Topaz 24'

[mpwitte]

I was sure the pod boat would raise a few eyebrows! We had a very nice gentleman ask us to engineer and build an unusual design idea he had and put up the money to do it. Bob Seidelmann designed and built the molds and I put it all together. It was a completely modular and bolt on affair using a standard hull. Stringers in the hull and box were in line but did not run through the transom. I had huge aluminum angle brackets made up that bolted through the stringers inside both hull and box and then through bolted clamping the transom and box face together. Oh, and 50 half inch stainless bolts too! Air intake and all mechanicals were ducted in from the main hull near the top of the box. Seperate bilge pumps in both areas. The box was built with seperate hull and deck molds and a large power opperated top hatch heavily gasgeted with over center latches to cinch it down. It was watertight. The boat ran fantastic! It was bizzare how smooth and quiet it was. Almost seemed like an electric motor. The water was all that you heard or felt. I had the boat off Manasquan one fall day after a storm in long period 5'-6' rollers and it was one of the best rides of my life! With the trailing fins on the pod it would turn quick enough to throw you out of the boat if you were not ready. It would plane instantly with NO bow rise and only lost 2-3 knots from a standard boat. Power was a 5.7 / 300. The molds were still at the shop in Berlin last I knew but were owned by the owner of the boat, not Topaz. The boat was displayed at the A.C. show the year I finished it. I'm afraid it was too different for people to take it seriously.

AS for the yellow twin hp o/b, I built that boat for Rich Coty, / Coty Marine in North Jersey (a Merc HP dealer). It was a hoot but he had ongoing problems with the motors. They were set at around 275 hp and he had toasted at least one powerhead and one gearcase that I was aware of. Notice the holes he had me bore in the K-Planes for scupper drains! We mounted two 1,000,000 kp remote spots on the t-top for him. He told me he was so busy that the only time he would get to run the boat was at night and his eyes were not very good at night! Last I knew it was just sitting in his yard.

Mike.