53' Hatteras Vs 53' Defever

[antiqua]

Thinking of selling 1971 53' Hatteras MY to purchase 1986-89 51-52-53' Defever. Any Comments or Suggestions. Thanks, Capt. KEN

[Liquid Asset]

To me, that is a completly different yacht. The purpose of the Defevers were more of an offshore cruiser than the 53 Hatteras. The 52 Defever was designed as a passagemaker style yacht. If this is what you are looking for, then I think you would be happy with that boat, but I would weigh your options since you will be moving to a yacht with a different purpose.

[Freebird]

Thinking of selling 1971 53' Hatteras MY to purchase 1986-89 51-52-53' Defever. Any Comments or Suggestions. Thanks, Capt. KEN

Yeah, I thought about selling my 500 Mercedes and buying a 500 Ford, but I sobered up!

[SKYCHENEY]

Just some personal observations:
1) It is hard to find a boat that is in the size range of a 53MY that has an equal amount of more in her. If you don't mind going to a 2 stateroom model, then you can do okay.
2) We love some of the other features such as the bow seat. Not many boats have that anymore.
3) I would look close at the support for anything other than a Hatteras. If you need parts or help troubleshooting a wiring issue, etc.
4) I really like the true Passagemakers, but I find that for most of my cruising, I can do almost just as much with my Hatt and I can also bump her up to 16kts if I want to if a storm is bearing down on me.

To each his own. What suits some of us is not as desirable for others.

[rangerscott275]

I bought my 53 hatt from people who had made just that choice (switching to similar sized Defever). I know that after they made their purchase (and sold me the hatt), they had some buyers remorse...some because they missed the beauty of the hatt, but mostly due to the livable space they had lost in making the switch.

[SeaEric]

The biggest diffrence to me is the very basic BUILT IN AMERICA as opposed to being built in the orient. Some of the yards in the far east are fine, but on a day to day basis you really just don't know about the quality control.

[Genesis]

I dunno man... I still think a YF with a hybrid drive and stabs would be pretty close to the cat's meow.

I bet I could get 2nmpg out of that thing at 9kts, yet retain the ability to push into the high teens if I have to. Invaluable when the weather is coming and you do NOT want to be there.

[(Nobody You Know)]

Thinking of selling 1971 53' Hatteras MY to purchase 1986-89 51-52-53' Defever. Any Comments or Suggestions. Thanks, Capt. KEN

Don't even think of buying without a survey, and from well known acredited hull and engine surveyors (somehow I know you will have this done). Doesen't matter what make the boat is if it has not been properly cared for.

While I love my Hatty and am enjoying generally good performance from it, virtually all my fords (with the exception of my 49 pick-up) never leaked fluids like my only mercedes did!

Have you considered a Hatteras LRC?

Capt'n Bill

[GaryNW]

I see a lot of Defever's in the Seattle area and while I like many aspects of their design, I see obvious quality issues that bug me. For example, I noticed a nearly new 50' or so where the hawse holes were installed crooked. Just sloppy workmanship, but if they blew something so visible and let it leave the factory that way, what about the workmanship you can see (like layup)?
Gary

[Boss Lady]

You may want to consider a boat with Naturals instead of turbos, you can run her at hull speed all day, the LRC boats have very small diesels, so they have tremendous range, but not much speed above hull speed. The LRC boats retain a higher value due to demand, but you could find an old yachtfish with naturals and achieve about the same long range performance and have the extra speed when needed, for a lot less money. You will see a difference in engineering on the other boat compared to the Hat. I would pay attention to the fuel tanks, since most of these type boats use metal tanks, make sure they are inspected thoroughly before you buy, inside and out. I cannot stress this enough.