53MY vs 56MY

[SKYCHENEY]

I know that the 1510 hull was one of the most popular every made, but I have always wondered how it performs compared to the wide-body. I know you get alot more room with the 18' beam, but what are the differences in seakeeping? It seems odd that the 56/61 had such a short run when compared with the 53/58. Was this just because of the pricing or was it just too similar to the 1510's to get many people into those models? I know some of you have owned both and I was just curious as to the comments regarding the pros and cons of the these two hulls.

[StratPlan61]

I have not owned one of the 1510 beamed Hatts although they have always been my favorites. I can tell you the 1820 beamed 61 handles reasonably well in off-shore conditions. Mine is stabilized although and from what others have told me, without stabilizers they roll quite a bit. I find mine very comfortable. Her pitch is gentle and roll very slight. Yaw is almost never noticed, I think because of the generous keel depth/length. Plus her weight contributes to a very soft ride. She is no racecar for sure! I know the boat is more stable and comfortable than what I enjoy tolerating.

Bear'
1984 61' MY Strategic Plan

[JLR]

I've got the 56MY. Mine is also stabilized. The only sea that is not really the greatest is a following sea. However, I suspect that may be true of most MY. The 18'2" beam makes the boat seem much larger than the 53. It was the smallest Hatteras with the largest beam at the time. That's why I wanted it. I cruise at 16Kts. which is fine for me. The drawaback in my mind with the 61, if it is a drawback at all, is the inability to skipper her alone because she does not have a walkaround to handle lines. Same is true I guess with the 53 ED. All are great boats.

[Tom Ipock]

I have owned a 56MY & 58MY (mid 80's models). Never owned a 53, but have ridden on and run several. Virtually the same handling in my opinion, other than the additional weight you have in the larger boat in a big bow sea doesn't bang quite as hard. Stabilizers are a must in any of the three if you are going to run in the ocean, as they all have similar bottoms. Anything from just off the stern to a quarter off the bow will roll a lot. You can run hard, but they will still make you work the wheel all day. Forget about the autopilot keeping up without the stabs. They are all three similarly wet across the bow - yes you will run your w wipers a lot in a chop.
Biggest differences: HUGE difference in the amount of room inside. We are talking an extra 2 1/2 feet of beam. EVERYTHING is bigger, and if you are going to spend a lot of time on the boat, it is WELL worth it.
Downside of bigger boat - When travelling, you can put the 53 in a slip at most places. Most of the time, the 56 / 58 will need a Tee head to dock at. This does limit you a bit on where you can stop, and obviously costs more. Also, an extra foot of draft makes a difference as to where you can go. Five foot draft is really tough for the west coast of Florida and the keys - you can see your keel marks behind you most places. One other thing that I noticed; if you run your boat much in the winter as I do and run from inside, the 56/ 58 sit with a better running profile than the 53. I found it hard to see over the bow from the inside station on the 53. Wound up with ski jacket and gloves on the bridge while everyone else was inside and toasty. Not a problem with 56 / 58. If you entertain, the bridge on the 56/58 is massive. You can have a 14' dingy on the back and still have seating for 8 to 10 people comfortably. Not so with the 53. Ok, one more - if you get excited about an awsome engine room and the space that is available to get around, when you have looked at both your decision will have been made. Nuff said.
Tom

[SKYCHENEY]

I thought that the lack of a walkaround on our ED would be a drawback to line handling as well. But, as it turns out, the little open aft deck actually makes it easier in some respects than the 53MY. I don't have to slide open a window or unzip any canvas to get the stern lines on and I have extra cleats back there (one inside the dogder boards and one outside). The the extra outboard cleat at the stern makes it easy to tie and untie the boat from the dock without having to pass through a chock.

[Pascal]

i wonder if the lack of walk around really hampers single handling. you're still right next to your spring lines which what you want to secure first anyway. I dont' think walking out side, or back in and aft makes any difference in getting to the stern line and securing that. Couple of times I put bikes on the sides and had to walk in, no big deal.

these boats dont' blow around in a breeze... I just got back in the slip an hour ago, 15+kts crosswind (some whitecaps on the bay), boat backed in nearly straight.. no hassle.

[StratPlan61]

Pascal hit the nail-on-the-head. Lack of walk-arounds has never hampered my single handling. I always secure a spring line first, then a bow line, then I walk through and secure the stern. As Sky says, the aft deck for line handling is great, much easier than messing with the canvas I had on the aft deck on my 44' Trojan. Besides, the catwlks on the 61' are wide and easy to walk down to secure a line or a fender, although usually you can do this from the dock.

Bear'
1984 61' MY Strategic Plan

[trogers]

The biggest differences I can see are all on the inside. The extra room in the galley makes a big difference. I always thought the 15'10" beams were a bit skimpy on galley storage. A bath tub in the master SR is a pleasant bonus.

I've never tried to single hand a 53 or a 58, but I've to running almost exclusively from the pilot house area when single handing. Just seems closer/easier to do a ER/Gen room check, etc. I only ever dock from the lower station.

[Dave Phipps]

I've single handed my 53 Classic MY quite a few times. Aside from considerations of safety, (it's nice to have a second pair of hands when trouble visits) the limiting factor for me has been cross wind component when docking or undocking. The large windage the vessel has acts like a sail, and in cross winds over about 10-12 knots you'll need help to ensure you don't drift into the boat next to you before you have the lines secured.

I find the large walk around decks a huge advantage when it comes to line handling, although there were times when a small aft deck such as on the ED version would make getting the stern lines secured easier since you wouldn't have to open a window on the aft deck. It's not usually a problem though.

