Wrestling with boat decision.
Wife and I have only studied the 45C and 48MY from listings on Yachtworld and material on this forum.
Right now we like them both although they are very different boats. Ready to begin some in person inspections and that may quickly separate the two.
Your recommendations and opinions are greatly appreciated.

45C Series II 1984-1992 or 48MY Series I 1981- 1984

Both will be 30+ years old, but at least they are a Hatteras.
Both have DD 6v92. Old technology and less efficient, but for our slow cruising and occasional need for speed, the lack of efficiency shouldn’t matter that much.

We do not fish. We own a slip in Harbour Town, Hilton Head Island, which is approximately midway between Chesapeake Bay area and Fort Lauderdale. Our cruising grounds are the Atlantic ICW with an occasional run on the outside for fun. We only pick calm days to go outside.
40 years boating experience. Largest boat was 37 ft. Sea Ray. Last boat past 10 years was 33 Pursuit with twin Yamahas.
We have never owned a diesel engine.

We live in metro Atlanta GA area and travel to wherever the boat is. We never intend to live aboard. Our longest stay might be 10 days, but typically more like 3 or 4 days.
The bigger boats are very enticing, but we subscribe to the notion of sticking with a boat just big enough for the mission.

The mission is ICW cruising for us and an occasional guest couple or grandchildren.
We stagger our legs of travel, leaving the boat at an interim destination and return later to resume the trip. We can do Hilton Head to Fort Lauderdale in 4 days or stretch it out to a couple of months. We love that trip.

We are young 60s age, semi-retired business owner. Majority of all maintenance will be performed by others. We would rather write a check and enjoy our time on the boat.

The 48MY has that wonderful back porch and more living space, making for better dockside accommodations, which is something we cherish considering our prior express style boats.

The 45C has more speed and easy boarding/deboarding at the dock. Considering our frequent transient docking and desire for unassisted arrivals and departures, this is a consideration for us.

Stairs to bridge vs a ladder
The 45C is a really good looking convertible.
I believe acquisition costs are comparable.
I’m not sure which one has less maintenance cost. Initial condition, our use, etc. will be factors.
Are these 32V or 12V DC electrical? Brochures look like 12V to me.
After owning many smaller boats I’ve learned to think about an exit plan. One day we will want to sell it. Not sure which one will be easier to sell 10 years from now. Recreation is changing. Boating, golf, tennis, and others are going through a significant transition. Not confident anyone can guess the demand for any boat 10 years from now but interested in opinions?

The 45C is fishable; even though we don’t and probably won’t. We have occasionally chartered a big boat for a family trip when someone wanted to fish. Charter boats come with tackle and a crew that know what they are doing and they’ll even clean the fish too. That’s more fun than a DIY fishing day in our opinion.

We enjoy the serenity and nature’s beauty of the cruise and exploring the things of interest at various destinations. We’ve never been up to the Chesapeake Bay area by boat but that is a target destination for us.