53/54 Motor Yachts - introduction and questions

[jrbrein]

Regarding a boats beam.

When we were living aboard and cruising up and down the East Coast of the United States our catamaran had a 21' beam. We stayed in lots of marinas and never had problems finding accommodations. Maybe having a 42' long catamaran might have helped us, but we often were given slips that were easy to get in and out of as well.

I would not let having an 18' beam stop me from the boat of my dreams.

Jon

[SKYCHENEY]

Regarding a boats beam.

When we were living aboard and cruising up and down the East Coast of the United States our catamaran had a 21' beam. We stayed in lots of marinas and never had problems finding accommodations. Maybe having a 42' long catamaran might have helped us, but we often were given slips that were easy to get in and out of as well.

I would not let having an 18' beam stop me from the boat of my dreams.

Jon

Maybe not, but I have found that traveling with a couple of guys that have 18.2 Hatts, they have trouble getting in some places where I have many more options. I have even backed into some 40' slips and they have no option but wall space and that wall space is getting filled up with larger boats. It seems the trend toward larger 70-100' yachts has made these spaces even harder to come by.

[SKYCHENEY]

Can someone please explain the physics of this? I can't wrap my head around it.

Sounds strange, but we had a Hatteras rally at Grand Haven, MI a few years back. The surge coming down the channel was making the boats roll in the slips. As we all sat on shore for a pot-luck meal, we started to notice all of the Hatts in a row and which ones were rolling the most and it was the 18'2" boats that seemed to roll more.

Maybe its the extra flat surface area at the stern. I'm not sure, but we all noticed it.

[GJH]

We too cruised up and down the eastern seaboard and the 18'2" never was an issue. It makes a huge difference in interior space and ergonomics. After living on one full time for 6+ years, I know we would now never consider anything else for a full time domicile and cruiser.

[doc g]

could be wave period/ wave size , in general physics would say wider should roll less..........Pat

[tom5518]

Sounds strange, but we had a Hatteras rally at Grand Haven, MI a few years back. The surge coming down the channel was making the boats roll in the slips. As we all sat on shore for a pot-luck meal, we started to notice all of the Hatts in a row and which ones were rolling the most and it was the 18'2" boats that seemed to roll more.

Maybe its the extra flat surface area at the stern. I'm not sure, but we all noticed it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=65GYF2AOR-Y

[Scarlett]

Where is the 15’10’’ boat for comparison, those are all 18’2’ boats?

[Naughty Lottie]

The difference in the rolling is due to different hulls having different rolling periods, and the frequency and amplitude of the waves/swell being close to the natural rolling periods.

[miboatnutz]

John and Debbie,

I think I'm in a unique position to shed some light on some of your questions as my sister and I currently own BOTH a 1972 42 Ft Chris craft Commander Double Cabin and a 1984 53 Ft. Hatteras Extended Deck house. Yes, it is a sickness! Lol!

About six years ago we did a meticulous restoration on the Chris Craft and it is truly a GEM! The boat has the original 427 Ford side oiler engines and every time I start that thing up at the dock, somebody turns and looks at me usually with a smile! Sister and I are in our late fifties and have spent our entire lives on the water. We've owned Vikings, other Chris Crafts, and all kinds boats in between. The 42 Commander just does everything really well! Its reasonably spacious and comfortable, feels safe in rough weather, has a displacement which allows me to mostly single hand the boat. For all of those reasons and more we love that boat!

Then we bought the Hatteras.

The differences between these two boats as you can imagine are significant.The Chris is a comfortable weekender, but it's definitely not a live aboard. Sister usually spends weekends on the Chris and after a couple of days, she's ready to get off the boat. The Hatt is a true live aboard with so much room that three of us spend time on the boat and it's just so comfortable and roomy that extended stays feel like a pleasure and not an inconvenience!

The other big difference is the structural, electrical systems and machinery you'll find on each boat. The reason why the Chris Commanders continue to be such classics today are because they were extremely well engineered boats for their time. Everything was overbuilt and designed to "yacht standards" The Hatt on the other hand is a "little ship" and many of the systems on the boat have levels of redundancy and robustness consistent with what you might find on ships and not necessarily large yachts. Others might argue that opinion but to each their own.

Bottom line is that the engineering on the Hatt is simply exemplary.

It may be worthwhile to look at the 54 Hatt as the extra beam would simply make the boat that much more comfortable as a live aboard. That decision will likely come down to money and the cost of a 53 versus a 54 and what's in your budget.

