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There's nothing like the passage of time to show
up how well a boat is or isn't built. Now a good 17 years old, this
1981 model wasn't particularly well maintained, as most boats this
age aren't. This is a very popular style boat in the southland so
we were eager to get a look at her and see how she's holding up.
Topaz Marine Corp of Swansboro, North Carolina,
also once named Sea Hawk Marine, was never a big player in the sport
fishing market, but they built enough of them that they're worth
talking about. Like many marginal, undercapitalized builders, its
hard to tell when Topaz was in, or out of business. As near as we
can tell, they've been out since 1992. Company's like these
can hang on for years, turning out just a few boats a year, and
changing owners again and again. This is such a common characteristic
of the boat building industry that we no longer even attempt to
keep track of who's in and who's out anymore.
This is one of the reasons why it becomes so difficult
to talk about the quality of any one manufacturer's products, because
what they do from year to year, or month to month, can change dramatically.
All we really know is what they have DONE with a particular boat.
Set up with a pair of 124 hp Volvo diesels (the
ID plates were corroded so we couldn't tell what model they were)
this is a pretty nifty little fishing boat. Like all Topaz's, she's
styled after the old Bertram Bahia Mar with the big, wrap-around
coaming forward, but its square instead of round. The cockpit deck
is at least 2/3rds the length of the boat with only a 6" step
up to accommodate the engine height, located far enough forward
that there's little tendency to trip over it. The engines are really
far forward, and with a tower and low fuel, this boat tends to be
a little nose heavy when that 1200 lbs of fuel in two 100 gallon
aluminum tanks runs low.
The cockpit has a full fiberglass liner and they
blessedly carried all the way over to the hull side so you've got
a good foot cove and overhanging bulwark that allows you brace yourself
against falling overboard. This is an important design feature that
some builders have overlooked, one that can ruin an otherwise good
fishing boat. This one had a pair of small pedestal mount chairs
that didn't get in the way too much; there was room enough to walk
around or between them, but I think I would prefer the portable
Pompanette Yellow Fin chairs. For doing any work on the boat, they
do get in the way. But even more awkward are the hinged fold-up/down
helm chairs. Since they're situated right over the large engine
hatches, there's no other solution for replacing them with something
like pedestal seats.
The forward coaming has a low plexiglass windshield
that is basically useless, since the spray comes right over it and
there is no protection for instruments. Without a tower and overhead
electronics cabinet, there's no place to put any electronic gizmos
on the outside. This boat was intended to have a tower, and without
one its not too cool. Fitting a folding Bimimi is possible,
but it doesn't look that great. To provide adequate head room, it
looks ungainly.
The large hatches are nice because they give you
complete access to the engine compartment and just about everything
is reachable. This boat had been somewhat jury-rigged by prior owners
so we can't really comment much on how the original installations
were done. Its got plastic through hull fittings, many of which
were broken and about ready to sink the boat. Other than that this
is a very simple boat with not much to go wrong with it.
Unfortunately, something did because the forward
plywood bulkhead was all rotted out because the fiberglass cockpit
deck dead ends at the plywood bulkhead. Not being an enclosed area,
everytime it rained, it channeled water onto the bulkhead. Equally
unfortunate is the fact that its not easy to repair this; you have
to remove the small galley area and cut out the head partition to
make the repair. This owner wasn't willing to foot the expense and
so just patched it up by covering over it.
Otherwise, the hull is well built of moderately
thick glass, with glass over wood framing, and there was no sign
of structural failure. There were no blisters on the bottom and
the hardware was plenty sturdy. The hull/deck joint has one of those
awful rope inserted in a rubber rub rail, which has been replaced
at least once, but the gunwale is solid and so are the decks.
Another problem we noted was that the wet exhaust
hoses were aged and cracked, needing replacement. The difficulty
is that they are nearly impossible to reach from the inside. To
replace them, you will have to remove the transom exhaust flanges,
probably cut the transom holes large enough to fit the hoses, and
then slide the new hoses in from the rear. This entire area is behind
the fuel tanks and we couldn't tell if there are mufflers back there.
After you're done doing this, you will probably have to have wider
transom flange plates made up to cover up the larger hole you made.
That's the only way to do it because no one can reach back up under
the deck to attach the hose and clamps. If there are mufflers, you
can slide the whole exhaust system in from the engine room, attach
it to the flange plate and its done. Not difficult to accomplish
if you plan for this, it just costs a few dollars.
The hull is a moderate vee, but our sea trial was
performed in dead calm water so we can't comment on sea keeping
much. Performance wise, its a bit slow, as should be expected with
an 8,000 lb. boat with only 248 horsepower. The other power option
was 228 hp Volvo gas inboards. These were poorly marinized Chevy
305 V8's, usually sea water cooled that did not last long. Most
of them probably will have been replaced by now, and a good thing,
too. I'm not much of a fan on Volvo engines, but these diesels are
still going after 17 years. Barely. It was Big Bill time for
both of them. With 450 hp, this boat will do well over 30 knots.
The cabin has an enclosed head, small galley and
vee berth area. Its small, but its also surprising that they managed
to get as much room in it as it has. Its adequate for getting in
out of the rain, but its not the sort of thing for an overnight
family outing. Two people overnight would be slightly better than
a tent, and its a lot better than a sleeping bag on deck.
Its a fishing boat, or maybe I should call it a "sport utility?"
Something like that.
We posted this review because the boat is a good,
solid platform from which to launch a refurbishing project. The
design style is good enough that it has aged gracefully without
becoming passe. A boat this age, you shouldn't expect to find something
that's ready to go, unless someone has already done the job. These
low powered diesels drive the price up well above any comparable
gas boat, so unless you can tolerate such a slow boat, replacing
these engines is not going to be cost effective. If you wanted to
repower with diesels for better speed, picking up a gas boat would
be the way to go. Nor should you expect 17 year old gas engines
to be worth a diddly either. Rest assured, there is no joy in owning
a boat with old engines; call it Heartache City if you try. The
engine compartment will probably hold up to 260 hp gas engines,
but you'd better take some measurements and make sure your engine
choice will fit before you buy. Clearances will be close.
Considering what you'd pay for a late model, comparably
size boat, even having to replace engines this is a good buy,
if you can find one,. Open boats of this style are far and few between.
The best you can compare it to are the old 28 Tiara Continentals,
but the 28 Topaz is generally a better built boat, although the
weights are identical. There isn't anything at this size in the
Bertram line up to compare to until you go up to the 30 Bahia Mar.
The original MSRP of this boat was $65,900.00.
As equipped, today a comparable new one would go out the door for
nearly two double large.
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are "reviews", not surveys, and bear no resemblance
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We do not publish the results of the surveys that we perform.
Please note that the purpose of these reviews is educational,
to help you discern the differences in quality among boats generally.
They are not offered as a means to help you evaluate any particular
boat builder. We have no other reviews than those posted. |
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