The Skipper's Hat?

[Twitch]

For sure his caps were black and not navy blue. Don't know more than that except he looked perfect in them!

 

[Murph351]

I asked because I have this black Lancaster yacht cap that I got when I finished the restoration of our old wood boat a few years ago.
It reminds people of the Skipper's cap. Drives my wife to giggles when I wear it
It is a much nicer cap than most of the yacht caps you see for sale today.
They advertise that "Lancaster caps have been worn by Hollywood stars since the 40s"
Just wondering what original companies made these hats that you see from back in the day.
http://www.lancap.com/index.php?mod=headwear#

 

[Brad Bowers]

Just wondering what original companies made these hats that you see from back in the day.

Cavanagh made caps for the yachting set. Don't know if that's what the Skipper wore, though.

Brad

 

[J. M. Stovall]

They look the same except the Skipper's bill is matte. They probably knocked the sheen down for TV production reasons.

 

[Mid-fogey]

I guess...

...you'd be in good company wearing one. I think Alan Hale was a real stand up kind of guy.

 

[Dr Trinidad]

I always wondered why they made yachting caps and Greek fishermans hats out of wool, when wool shrinks if it gets wet. Seems strange to me.

 

[J. M. Stovall]

Wool will maintain its proper shape when washed correctly; if it is mistreated and washed with too much agitation the fibers bind and contract, kind of like a zip tie. It's a one-way deal. So just getting it wet is ok, but don't try and wring it out!

 

[Twitch]

Mid-fogey, for me the Skipper made the show work. I bet in real life Alan was a great guy.

 

[Murph351]

On a side note:
The gold embroidery on my cap has dulled or tarnished, is that possible with gold thread?
Anyone know if the brilliance can be brought back?

 

[Dr Trinidad]

I wore a greek fishermans hat the first day of trout season and it rained all day. Took the hat home hung it up to dry and in a couple of days it had shrunk so small it would fit a 12 yr old.

 

[Mid-fogey]

Unlike...

...other cast mates who were appalled at being typecast, Alan Hale reveled in being "Skipper" the rest of his life, wore the hat, and was unfailingly gracious to anyone who approached him.

 

[J. M. Stovall]

I wore a greek fishermans hat the first day of trout season and it rained all day. Took the hat home hung it up to dry and in a couple of days it had shrunk so small it would fit a 12 yr old.

Maybe yours was more of a novelty hat? It's hard to imagine a Greek fisherman going out and buying a new hat every time he was caught out in the rain (which must be quite often if you are a fisherman).

I bet those hats come in varying degrees of quality like most any other hat.

 

[Lance Uppercut]

I'm a big Alan Hale Jr. fan and have been looking for high-quality caps similar to his "Skipper" style for years. One feature that all of the repros get wrong is the weave/material that comprises the outer band . . . it should be much more open and have a distinct pattern. The horizontal banding and elasticy look you seen on most contemporary attempts (of all price ranges) is just not ideal.

I did manage to lay my hands on a very nice vintage yacht cap a couple years ago. Made by the first gen. Abercrombie & Fitch. The top was originally white (now discolored somewhat) and made from some type of weather-repellant canvas material.

Bogie wore a cap like this (black/dark navy minus the patch) in a couple films (Key Largo?) to great effect. When you eliminate embroidered anchor/lifesaver element, it comes off as less costumey (a word I hesitate to use here) and more classic IMO.

 

[Lance Uppercut]

Oh, here's a place that does a pretty decent quality lid at a good price . . . it's not the "perfect" Skipper cap but a damn sight better than the cheapie ones with the adjuster in the back:

http://www.captainsquartersuniforms.com/yachtclub.html

 

[Murph351]

Oh, here's a place that does a pretty decent quality lid at a good price . . . it's not the "perfect" Skipper cap but a damn sight better than the cheapie ones with the adjuster in the back:

http://www.captainsquartersuniforms.com/yachtclub.html

Looks like a nice hat but the chin strap looks incorrect for the Skipper.
Here's a pic of my black Lancaster Cap (really well made) and a picture of my grandfather's yacht cap from the 50's.

 

[mwelch8404]

Don't fix the tarnish. IIRC, The WWII PT boat crews were noted for soaking their stuff in saltwater to add to the tarnish so everyone knew they weren't destroyer/battlewagon sailors...

 

[Lance Uppercut]

Also nice . . . priced reasonably:

http://www.millerhats.com/greek3.htm

 

[Guttersnipe]

That's really common with gold braiding...

On a side note:
The gold embroidery on my cap has dulled or tarnished, is that possible with gold thread?
Anyone know if the brilliance can be brought back?

...In another non-cyber space life I'm a civil war re-enactor. After one season of events, all the gold embroidery on my officer's kit tarnished really bad (all that sleeping out on the open on the ground, getting sprinkled on, etc).

At first I was bothered a little bothered by it to, but look at this way, at least this way everybody knows you aren't a newly minted skipper!

 

[rgraham]

Here is a cap I saved from certain destruction. I noticed it in a box at an thrift store just as I was leaving. It was outside, stuffed in a box with some other junk like it was nothing special. It had gone through a night of light rain, but wasn't very wet. It suffered some slight staining on top of the white part, but everything else was pretty well unscathed. After some research, I found out the it's from the Tahoe Yacht Club. It's now one of my favorites.

 

[Dixon Cannon]

My favorite from '65

"My father was a sailin' man, and 'is father before 'im!
I'm a son of a son of a sailer!" -John Lennon

-dixon cannon