Answers to some of your other questions

1. We did indeed have an electrical system that included 220 volt AC, 110 volt AC, 32 volt VDC, 24 volt VDC and 12 volt VDC. Most of the Hatts in that era did not have a 24 volt VDC system as standard. It just so happens that previous owner had a replacement generator installed and for some reason they put in a 24 VDC unit and wired it up accordingly. We've since replaced that unit with one a new that runs on 12 volt VDC, so we're kind of back to the original electrical power arrangements.

2. Our 53 ED has two engine rooms, port and starboard and each of them have two doors to provide access to machinery. We have standard shaft logs with packing and they are easily accessible for inspection and adjustment through the aft engine room doors. There's a drip pan and bilge pump under each shaft log (Hatteras Engineering!).

3. As far as prices go for a 53 Hatt, I can tell you they're are all over the map! We bought ours two years ago from a private owner as we literally had our eye on that boat for years. Previous owner was fastidious almost to the point of extreme in the care and maintenance. Prior to the purchase we were seeing prices anywhere from a low of $150K to a high of over $300K for same make and model.

Sorry for the length of this post but wanted to give you as much info as possible. Good luck in your endeavors!

[JohnEasley]

John and Debbie,

I think I'm in a unique position to shed some light on some of your questions as my sister and I currently own BOTH a 1972 42 Ft Chris craft Commander Double Cabin and a 1984 53 Ft. Hatteras Extended Deck house. Yes, it is a sickness! Lol!

About six years ago we did a meticulous restoration on the Chris Craft and it is truly a GEM! The boat has the original 427 Ford side oiler engines and every time I start that thing up at the dock, somebody turns and looks at me usually with a smile! Sister and I are in our late fifties and have spent our entire lives on the water. We've owned Vikings, other Chris Crafts, and all kinds boats in between. The 42 Commander just does everything really well! Its reasonably spacious and comfortable, feels safe in rough weather, has a displacement which allows me to mostly single hand the boat. For all of those reasons and more we love that boat!

Then we bought the Hatteras.

The differences between these two boats as you can imagine are significant.The Chris is a comfortable weekender, but it's definitely not a live aboard. Sister usually spends weekends on the Chris and after a couple of days, she's ready to get off the boat. The Hatt is a true live aboard with so much room that three of us spend time on the boat and it's just so comfortable and roomy that extended stays feel like a pleasure and not an inconvenience!

The other big difference is the structural, electrical systems and machinery you'll find on each boat. The reason why the Chris Commanders continue to be such classics today are because they were extremely well engineered boats for their time. Everything was overbuilt and designed to "yacht standards" The Hatt on the other hand is a "little ship" and many of the systems on the boat have levels of redundancy and robustness consistent with what you might find on ships and not necessarily large yachts. Others might argue that opinion but to each their own.

Bottom line is that the engineering on the Hatt is simply exemplary.

It may be worthwhile to look at the 54 Hatt as the extra beam would simply make the boat that much more comfortable as a live aboard. That decision will likely come down to money and the cost of a 53 versus a 54 and what's in your budget.

Answers to some of your other questions

1. We did indeed have an electrical system that included 220 volt AC, 110 volt AC, 32 volt VDC, 24 volt VDC and 12 volt VDC. Most of the Hatts in that era did not have a 24 volt VDC system as standard. It just so happens that previous owner had a replacement generator installed and for some reason they put in a 24 VDC unit and wired it up accordingly. We've since replaced that unit with one a new that runs on 12 volt VDC, so we're kind of back to the original electrical power arrangements.

2. Our 53 ED has two engine rooms, port and starboard and each of them have two doors to provide access to machinery. We have standard shaft logs with packing and they are easily accessible for inspection and adjustment through the aft engine room doors. There's a drip pan and bilge pump under each shaft log (Hatteras Engineering!).

3. As far as prices go for a 53 Hatt, I can tell you they're are all over the map! We bought ours two years ago from a private owner as we literally had our eye on that boat for years. Previous owner was fastidious almost to the point of extreme in the care and maintenance. Prior to the purchase we were seeing prices anywhere from a low of $150K to a high of over $300K for same make and model.

Sorry for the length of this post but wanted to give you as much info as possible. Good luck in your endeavors!

WOW! You are indeed in a unique position. Thanks for taking the time to put together such a thorough response. It explains quite a bit. Thanks again.