Aquarius 24 Pilot Cutter

[bobakasimi]

Thanks Kyrie. I believe that i have hull #7 - my HIN reads AYW10007.

what is interesting is that your HIN pre-fix is TPG. (which may stand for Topsail pilot xxx?) while mine is AYW. Any Ideas of why they are different?

[Kyrie Eleison]

Bob,

I see that you have hull number 7, and yes the HIN alpha identifier would be when Aquarius took over from Topsail...
This would explain as to why Kyrie is hull number 9 from the old company that produced her....
Not knowing enough from other owners makes it somewhat difficult to get solid data on these sailboats....
on Sept 23, SV Kyrie Eleison will be on the hard for the fall and winter season...
I will take a lot of pictures for all you folks out there interested in comparing her to yours....

Cheers to All

John

[bobakasimi]

I look forward to seeing more pictures of Kyrie- She is a sweet little vessel.

If Kyrie is hull #9, born in 1978 , and mine is hull #7 born in 1980, it makes sense that the production yard name had changed at some point in time in between those dates, and the hull numbers had also been "reset". This also would go with the prefixes of the HIN changing from TPG to AYW.

I have Done a little research and found that both the TPG HIN prefix variety of Aquarius Pilot Cutters and the AYW variety were indeed manufactured at the same facility in Sarasota FL. Furthermore i have found that the original manufacturer- Topsail Yachts Inc.(TPG) Went out of business in March of 1978. the new manufacturer Aquarius Yachts Inc (AYW) took over in March 1978. They stayed in business under this name until March 1987, when they went out of business for good. I will add that the owner of Aquarius Yachts Inc was J. Waligora. It seems that the production run for these boats was at least nine years, all in FL.

in addition, the previous owners of my Aquarius PC gave me two brochures for the Yacht (which i will attach for any of you interested)

One of which is dated March 1978, An entire page add out of an old magazine called Sailors Gazette- Listing the builder as Topsail Yachts Inc. The other pamphlet (which came with my Aquarius PC built in 1980) listed the builder as Aquarius Yachts Inc.

both pieces of literature, one from 1978 and the other from 1980- list the builders address as 2014 Whitfield Park Avenue Sarasota FL 33580. This pretty much backs up the data I've found online- two different manufacturer names but the same location in FL.

[bobakasimi]

Here are some pictures of my Aquarius Pilot Cutter as I found her. Soon, I will start restoring her.

[salgado]

Hello! Is anyone on this thread?

I just bought an Aquarius and will start restoration this summer.

[Kyrie Eleison]

Ahoy,

Yes I do check the site on occasions and try to respond to posts ASAP...
Cheers...

I read that you just recently purchased an APC. Are you able to share the year she was built?

A new web site for Aquarius Pilot Cutter owners and enthusiast's was just started up recently and here's the link... HOME - Aquarius Pilot Cutters

Good Luck Cap'n

Cheers

John S/V Kyrie Eleison

[salgado]

She was built in 1980.

I don't know her whole history.

[barnakiel]

She is a Hess. You are lucky to own a pretty and seaworthy boat.

Where does she take you this summer?

Cheers,
b.

[bobakasimi]

Hi Salgado,

Im in the process of restoring my APC, hull #7. As Kyrie said, we do now have an owners group.

She was actually designed by a man named Frank Parish. Even though she does bear resemblance to the Hess designs, in particular Seraffyn, Hess actually plaed no part in the design and building of the APC.

We would love to see some pictures of your boat!

[bobakasimi]

my boat was also built in 1980, do you know your hull number?

[mrarmyant]

Been searching for a pocket cruiser for live aboard, and stumbled on this boat and love it! Found one for sale but had some questions about its sail-ability. What's hull speed? Can she sail above it? How well does she do in light winds, heavy winds? Pointing? I have an Ericson 32 and Catalina 25 here on a lake, and have raced on a VX-One to give you a range of boats someone might be able to compare it to.

[Orion Jim]

Originally Posted by mrarmyant

Been searching for a pocket cruiser for live aboard, and stumbled on this boat and love it! Found one for sale but had some questions about its sail-ability. What's hull speed? Can she sail above it? How well does she do in light winds, heavy winds? Pointing? I have an Ericson 32 and Catalina 25 here on a lake, and have raced on a VX-One to give you a range of boats someone might be able to compare it to.

The theoretical hull speed is determined by the waterline length and is 5.9 knots. Only surfing conditions will result in a faster hull speed.

[Karen Jackson]

Hello All. I am the owner of SV Camelot, hull #5 of the Aquarius productions. She was built in August 1979. I have been told by the previous owner that she was originally gaff rigged and the owner before her had changed the mast and converted the standing rigging to a marconi configuration. The yankee and staysl' are original, but my running rigging and mainsl' are a hot mess. I am desperately looking for anyone who might know if the gaff and marconi rigs both used the same mast and I need boom specs for the gaff and the main. Impossible to find anyone with an Aquarius gaff rig. Other than the original sales data and article, there are no drawings with actual specs on them. Calling all Top sail and Aquarius 24 owners - Save me!!

[cas206]

Welcome to the PC 24 club. I responded to you over at the Owners website. I don't get notifications there when someone posts. So giving you heads up in case you don't get notifications either.

[double u]

saw one in Curacao: extremely cute boat (but your boat's name-KE-is offensiveto me)