Mk III "REB"

[PinotNoir]

Dear Fellow Boater,

My Partner and I have very recently decided to take up sailing as a new joint activity. We did this for a few reasons; we wanted something new that would challenge us and that we could do as a team, we wanted something that we could create as our own, and we wanted something that would increase our social circle around an activity that would be unique to us as a couple, and that was outside of our own individual social circles. This will help us grow together and build upon our shared interests of camping, bushwalking, 4WDing and general outdoor adventure.

I did a fair amount of research into the type of boat that would suit us as new sailors, a design that had proven capability and was forgiving to new sailors, and one that had features that would accommodate us on our adventures as well as my two children when they were with us. During this time I looked at every boat available online and compared info on sailboatdata.com and I found that a great resource.

Using that resource I was able to narrow the criteria down to where we were looking for a fixed keel boat with a separate head and inboard diesel engine with the option for a secondary outboard back-up. The OB back-up is mainly because we are new to sailing and wanted some room for comfort around safety for when we wanted to venture out into blue water. We had a fixed budget of $10,000, finding a boat with a fully operable IB diesel in a sail away state seemed impossible.

During our search we considered a few designs but the Top Hat's seemed the way to go, sue in no small part to this website and the devotion evident in many of the owners. During our search we looked at Spacesailer 24's, Compass 28's and Top Hat 25's. We met many great people and saw great boats that were ready to sail away and were sailed regularly.

In the end we chose a boat that didn't have a working engine, couldn't sail because the running rigging was a mess, had a head that didn't flush or pump water, and was the most expensive listed! That boat was REB. She had great bones, and had once been loved and regularly raced. We decided that we could giver the the TLC that she needed to get back into the wind, and that in doing so we would maker her our own and set her up the way we wanted.

There is so much to tell you about REB and this post is already long enough. I will post here with regular updates as to her progress. This weekend she is on the hard at Palm Beach. I'll post later with an update as to what has been done to her whilst in the water, what I've done on the hard, and what the shipwrights will be doing.

You can see her starting point here (while the link lasts) https://www.dbyboatsales.com.au/listing ... -25-mk-iii

As an aside, I know that most of this community is on Facebook, but I am not. I don't like FB and I'm not happy that social media has become such a politically divided place and the role that SM companies have had in that, so I stay off them. I just want to sail!

Looking forward to getting lots of advice and wisdom from you, so thanks in advance!

[Phillip]

Andrew,
You can safely join the Top Hat site on Facebook as I keep a sharp eye on all posts
and those that fall outside the requirement of "Top Hats only" just get deleted.

[Shaun]

Good one Andrew, sounds like you've done your homework, and REB looks like a good boat.
Down the track if you replace the window acrylic , you'll notice a big improvement in how the boat looks, and how much nicer it is to use, being able to clearly see out of the windows.
Looking forward to hearing how it all goes,
Cheers

[Democritus]

I asked a shipwright price to reseal the portholes (4x). I incorrectly presumed they would use a channeled
weatherstrip ...a day's work,,,Price $4500-5000 What!!??,,,They use a rubber seal either side. They shrink with time. You refit with a little extra length then
trim a few months down the track when shrinkage has been effected. Definitely a DIY.