Another Wet Weekend Discussion

[Troppo]

I now have a better idea of what the original Top Hats look like. That front deck is a great design: nice outdoor area for climates such as mine in the tropics : ). However, not much use in this weather, it is still raining.

[Phillip]

This is a wet weekend!

The Camden Haven [Laurieton on the Mid North Coast of NSW] has now had 350 mm since Friday and still counting!!

I have been flooded in for two days now, so Longdeepthinker has been watching Seaka for me. All OK so far.

[storm petrel]

Sean,

How did the East Coast 31 sail on different points? How was the motion in a seaway compared to the Top Hat? Finally how is their longevity, you still see a few around - do they have any weak points , keel bolts, mast step, chain plates, etc.?


Obviously still raining here...

[Gramps]

Hi Mark,

As I mentioned in my post, the East Coast is a good all rounder. She was designed to the Half Ton Cup rule and I think won the local challenge once, but was outsailed in later racing by other boats (or crews?) She is obviously a different boat to the Top Hat and a longer waterline in any boat with a sea kindly hull improves the motion of a boat at sea. My experience was that the East Coast has no vices. She is easy to handle - I sailed mine one-up - she is well balanced, weatherly, runs downwind before a big swell without veering off to port or starboard and the only probelm I had on deck was the low (racing)boom which also meant a low dodger when one was fitted. The halyards are led aft to winches around the companionway so that the crew can stand in the companionway and operate them from that position, but if you use the dodger you have to go around that to use those winches which was a nusiance single handing. I have seen one boat used for cruising where the owner raised the boom and fitted a larger dodger so those winches were accessed more readily. A lot of the boats had the mainsheet track at the companionway but I fitted mine in front of the steering column for easy adjustment from the helm.
She is a lovely Peter Cole design with great accomodation and nicely fitted out by Bruce Fairlie. Access to the galley is a little cramped as it is right next to the engine box, but it has plenty of room and stowage once you slide in there and you can sit on the engine box while cooking. Otherwise the interior layout is perfet - and all in 31 feet. I would buy one again, but they are too big for me to handle on my own these days!
The Top Hat suits me perfectly at this stage of my sailing life

Sean

[storm petrel]

Thanks Sean. I have raced against them but never had the pleasure of sailing on one and have often wondered what they were like.

Cheers,
Mark

[Phillip]

Well we had some sun today!!!!!!

Last weekend we had 475 mm of rain {Friday to Monday} and over the last two weekends we have had 790 mm [I'll repeat that....790 mm of RAIN!].

They tell me it's going to rain again this weekend!!!!

[Troppo]

That's a huge amount of rain, getting to tropical levels. Oh, chances are high of another cyclone forming off the coast in the next few days. Hopefully it will track east but you never know . . . .