Training

[edward]

How much training would you need to safely operate/run a 53 Hatteras motor yacht ? My background /experience has been confined to 20-25 foot outboards. .
Thanks, Edward

[Glory]

Depends on the student.

Just think about how many skippers cans correctly rig and secure fenders.

[Pascal]

The 53 is very easy to handle in close quarters as the lower helm is within a couple of steps of your spring lines and has very good visibility aft. The weight of the boat, the hull shape make it more stable in a breeze and the torque of the diesels an large wheels make it very responsive

That said, because of of the size and mass, you need to approach any maneuver with a different mid set.

Anything under 30' you can basically muscle around and as long as you can get within a foot of the dock you can usually pull it in. It's a bad habit but it works. Once you hit 30/35 you have to be able to get the boat when it needs to be so don't rely on jumping on the dock and pulling... it's not hawrder but there is a discipline you need to have.

For instance when I pull near a dock, I don't get off th boat unless I have the boat secured which means throwing the lines around the pilings or dock cleats and doubling them back to th boat usually starting with the spring line so if the wind or current pushes me off I can spring off that line. Once you get that, boat size really don't matter. I've been singlehandling my 53 for years as well as boat as big as 84 if I need too

[edward]

Thanks, would two weeks with a qualified insurance approved captain/instructor be a reasonabletime frame?
Edward

[Boatsb]

Your asking a question we can't answer.

I've seen paid with years of experience that can't dock a boat to save their life. Others that took to it like it was second nature.

Experience is key. Practice is paramount.

[MikeP]

Met a guy in Stamford CT some years back after he bumped/banged his new 70 footer into a slip. We were talking afterward. It was his first boat. NOT his first big boat, his first ever boat! He paid cash, got a briefing from the company, and off he/his wife went!

So a 53 is pretty light duty!

We moved to a 53 from a 36 Mainship 13 years ago. The hardest part of getting used to the 53 was figuring out the electrical system! Operating the boat is, as Pascal pointed out, pretty straightforward and quite forgiving. Best advice, as has been stated...take it slow in tight quarters. IMO, in tight quarters or docking if you are moving at walking speed, you are going much too fast.