As a new boat owner how hard

[Robby]

was it for you to get used to handling a 40-60 foot Hatt?I've been around small boats all of my life mostly bassboats.We did a vacation on the Tennessee on a 60 foot houseboat and I fell right into its operation and felt comfy in 8-10 hours.Brendas worried about me handling a large Hatt and starting the Loop shortly after purchase.I'm an airplane Mech and Comm pilot.Pushed fighters(Big ones!!) backwards all over the world.Grew up driving semis and bobtails and other heavy equipment.I'm not an Idiot ,I'll get someone to spend some time with us on the boat before I go solo.How was it for you and yes Brens on this forum each day.I want her to see this.Thanks in advance;Robby in Mobile

[boatwright]

hi you say you have heavy equipment experiance so this may relate. at low speed when docking i center the helm and manuver with the shifts like the track controls on a bulldozer and the throttles for faster effect. also learn the may uses of a spring line when comeing on or leaveing a dock.

[spartonboat1]

Per the scope of your question, 40-60', all the Hatts are heavy, read very heavy in the 1510's (15'10"'s wide, 53'+) and up. I grew up handling 28-35' boats, so were 10-17k#'s. The Hatt's are a big jump in weight at 36k#'s and up.

For a frame of reference, ask an owner or broker to let you untie the bow line, at the dock, let it float out 2-4' and then pull the boat back in. It will take a lot more effort than you will expect, meaning lots of mass. But the upside is that they are very stable and that works to your advantage when maneuvering.

Also, nothing happens very fast, so low speed maneuvering does not require lots of inputs. Get a good heading toward the docking point, and 2-4 boatlengths out, center the rudders, and go to idle in neutral. Unless very windy or much current, you will continue right on in. Get a line ashore or to the dock and have someone make it fast to a cleat at the dock and you can pull against it to come to the dock. Text description much to be desired.

It took me 4 years to realize that nothing unusual was going to happen and the boat would not jump around. Steady as she goes is best.

My 2CW.

[StratPlan61]

Much depends on the specific boat and its layout - PH, etc. I don't think you will have any real trouble. Slow and easy and use only gears to move around. Fairly simple once you get adjusted to the width. My 61' offers no sightlines from the FB, so all docking is from the PH. Its no trouble, its important to have 1 other person that can follow precise directions, like 'secure that line now', only the spring line for now, etc. I made a small model of my 61' with all of the cleats on it and a small model of a dock (1 side is floting dock, the other side a fixed dock with pilings. So before docking we can go over, I want this spring line on a 'foward piling, or aft piling,' Its key the line handler knows I want the spring line to stop my forwarad movement, or I want the forward cleat secured so I can 'swing' the boat in by backing, etc. Should be easy enough - talk over each docking maneuvering session over BEFORE you commit to the exercise. Wind can change things quickly along with current and other stupid boaters. Always have a backup plan for a re-try. No worries Mate!

[Pascal]

the bigger the boat, the easier it is to handle once you get over the "oh sh-t" this is big moment.

boats with the lower helm and pilot house doors on each side are the eaisiest one handle since from the lower helm you're a few steps from your springlines.

some say cockpits make it easier to handle lines, i dont' find that critical, with a little practice you can learn to secure your line from the aft deck or side decks without getting off the boat.

[GJH]

Truthfully, the only person who can answer your question is you. Capabilities of captains and crew vary so much that the answer for me, or or given by anyone else, is virtually irrelevant as it pertains to YOU.
And, BTW in certain wind and current situations, things can happen very quickly. For guys like me, only practice, and lots of it, makes things go well. And yes, I had a fair amount of experience handling boats in the 40's before we bought this one.

[Brian Degulis]

With the experience you describe you will have no trouble none at all. The trouble comes more from the guy that sold his acounting firm the condo and the BMW. Then goes out and buys a 65 footer to start a cruising retirement.


Brian

[Robby]

[QUOTE=Brian Degulis;137387]With the experience you describe you will have no trouble none at all. The trouble comes more from the guy that sold his acounting firm the condo and the BMW. Then goes out and buys a 65 footer to start a cruising retirement.Thanks Brian thats what I've been Telling Brenda.She knows what I can do,She flys with me and we have been togather for 37 years.We will figure it out and try to be safe.

[yachtsmanbill]

I went from my 36 foot Roamer for 30 years onto a 150 ton 75 foot tugboat with a SINGLE direct reversable Superior diesel and thought.. "Oh SHIT" as well, for the first 10 minutes.
Lotsa practice and remember everything is in slow motion, so operate it even slower, as in dock approaches etc... youll do just fine! On my 58TC, I need a lookout by the back door when backing, especially if its windy, but you will learn to compensate for conditions with practice. The NAV rules are still the same, basically!! ws

[SKYCHENEY]

I have seen some owners who never learn. The best advice to get someone to help you to start. Find another HOFer or owner of a similar boat in your marina who is a good captain. He will show you the tricks.

I grew up handling boats, so it just comes naturally for me. I used to play around in the current in the spring just for fun by trying to maneuver my little Whaler around. Current and wind can be a problem, but once you know what effect it will have you can compensate for it and in many cases use it to your advantage.

As stated before, the bigger and heavier the boat, the easier they are to control as everything happens at a slower pace. I've never operated a boat with a thruster, but some say they help. I wouldn't know. They just sound bad to me and it looks like many captains rely on them too much instead of having a real plan.

[Angela]

I have seen some owners who never learn.

Hey, are you talking about me????? LOL I finally DID learn, and I've taken the boat out on my own now. :) I just needed a better slip than the skinny one I had that was like living in the Gulf Stream. Getting a 60 x 20-something foot slip with lots of piling and a finger pier did a lot for developing my confidence all of the sudden. Still, it's nice to be able to just yell, "Hey Pascal!!!" when we want to go out and play on Sanctuary for the day.

I will say, that it took me, personally, a long time to get over that feeling of "wow, this beast is HUGE!" I came up from a 33' express cruiser to a 58' Hatteras MY. That was quite a leap in my opinion.

[Bob Bradley]

Very predictable. It was harder for me to go from a 26' Chris to a 32' Chris than it was to go from the 32 to mty 43' Hatt Conv. Just remember, never approach the dock at a speed higher than you are willing to hit it at.

[SKYCHENEY]

Another good thing about a Hatteras is that they have rub rails that were designed to be used. They will not bent or dent like most of the new stuff today. If you have a piling to lean on, go for it. Just ease up there and lay your bow against it and pivot on it. It won't hurt the boat.

[fissioneng]

I have found my 43 MY to handle nothing like my previous boat, a Trojan F32. The F32 only drew 2.5', weighed 13K lbs., had no keel, and a lot of windage. I was able to move it around in an instant and spin it very quickly. The 43 MY, like most Hargrave Hatteras', has a big keel that fights you when you spin, and the boat is much heavier, so the spin happens much more slowly. Currents also catch the keel and have done things that I didn't expect (like the boat steering in reverse better than in forward!). A sideways current tends to slip under the section where the props are since there is no keel there. This creates a spinning moment independent of the engines that you need to account for. Needless to say, I don't have it all figured out yet.

After 2 years, I am still getting used to it and am now committed to using spring lines to dock which I never had to do before.