IF NOT A TOP HAT ??

[storm petrel]

I agree Greg. It comes down to how much you want to spend, what sort of sailing you want to do and how much time and effort you want to put into your sailing. I have a mate who is getting older and thinking about selling his, beautiful, beloved 1950's vintage 28' timber yacht to go into a syndicate for a Sun Odessy 39'. He is at the stage in his life where the step on/step off thing looks appealing.

I agree that the Top Hat is Australia's best, ocean capable 25' yacht. If you have more money and/or are not into the 'simple sailor' thing then there are a huge number of other options a little bigger. But when I get my little Top Hat off the mooring and sailing in 5 minutes, the old adage often occurs to me - 'the time you have to sail your boat is inversely proportional to how much the boat cost you and/or to the size of the boat". Not many owners of 30' plus yachts regularly go out for quick, after work, afternoon sails (there are exceptions, but they are rare). Not being able to sail without organizing several crew members would add another level of complication.

The story about the Trad 30 was just out of interest. I agree they are nice boats. I know a couple of guys who own them and love them. To my eye they are not a pretty boat, but I guess beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

Cheers,
Mark

[lockie]

Pretty hard to go past a TH for the safety, durability and sea-worthiness. I have a Compass 28 and recommend it, but that extra 3 feet does cost a fair bit more than a TH. If your family gets right into sailing, you'll quickly find the TH feels cramped. Then you might have to upgrade, with the family's blessing. Lucky you! If they don't get into it, you've got a lovely boat which is manageable solo and can take you many places.

Sounds like win/win to me. Good luck with it!

Graeme

[Ianb]

Bear- how do you do that tryptych? I gets around the number of picture limits.

Back to the discussion. No matter what old boat you get, you still have to check the basics. After the standing rigging, the next thing to check is the chain plates. Crevice corrosion occurs when water is trapped in a narrow crevice, and differential oxidation causes corrosion. Loose the seal around your chainplates (U bolts), and the corrosion can cut through stainless steel like a knife. Take a look at this photo:

U bolt mount showing corrosion indication

IMAG0175 (Small).jpg (75.16 KiB) Viewed 5848 times

That rusty mark would make me check the U bolt for sure. The good thing about the Toppy, is that with three shrouds on each side, it is possible to carefully undo one at a time, with the mast up on a quiet mooring.

[DESIREMK1]

Hi ianb ,

Not bad considering the K's this Top Hat has would have done over the years , would the manufacturer have created a stronger connection point there , by installing a flat bar to distribute the stresses provided by the rigging , it may have created less wear ??? .

Will be in Sydney in early August with my young family , I have arranged an inspection of a Mk1 , and hoping to catch up with Miker at Pittwater to inspect his beautiful " Dulcamara " Mk3 " on the same day , so I'll give my perspective on both at that time , as far as what my requirements are most suited too . Spent ten years waterskiing and driving for skiers ( 14-24 ) and feel comfortable around the marine environment , though owning ( Top Hat hopefully ) a sailboat will offer new experiences and much to learn , which I am looking forward too. .....

Brad
DESIREMK1

[Aaron]

G'day guys,
I just re did my chain plates, took the aft lowers off first and then put it back on then the rest..... When you buff up the u-bolts and put new nuts on, reseal the holes its all good.
One thing to remember when buying a boat is that you have to look though shit, many people cant. If its grotty, it only may need a pressure wash and you've picked up a bargan.
The list of boats ive always been interested in are:
Top hats!! cant beat them!!
Currawongs, brolgas and koalas, ( Joubert designs)
Swansons.
Duncansons.
Endevours.
All really good strong boats (non of the foam sandwich, foam is for surfboards not boats).
Good luck,
Aaron.

[bearmcnally]

Hatters
Ianb you do tryptych through Words on Windows copy through Picasa cut and paste and post !

Chain plate U bolts I did Egret II about 10 years ago and found the U bolt is a high grade stainless and the nut is crap stainless . The stanchion packer I put stainless washers under the nuts also . The flaking paint you will find is what happens when household enamel is used instead of marine grade .

Hey Mr Greg those PR 25's are horrible things you can put them in the same marina as the Manitou 32

The Swanson 28 is worth a look at cost the same to slip, requires 4 litres of antifoul same as the Top Hat roughly the same rig and very roomy .And sail reasonably well believe it or not . Yet again like the Top Hat and all the 70's designs are all hitting middle age and are need of a bit of TLC

We had Jilpanger as our first family yacht and then built Jia a Swanson 32 and then a Swanson 38 which we still have 22 plus years on. If you want more space and speed you need to size up , and by the time you do this you should be comfortable with handling a bigger yacht .Size isn't such a problem if the yacht is set up correctly for example the right size winches the same with steering and a workable cockpit for starters.
The great thing about the 60's / 70's designs is that they had sensible size rigs in them and where well designed and sailed well. They also and could be easily handled by 2 people with minimal hassles (not like a lot of this new stuff ).

Bear

[DESIREMK1]

Hi Bear ,

Although I am not a Top Hat Owner yet , though we ( my young family ) will be in the near future , I am impressed that a Top Hat that was manufactured over 35 years ago is still in great condition , due to the dedication of enthusiastic owners .

Looking forward to becoming an owner , would love to buy now , though with living in Broken Hill at the moment , it's a bit of a non - sense ...

Brad
DESIREMK1

[storm petrel]

Hey Bear,

How much sailing have you done in a Swanson 28? Do you think they would be significantly faster than a Top Hat? Hull speed would be greater due to the longer Water line length, but with those high top sides they would have to suffer quite a bit of windage when beating wouldn't they? Their cockpit also looks a bit squeezy but not having sailed on one I can only speculate on this.

On another matter, what do you know about that Swanson 32 for $30K that has been advertised up your way?

Interested to hear your thoughts.

Cheers,
Mark

[SeaLady]

If not a Top Hat a 50 ish foot Roberts flat deck, centre cockpit live aboard in the Whitsundays.

Purchased with lottery win and with a compliant crew.

I fell in love with one a few years ago in Townsville.
Very dangerous to read Trade A Boat whilst drinking wine on holidays.

Went to inspect a couple of times before sanity (or insanity) stepped in.

This particular one had an aft masters cabin which fitted a queen sized bed.
Separate shower and loo with hot water on tap.

The 'tunnel' had full headroom and contained the galley (which had a fridge, freezer and microwave) so the main cabin (lounge room) was not messed up by looking at the kitchen mess.

Up forward were bunks for guests and galley slaves.

There was lots of varnished timber and she was beautiful. She gets better with time.

The deck was flat so I had dreams of inflatable lounge chairs.
Sooo much room.

I still look for similar boats on the internet with and without wine but have never found one similar.

[Dolphin]

That begs a point to be raised Dianna. The difference between a 25ft and 50ft boat is the cube of the difference. If you double the length, double the beam, double that depth the volume is 2 x 2 x 2 so its 8 times the size. Its amazing what a couple of extra feet can do.
I hasten to add the price goes up with the order of magnitude of the volume? Plus a bit for the GST.

In the mean time I just get my binoculars, turn them around, and look around the boat. Those Top Hats are HUGE inside !

Keep in touch if you ever buy one Di!