we are looking for in a boat. What you say about the cost is the pit we do not want to fall into. We do not want a project boat. But we do want a boat that is blue water and willing to spend a couple of dollars for worthwhile improvements.
Bear mcnally has picked 3 of the 5 boats we had narrowed our list to. Endeavour 26, S&S, Hood the other we were looking at was the Compasss 28.
This does not include the Clansman 30 currently at $2900 on ebay.
But the Top Hat for price, room and blue water we have found beats them all.

[bearmcnally]

Kevin and Fiona,

Hood 23 no headroom unless you are an elf or a fairy ? And most have a spongy deck problem around the mast area and are a wet boat
Endeavours same and a little tender in wind ,but no all ?
Re;the compass 28 my mate looked at the 28 and ended up with a 29 as his first boat and loves it . he has never sailed before.He looked at the Top Hat and unstands why I'm so fond of them ,but the only problem was room for him and his teenage family.
I personally think the Top Hat is the best for a first yacht .yes a bit tight for room compared to the compass just pack less! They seem to hold their value and as you will find there aren't many on the market when you consider how many were made.Also power to rate they don't carry a large sail area which is a plus.

Re; Clansman 30 run a mile ,no no no!

cheers
bear

[Troppo]

. . . .

cheers Bear

Troppo no story , sometimes I think ,I'm a know it all ?

Bahahaha!!!

Bear, if anyone else but you said they know it all, I would think they were boasting.

troppo

[woodsy]

Hi Kev & Fiona.
I purchased a Hood 20, 8 years ago for $500 WITH a good 5 h.p. outboard. The yacht was in good order & had all necessary gear for inshore sailing. I had a great time sailing it in Pittwater & the Hawkesbury.
A Hood 23 was sailed 1/2 way round the world. The front hatch seal failed in a storm & water ingress caused it to sink. Owner stepped onto a ship which was answering his MAYDAY.
I enjoyed the Hood immensely but the standing room in my Top Hat makes it far more comfortable.
I paid $6,500, a few years back & have spent a little on it since. Very happy with my purchase.
Cheers.
Woodsy.

[livinglife]

Hi woodsy
The price of boats is rather surprising us. We have only been learning to sail over the last year. But have ocean kayaked for many more. The idea was to purchase a boat to see if we could handle living and traveling on a boat near the coast to learn more and then see where it takes us.
We thought it would be hard to find a cheap good boat.
What we have found while researching prices are that there are a lot of boats out there that people cannot sell, or are not getting what they thought because of the market.
Another Top Hat went up for sale today for $9000. While another one dropped from $8k to $5k.
Although looking at the pictures it was not worth paying 8 when you see a Top Hat that was asking 11.5k which was very nice and set the standard of what you pay for a very nice looking boat.
On the other end of the scale, went and inspected a Roberts 25 the other day and was scared to go near the gas bottle because it looked like it was about to explode. There are some shockers out there.

Our researching of prices is that it is a buyers market. There are some good buys out there. The down side to that is that whatever we pay, be prepared not to be able to sell it. Boats seem to be a very fast depreciating asset in a hard market place.

Hopefully we can find a Top Hat at the right price. We intend to get some life experience from the purchase and value that.

[woodsy]

True enough.
I am happy with my Top Hat but I had a 10 metre tri 30 years. Still keen, I looked at one recently that was like new & built extremely well. Made strong & light to cross oceans. NO STANDING ROOM THOUGH! I was truly impressed by its finish inside & out & the price dropped to $10,000 I think. I was sorely tempted but comfort at my age is more important than speed & shallow draught.

[Troppo]

Thank you troppo, we are leaving Townsville on the 20th and will certainly let you know before we leave. . .

Anyone heard from Kevin and Fiona? I sent 'em a pm but have not heard anything.

troppo

[phillipjmay61]

Sorry but your comment hoping to avoid boats with a history like Wildfire"" is offensive. I was the previous owner of Wildfire and let me tell you I spent a lot of money bringing that boat back to a serviceable level. Apart from being able to criticize the loo being shifted to the well, which the owner before me did that, Wildfire when I owned it was easily worth $8k and was a capable offshore sailer.

[Troppo]

Hi Phillip, I read through the posts a few times before I found the comment you referred to. I reckon if it was me who put the hard work and money into a boat like you did then I would not be happy if someone said they wanted to avoid boats like that.

I'm thinking of all the work I have put into Windchaser, and many Top Hat owners have passionately poured time and money into their boats. As Bear said in a post above, the boats are getting on in years and need to be treated that way. That means that the great majority of Top Hats have sometime in their history had some problems of some sort or another even if just plain neglect. Some have been fixed very nicely some not so well. That is just what happens. And ultimately it means if we are wanting to buy one of these old boats instead of a hundred thousand dollar new one we need to look closely at what the boat is like now. If it has been trashed in the past yet restored properly then the history of it being trashed should not put a buyer off. Makes little difference once restored. The buyer should look closely at how well the boat is put together now.

It sounds like the huge amount of work you put into Wildfire made a big difference to her. Most likely the new owners are appreciating having a boat that time and money has been spent on to make her more enjoyable. Top Hats are a grand boat. I love Windchaser. I would hope that Top Hat owners all over the place respect their boats, and like you did, put some effort in to either making them nice or keeping them nice.

That's my opinion anyway.

troppo