Double Down

[Double Down]

Good evening to all. I am new to this site, so please bare with me. I have been looking at vintage 43' Double Cabins (38'-43'). I recently have found a 1977 43' Double Cabin that I really like and appears to be in very good condition. I recently did a walk through and it definitely fit the bill of the pics.

Although I have had many, many boats in my 57yrs, I am a newbie at real yachting! So first of all, I welcome any/all feedback (positive & negative) on the 1977 43' Double Cabin. And more importantly, I am being told that the 671's are 210hp each. Does this sound right to any of you?

Thanks for you assistance,

[eze2bme]

I have 6-71N's on my 1979 43DC and they are 310 HP.

[bigbill]

hey DD you should have posted this in the hatteras tech talk section. pay attention there are 4 sections tech talk, everything else, parts for sale and boats for sale. ok guys, i'm being rough on him because i have known him for 35 years.

[Vincentc]

We have owned our 1983 43 DCFB, 671 ti's for 6 years.
positive:
Lilly Marie has been an ideal boat for us. Our use is primarily day trips with 4 to 14 or so people. We have 4 children and the six of us have spent several days cruising with good experience.
You can steer from the lower helm and visit with guests or go up to the flybridge for sun or in poor visibility.
We cruise at 8.3 kts. and about 1.5 nmpg. She will run up to about 16 kts, but any benefit from a shorter travel time is offset by 3x fuel burn.
Shallow water is an issue for us and the boat draws less that 4 ft and has a keel which will hit a sandbar before the props do.
The bench seat built into the forward end of the cabin provides a great place to sit, ride and visit. Likewise the covered aft deck is another great place to congregate.
Small children, grandparents and dogs seem to get around without difficulty.
She is heavily built, has quality systems and looks like a boat should look.
I have owed and operated boats for about 45 years, and consider this model to be almost perfect for how we use a boat.
I would recommend it to a friend.

Negative:
It is a big boat, demanding of your time, energy and money.

[rwappleton]

DD,

We also have a 1979 43 DC with J&t 6-71 TI's. Vincent pretty well covered it. and we can verify the fuel consumption numbers. Tom (EZ2BEME) has the normals and he can tell us about their mileage. Paulgwiz has normals too.

Most of our cruising so far has been just me and the Admiral and handling the boat is no problem with just the two of us. Our search lasted over a year and it starting Hatteras for sure,38-48 feet and prefer 6-71 power cause they last for ever. We chose the 79 model for the queen bed in the state room (and the overall condition). Barring any issues from TD2 we will depart Stuart Saturday with final destination Panama City.

It is the best boat for us and our use. The loop is in our future.

Good Luck and welcome,

Becky and Russ
43DC hull #511
"Slow an Easy"

[mdshore]

Ive come to love my 43dcfb . a great main salon and spacious aft cabin . it feels like a much larger boat .

[jim rosenthal]

I moved it. I agree, these are great boats and there are a lot of very happy owners of them. For service access, the DDs are probably a bit easier than the Cummins V8s. Hatteras built these boats for a while, so there are numbers of them out there and you can shop for what you like. There is also a lot of information on this forum about working on this model, and what to expect when tackling various projects.

[fissioneng]

I have to make the suggestion to look at 43MY (84-87) too. Same hull, different layout of FB and aft deck. They have single helms. Also many have Caterpillar 3208Ts as an alternative to Detroit 2 strokes.

We looked at both before buying. Obviously we're happy with our decision.

[Double Down]

As a new member to this forum, I am totally overwhelmed at the awesome response from you all! Please know that I have already learned and obtained pertinent information from you all! Thanks to each and every one of you for your time and willingness to share your knowledge with me! (And a very special thanks to BIG BILL), for whom I have known for the better part of my life. He is an unbelievably nice guy and good friend, and has been my sole "Hatteras homeschool instructor", (by default I may add...Lol), thus far! (and as you could see from his privious comment, is doing a great job of keeping me straight!...Lol)

Thanks, as I look forward to many more conversations,

[Double Down]

Vincentc, When we first stepped aboard the 1977 DCFB that I am looking to purchase is exactly how I felt when reading your positives.We also will utilize much like you do now, (with the same number of people stated), which is exactly what has drawn us to this model. The only thing I wish this one had is the forward built-in deck seating! And as far as the "negatives" you listed, unfortunately I already have anticipated them all!...Lol (Thanks again for sharing your opinions with me, as I really value and appreciate them all).