INFO SOUGHT ON LAKE MACQUARIE MARK 1

[Gramps]

Hi Bear,

I expect most of the Mark 1 boats to need work and am quite prepared to take on a neglected boat if it is not as sadly neglected as the boats I have seen lately. Getting them back into good serviceable condition is part of the enjoyment and I have the time, being a heritage sailor myself - like the old guy at the Toronto festival. I should have gone to the festival - I might have got myself a boat!

I'm with you all the way on the styling. I appreciate the traditional lines of the deck and cabin compared to the later versions. When you get in your dinghy and row around looking over the boat, those lines have to be a delight to see and the Mark 1 does it for me

Sean

[Gramps]

Never mind the brokers, you can't do better than checking things yourself. I had a look at this boat with the advertised Yanmar saildrive and found, as expected, that it is a normal shaft drive installation. There were other discrepancies in the broker's specs and I came to the conclusion that if they were provided by the owner, he didn't know much about his boat or maintenance. I'll pay out for a good basic boat and am prepared to put more cash in to get it up to scratch, but I was happy to walk away from this one and at the asking price I think the owner will have it for quite a while.

Back on the treadmill looking around for me

Sean

[bearmcnally]

Hi Sean

I've lost touch on what a Mk1 is worth ,yet if I was looking for one I would pay no more than $10.000 or less for an average one in this economic environment .Maybe $14-$15000 for a good one with an inboard not including any special gear.The one you looked at ,and what I've seen on the web I would give no more than $10000 for.Sellers seem to forget these yachts are hitting 40 years of age and a good percentage of these were amateur built and not very good at that.maybe you ask some of these sellers why they think their yacht is worth what they are asking ? I know one thing they will tell you and that's their a seaworthy classic and so on.

When I bought Egret II 16 plus years ago for $9000 she was a sad case. She hadn't been off her mooring at Manly for over 18 months or so and I used to see her while racing my 16 foot skiff out of Middle Harbour. The 1st winter I slipped her I removed all the antifouling from her bottom and 6" above the waterline wet and dried etc and polished her, took all the deck fittings off and windows out and resealed for summer. The following winter I removed the mast ,the next winter new gunwales and so on . Apart from the die sel motor I've spent about $4000 on Egret II that includes sikaflex metal threads etc.Egret II s gear is original and her main is starting to show it's age .Apart from that she looks OK .

Where I have been fortunate is the use of a private slips ,yet like I've said before if I didn't ,I would have taken her home for a year and done it that way.Again only if I had room ,and I do .But the second wife would have had the 1st wife (Egret II ) removed the next day she told me that in certain words. like you said just keep on looking


Regards Bear

PS where are you on Lake Macquarie ?

[Gramps]

Hi Bear,

I am not on Lake Macquarie these days - I had a house at Kilaben Bay when I retired and kept my boat there, but domestic pressures (read wife) forced a move to Castle Hill to be near the kids. So, these days I sail on Pittwater - it ain't quite the same as the lake

I think you are close to the mark with your estimates of real value and I have a boat in mind that needs quite a lot of work, the fundamentals are all there, but the price is out of the ballpark for the condition and I am waiting to see if the owner (or the broker) realises that he will have to accept something more realistic.

I also picked up on your previous thread and sent an email to the organisers of the Festival at Toronto to see if they could give me a contact for the old gentleman who exhibited the Top Hat. Something might come of that, I will keep you informed.

Sean
alias Gramps
- yep, another old gentleman!

[storm petrel]

I was speaking the guy who does my rigging last week and he told me that Fenwicks had been doing some work on a beautiful triple diagonal planked, dynal sheathed Top Hat. I thought this sounded a bit odd, but he swore it was a Top Hat that a doctor had had built many years ago.

Amazing what is out there..

Cheers,
Mark

[surrealbass]

According to the Yachting Monthly article that appears to have been written by either Primrose or Illingworth, all the first Tophats built were moulded- cold in the UK and hot in Victoria. it seems to have been popular right off as they say that within about six months there was one built and another 11 under construction and Dynel was quite popular around then, the coachroof on Joylee was dynel sheathed ply- although the rest of the boat was solid timber-carvel planked Iroko and Mahogany- here's a snap of where Joylee is up to at the moment- about to put the windows back in, of course now the engine has blown up but I have a nice little electric motor to put in it's place!

[Gramps]

Hi Mark,

I was down at Fenwicks recently chasing up a possible boat for sale and would have liked to see the timber version, but it was not on the hard when I was there. It must live around the Hawkesbury as the traditional timber boat specialist on Pittwater is Colin Beashel.

I would be interested to know the name and contact details of your friendly rigger for future reference if you can oblige.

Sean

[bearmcnally]

Hi Gramps

I guess you've had at look at the 3 MK1's for sale on Lake Macquarie If so what was the problem apart from the price . $14.500 with the BMW looked OK if you good haggle ?

The $8.500 one gee ! if you could get her for $6000 ? even with a dose of bubbles etc? say another $4000 on WT
( Weekend therapy ) again depends what the gear is like .

just a thought

Cheers Bear

[Gramps]

Hi Bear,

Unfortunately the broker's pics don't tell the whole story. That boat was my choice, but the reality was quite different. The 14,500 was a very original boatlooked even with bronze bottom handle winches but it looked as if it had not been out of the water for two years by the amount of shell etc. It was also in a terrible state wherever I looked. All the running rigging was shot, the rig was probably the old quality stainless, but I didn't think I could take a chance on it. The mast step was severely rusted to the point of flaking off - just another sign of total neglect - and the the interior was a write off too, the sea cocks looked like the original gate valves, rusted and long past their use by date, a paint job that was peeling off in sheets and the motor looking as bad as the rest of the boat. You don't really know until you look, but asking that price in the condition was out of touch with reality. The boat was a restoration project and I think I am past that these days. Halve the asking price and they might get a buyer.

I did not look at the 8.5 boat, firstly because it has a deck stepped mast and no compression post. Have another look at the photos of the galley which indicate that the bulkhead is forward of the usual position, probably to provide support for the mast. That would reduce the size of the forward berth which is the one I use for sleeping on board - and I need the length. I am not sure about working at the galley either with part of the forecabin over your right shoulder. It looks like one of those owner fitouts, unconventional and therefore not as easy to senn on later. I also looked at the 9.9 boat with the outboard, but I saw that before the 14.5 boat and discounted it . The motor is an evinrude, so old, but cheaper to replacd than a diesel. I can always come back to it, but am not in a hurry as it need a lot of work on deck and running gear. Too many gerry jobs on the boat.

In the meantime I located and made contact with the owner of the Mark I from the Classic boat festival and he is going to send me some information as soon as he can finish a work related end of financial year project. I have to go to the Gold Coast myself to see kids for a few weeks, so there will not be any developments there for the time being.

I don't sleep much at night these days, I lie there with the visions of Mark I boats keeping me awake!

Sean

[Phillip]

surrealbass
Do you think your Top Hat was named Good Times
If so I may have some good news for you, I think I have meet the builder of your boat. Unfortunately all that info is in a file at home. He was in poor health when I meet him but if he is still with us I'm sure a visit to Joylee anyway and it would do him the world of good. I have copies of photos of the boat being built and I'll search for them now and come back with another post if I have them on this laptop.

Phillip
Brampton Island.