As for visibility from the lower helm underway, I think it's excellent, never have felt that the trim attitude was excessively high.

[Paul45c]

I'm just curious -- there are two directly conflicting views on crosswind drift & stability from two of you...anybody else care to render an opinion?

From eyeing up the 53MYs, I would guess it would be moderate -- not a huge amount of superstructure and somewhat narrow beam for its length, but that's offset by a relatively tall hull with some sail area.

[Pascal]

i guess anyboat will drift in a stiff breeze but the keel really slows it down. there was a real 15kt this am, straight down the fairway and when i turned and started backing down, the boat barely drifted. i had anticipated the wind a little and aimed the stern closer to the upwind piling but it was a minor correciton.

in fl, we often get strong Northerly winds after fronts in winter and my favorite dock gets hit by 15 to 20kts crosswind that pins you to the dock. the place is wide enough to be able to rig the lines and fenders although i may need to get back to the helm once to re set the boat further upwind.

the only time where windage is felt is when leaving the dock... there is no way to push the boat back by hand even against a 10kts breeze. It only takes some balls to leave the dock in these conditions :-) 2 big round fenders at the bow, dockside in reverse, offside in forward with rudders hard into the dock and the boat pivots effortlessly aginst the fenders.. then when it's at a 45deg angle, offside goes in reverse and i'm all set.

i always get a kick out of people rushing to help me push off when they see i'm ready to go !

[Paul45c]

I know what you mean...all those goodhearted souls thinking they're gonna make a lot of headway with just their arms against a 45-footer that weighs 45000 lbs. and a decent keel! :confused:

As long as the dock I'm rubbing against has good rubber fendoffs on the pilings, I just kiss up against it sans fenders with the method you describe; there's not even a thud against the rubrail, so no worries.

[Pascal]

yeah with pilings, it's fine.. no fenders needed.. Hatts have REAL rub rails :-)

[SKYCHENEY]

Yeah, Hatts have Real Rubrails!
Have you noticed that all of the new boats have some sort of plastic between the metal rub rail and the fiberglass hull? It tends to crush if actually used as a rub rail, but the manufactures claim that it is supposed to do that. They say that it saves the hull from cracking that way. Well, what good is a rub rail if you have to be careful not to smash it? What a joke.

[Maynard Rupp]

Then there are the thin hollow stainless rub rails that look exactly like the ones we have on our Hatts except they aren't solid. First time the owner uses the rub rail they flatten out, fall off, and basicly become useless. The early Bertrams have a hollow, soft, anodised aluminum rail. It isn't very good either.

[Paul45c]

I actually had some ham-and-egger at the boatyard where I was having my hull painted tell me that I should replace my 45c's rubrails with something with some rubber behind it. I asked him to show me exactly what he meant. When I saw it, I just looked at him, laughed and walked away.

Guess he had no idea just how much solid glass is behind those rubrails. You could say that about the build quality and beef on so much of a Hatt's construction; most casual boat owners and observers truly have no idea.

[StratPlan61]

1820 vs 1510 shot.jpg Sky, I know you asked about performance but several commented about the size difference, I thought this old phot might provide a good visual. I was actually closer to the 53' MY when I took this picture.
Look out, grandpa is trying to do fancy things with his computer - pure luck if anyone can view the Attached picture??

Bear'
1984 61' MY Strategic Plan

[MikeP]

Good Pic - Makes the 53 look like a toy boat! Bigger is always better. We have a 53 because we couldn't afford anything larger. Although the 53 is a great boat, We'd take a 56, or a 61 or...(list larger size) in a heartbeat.

But now, living in Mexico city in an apartment 350+ miles from the water, it doesn't matter much anymore what size boat we have - it's in Long Island.

[SKYCHENEY]

Thanks Bear. That could be you and me right there. That 53ED is just like mine.
Wow, you couldn't possibly need all that room. Maybe we should trade. :D

I think that is the first picture I have seen of your 61. She looks like a beauty. I hope we can meet up soon and take the official tour.

[exsailor]

Great Picture .... Duncan Bay Michigan ... 61 along side a 53 owned by a good frind of mine. Talk about a perfect 10 ED. What surprise I had seeing this pic. Taken this August? I looked at yours and wondered size. Lot of boat.

exsailor
Still looking for my 53ED

[Trojan]

Nice boats guys! They sure look great. I'm envious. You guys make my 43 look like a dingy. Where is Duncan bay and Sky where is your home port in Michigan?







Bill

[StratPlan61]

Duncan Bay is 1 mile east of Cheboygan, MI or about 15 miles east of the Mackinac Straits on the southern side of Lake Huron. A very nice marina with 265 condominium slips.

Bear'
1984 61' MY Strategic Plan

[SKYCHENEY]

Where is Duncan bay and Sky where is your home port in Michigan?
Bill

Bill,
I'm at White Lake. It's the next port north of Muskegon. We are at the Ellenwood Landing Marina. It's also a condo slip facility. But if you get over this way, they do have a few transients, so call me and I'll get you a space.

Bear,
We are planning on coming up your way in July. The kids have never been to Mackinac Island so I guess it's about time. I haven't figured the whole itinerary yet, but I may head over to Door County after that and then back across to Whitehall. I'll let you know when we have more definate plans.

[StratPlan61]

Sky, keep me apprised of your plans and we'll get together. Duncan Bay also has transient slips available, a pool, etc. I figure we are about 1 hour east of the island, directly across from Bois Blanc Island. It would be great to meet and chat, have a beverage, etc. I'm in the Lansing telephone book also.

Bear'
1984 61' MY Strategic Plan