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  1. #1

    Cost to maintain older Hatt53MY

    I want to buy a 53MY sooooo bad but see newer yachts in that $80K to $120K that are much younger with newer systems. I can afforad the entry price but afraid of the upkeep.

    Not a DD man, much prefer newer 4cycle engines and cannot justify replacement of working engines.

    OK with 1MPG and plan to speand most it living aboard in Biloxi (southern Vegas).

    Assuming, all systems on boat are working at time of purchase and survey to OK; going forward with a light cruise/most at dock liveaboard; what are my new demons to exercise?

  2. #2

    Re: Cost to maintain older Hatt53MY

    Depends on the boat you buy and what your standards are for seaworthiness (including structural integrity such as leaks), comfort, convenience and cosmetics. A good set of surveyors (engine and hull) will tell you what your starting point is.

    Then it depends on on how handy you are, what you value your time at (and how much you have to spare), what it costs to have someone competent do the work that you can't or don't want to do.

    Read this forum at length and you will see almost all the potential issues are.

    One of the best phrases I've heard, from a very experienced captain while relaxing dockside, "Even as we sit here enjoying our drinks, things are breaking".
    George
    Former Owner: "Incentive" 1981 56MY
    2007-2014

  3. #3

    Re: Cost to maintain older Hatt53MY

    "As we sit having our drinks"

    Got to remember that one

    Sam

  4. #4

    Re: Cost to maintain older Hatt53MY

    IF you do the work yourself, the maint cost is actually pretty low. Of course that is based on your mechanical/electrical interest/aptitude/ability and the amount of time you have available to do it or are willing to spend on it. The cost of boat work will be inversely proportional to the amount of it that YOU can do since labor is always the major cost.

    The statement that something is always breaking is true though it sounds a bit pessimistic since the same thing is happening with your car, house, whatever. OTOH, these boats have a lot of systems so there is a lot of stuff to wear out and it's OLD. But it is amazing how long the oem gear seems to last...

    The average annual cost for our 53's maintenance is not more than three thousand bucks. That's with me doing all the work other than bottom painting (every 3 years - about 2k). That does not count slip fees/insurance, etc which has to be factored in, of course.

    As noted, the best approach, IMO, is to buy a boat in the best possible condition. It's much easier and cheaper to maintain a boat in good repair than to start out with a basket case though the basket case will cost a lot less to purchase. But then you can end up in a repair/maintenance death march that never seems to end…

    There are folks here who have prepared spread sheets showing detailed maint records, perhaps someone will post one. There should be some in the archives that a search could reveal.
    Mike P
    San Miguel de Allende, Mexico; Kent Island MD; San Antonio TX
    1980 53MY "Brigadoon"

  5. #5

    Re: Cost to maintain older Hatt53MY

    A rough estimate is 10-15 thousand a year.

  6. #6

    Re: Cost to maintain older Hatt53MY

    Does that 10-15k include the slip/insurance?

    To elaborate on our costs:
    Our insurance is around 2500/year but that price will vary dramatically depending on where the boat is located. We are in the Chesapeake Bay in a covered slip. Covered slip rental fees in our marina for a 60 ft slip were around 7.4k/year when we moved the boat here in '06 but they can be had for considerably less now. I have heard - though not verified - that a 60 ft slip in the marina can be rented from a private owner for $4600/year. So if you added our insurance and, say 6k for the slip rental, our annual costs to own the boat would be around 10-11k USD.

    Of course, the above is also based on not actually MOVING the boat, which requires fuel…
    Mike P
    San Miguel de Allende, Mexico; Kent Island MD; San Antonio TX
    1980 53MY "Brigadoon"

  7. #7

    Re: Cost to maintain older Hatt53MY

    The average annual cost for our 53's maintenance is not more than three thousand bucks. That's with me doing all the work other than bottom painting (every 3 years - about 2k).
    So Mike, you value your time at zero? If I had known that I would have hired you!
    George
    Former Owner: "Incentive" 1981 56MY
    2007-2014

  8. #8

    Re: Cost to maintain older Hatt53MY

    Yes, my time costs nothing as far as I am concerned…when I'm working for ME (or my friends - I think I might have two, or maybe three of those).

    The concept that your own time is worth money is true if boat work is taking away from money you would be earning on a "real job." But if you are doing boat work on your own time then I can't see how it can be considered as "worth" anything since you wouldn't' be making any money with that time anyway. I'd rather do mechanical work than watch TV, for example, which is why all my hobbies involve mechanical work of some sort…well, except for music stuff but my wife thinks the mental process for that is the same as mech work.

    But I've never been a good financial planner so maybe my view is faulty…but it works for me!
    Last edited by MikeP; 08-22-2014 at 12:44 PM.
    Mike P
    San Miguel de Allende, Mexico; Kent Island MD; San Antonio TX
    1980 53MY "Brigadoon"

  9. #9

    Re: Cost to maintain older Hatt53MY

    All Hatteras yachts come with a guarantee. Is actually better than the guarantee on a Ginsu Knife! When you buy an old Hatteras, it's guaranteed that something is broken, or will soon break. My slip neighbor has Mann RRs in a newer SeaRay. They are more costly to maintain than the DDs. My old Hatteras is no more costly to maintain than the newer Sea Ray.

  10. #10

    Re: Cost to maintain older Hatt53MY

    I will confess I used to use the derogatory phrases to describe boats that mostly sit in their slips such as "dock queens" and "floating condos." Now I live aboard and have one. We try to take it out once a month year round. It's nice to have a pilot house with heat in the snow. I like to take a couple of longer trips per year, maybe 150 miles round trip.

    With that background, I'm with Mike. It probably costs me less than $3,000 per year in maintenance, not counting bottom paint and blister repair which someday I may tackle. A mechanic would probably charge over $1,000 to change the oil and filters on the mains and the generator. I can do it in a morning for around $200. I love working on the boat. It's my hobby.

    Improvements are a different story. Hardwood floors and the new galley were well over $10,000 and the heads are next. But those items are no different than a house.
    1977 Hatteras 58' MY, Hull No. 304, 4-stateroom galley up model with 8V71TIs in Knoxville, Tennessee

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