Hi every one . I'm looking at purchasing my first sail boat. I plan to mostly use it as a weekender in the hawksbury And possibly learn to sail it down the track. I plan on mooring it on a swing mooring at berowra waters. The boat I am intereted in is a Adams Sloop 7.2m . It's a 1990 model. I looked at it last week and it seemed ok for a cheap weekender. It has a 15hp Yamaha. Can some one tell me if these were good boats or not? And how do I tell a good one from a bad one. I can't find any thing on them on the net. Thanks for the help I'm new to yachts!
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www.tophatyachts.com/
the top hats are a good yacht for the money the above link is the ozzie club There is nearly always one on ebay for sale.
They have excellent head room and lots of room for a weekender and a great sailing boat and it appears there is always some one looking to buy one
NSW sailor is currently circumnavigating Australia in one.
I don't know much about your Adams Sloop 7.2m but there will be some one in here that will know
Have a look at one if you have the time nothing like keel kicking 
http://www.boatpoint.com.au/boats/top-hat
www.boatsales.com.au/boats/top-hat/25-mk-iii
www.yachtsalesaustralia.com.au/yachtsalesaustralia_nsw/yachts-for-sale/used/sail-monohulls/top-hat-25/155940
yachthub.com/list/yachts-for-sale/used/sail-monohulls/top-hat-25/140177
www.ebay.com.au/itm/Top-Hat-25-Cheap-Sailing-or-project/151665577048?_trksid=p2047675.c100011.m1850&_trkparms=aid%3D222007%26algo%3DSIC.MBE%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20140107090050%26meid%3D9bca159814c34fafaad3c28354788187%26pid%3D100011%26rk%3D4%26rkt%3D8%26mehot%3Dpp%26sd%3D161675490548
Daniel, welcome to the forum. When looking at the boat try and guage if it's a boat that has been loved by its owner and then take in if it has been subjected to regular maintenance. Check the obvious things eg. leaks where there shouldn;t be any, the rigging at the terminals to see if there are an broken strands. run the motor and let it get to its operating temps then run it really hard both in forward and reverse, let it strain against the mooring lines. Also if you can, take a more knowledgable person with you, one whose opinion you trust. Good luck ....and don't pay what they are asking, make them work for there money.
So this is a top hat?? After the heavy rain last week I did notice a small amount of water had leaked though the front hatch/air vent maybe half a bucket. Is this a problem? Hard to fix? I think I can get it for 4-$4500. Motor tested and runs well
No it probably is an Adams. $4000 sounds like it might be a good buy, even if you need to spend a bit more on those "little" things you missed when you inspected it. With the amount of rain we had last week I would be surprised if there is a boat that didn't have a bit of leakage. At that price I don't think you can go too far wrong. Check the keel bolts if it has any and also the rudder gudgeons.Osmosis may be an issue at that age, but no boat has ever sunk because of osmosis.
Thanks for the advice. I also looked at a hood 20 the other day. But was looking for something with a bit more room. What do people think of the hood 20?? I don't know any one that knows sail boats so I can't get some one to look at the Adams with me. Does any one know of some one who would look at it with me at Brooklyn/parcly bay for a small fee and give me some knowledgable advice???
Looks like a workable first boat to me. 3 things: hull, motor, sails / rigging.
I'd want to know what condition the seacocks are in, how old the rigging is, how good the sails are. How reliable is that outboard (if you needed to buy another that's way cheaper than a new diesel)?
Does that deck hatch leak? What about the windows? Tip buckets of water on them to find out. Looks like maybe it's had a recent coat of paint so might be hard to tell by staining.
If you want to sleep aboard you might be interested in the state of the anchor and rode (chain/rope).
Sails need to be put up and taken down for each sail and you have no self-tailing winches so you'll probably want to sail with a friend rather than on your own.
Good boat to buy and not spend any money on (assuming there is nothing critically wrong with it), learn on, then sell for not much risk.
My 2 cents.
Select to expand quoteLazydaniel said..
Thanks for the advice. I also looked at a hood 20 the other day. But was looking for something with a bit more room. What do people think of the hood 20?? I don't know any one that knows sail boats so I can't get some one to look at the Adams with me. Does any one know of some one who would look at it with me at Brooklyn/parcly bay for a small fee and give me some knowledgable advice???
What do I think of my Hood 20 ?
"I LOVE IT"
I did buy the best one I could find, firm deck, clean, dry, good keel bolts, biggish outboard.
Rigging will need replacing in a season or 2.
All for the low price of $2500.
Wouldn't spend anymore on a Hood 20\23
Sadly not enough room for the wife and 2 girls let alone the dog.
Maybe thats the appeal in my case,
As we both know Daniel NOT ENOUGH (HEAD) ROOM
Keep looking, much better off with an Adams.
