Seeking 50 to 58 MY. Moving up from smaller boat.

[Olde Hatt]

We have been seriously looking for about a month. We have, by viewing several boats, decided we want a Hatteras in the 50ties. I have owned several boats over many years, but they were lake boats, mostly Sea Rays from 20 to 26 ft and a 33 Maxum where we discovered the Hudson and the world beyond. Over the past weeks we have traveled from NY to Florida stopping to look at boats in the Chesapeake area and in Jacksonville. Will be headed south toward Miami in a few days, then possibly up the west coast to Tampa.

Just found this blog and found some very helpful comments. Please educate us and let us know if there are any fine boats for sale in our path.

Thanks

[Walter P]

Kismet,

Welcome aboard the forum. I'm confident that you will find lots of boats to look at in your quest. The fact that you seem to be gravitating to Hatteras is a plus. There are many Hatteras models to look at but you should consider what you're getting into. For instance the difference between a 50 and a 58. The larger the boat the fewer your choices as to where to keep it docked and depending on the draft, it may hinder your ability to go into some areas of interest. You didn't mention anything about your budget for a boat, but be very careful of the "bargain" boats out there. While most older boats usually have something that needs attention, you will need to be prepared to have a good survey of the boat and engines. For many of us an ideal situation is to find a boat that may need engine rebuilding but is otherwise a 9 or 10. My personal ideal would be to find a 10 with bad engines and the price reflecting that and buying that boat. Rather than throwing more money at rebuilding the older Detroits, I would probably opt to replace them with new modern power from Cummins or Cat. There are some older Hatt's that have already been converted and if the rest of the boat is good they are generally snatched up pretty quick. None of this should be construed as criticism of the venerable Detroit's as they are great engines that are relatively easy to work on and parts are usually readily available at fair prices. Whatever you decide I wish you good luck and happy hunting, after all part of the fun is looking at these classic boats. If you have a good broker on your side, it makes the search easier. We have a couple of good, honest brokers who are members of this forum, SeaEric is just one and you can get many wonderful testimonials about his integrity and assistance in narrowing down your search.

We look forward to having you as a Hatteras owner and an active member of this forum.

Walt

[jim rosenthal]

You'll find a lot of models from which to choose. All of them have their pluses and minuses.

The ideal Hatteras MY, to my mind, would be a freshwater (MI or northern IL or WI) boat that was kept indoors during the winter, had sound drive systems and genset, electrical and plumbing, and just needed an interior redo. Redecorating a boat, even a fairly big one, is cheap compared to putting in new engines etc. FW boats are cleaner and have less hours than coastal and FL boats. I'd look around up there. The additional expense of bringing a boat down to the coast from the Great Lakes is more than offset by the condition of boats from up there, which are generally very clean, because of the short season, and fresh water.

[Scarlett]

I totally agree with what has been said already and would add the 53 motor yachts are 15' 11'' wide while the 54 is wider and the 56 is a full 18' 2'' wide obviously the wider beams add living space and in most cases cost also. My ideal boat when I was looking was the 18' 2'' wide 58 motoryacht, just could not find one on the west coast for sale. If you search previous threads about things to look out for on these older Hatts it will help you. Good luck with your search and keep us posted. John

[Olde Hatt]

Thank you all for the warm welcome and the good advice. It now looks like our search will continue from Jax down to the Keys and then on to the Great Lakes. Our daughter is at Univ of Kentucky, so we are headed up that way anyway. Am I correct in understanding that the limit at many marinas for docking is 50 feet? The idea of replacing the Detroits with modern, assumable more efficient, Cummings, rather that rebuilding the Detroits is appealing. Anyone care to throw out a ballpark cost for that?

Thanks again,
Jim & Maura

[Nightingale]

There are quite a few beauties on the Great Lakes that shouldn't be missed. We have had zero issues finding a slip for the 56 anywhere.

[pizzazsdaddy]

Hey Kismet. Welcome to the forum. I too agree with most of the advice. I've seen at hundreds of boats over the past 50 years and I've seen some dogs on the Great Lakes too. Compare similar examples carefully. I'm assuming from your post that you are based somewhere on the Hudson in Upstate NY?. Compare similar models too. From experience, a 50 footer is a lot cheaper to own than a 60 footer. A Great Lakes boat that has been in fresh water since new would be my first choice too. Your eyes will not lie to you. If a boat looks like crap...it is!

There are nice boats in every market, but few and far between today. The Florida Keys are Awesome! Except for boat shopping. While there are exceptions...The term "Keys Condition" is more common than a rarity. If you are ever lucky enough to reach a Keys state of mind, you'll understand that it doesn't always translate into aggressive boat maintenance.

If you will be in the South Florida area, make sure you visit the Miami International Boat Show that begins Thursday February 16th. I was down in that area yesterday and it looks like most of docks are pretty much in place at the Virginia Key display.

[Olde Hatt]

I totally understand what you are saying. I have spent a lot of time in the Keys, and it is a state of mind. We are headed to the Miami show and have been told that there is a brokers show just north that should have some nice used boats.

This has been a real education, and also fun, getting to know this class of boat. We started looking at all sorts and styles and found our way to the Hatteras. The more reading I do on the electronics and engines, the more questions I have. Now I just want to get an opportunity to take one out for a run and some docking to make sure I'm on the right track.

Have appointments to see a few more in the next few days as we go south.

[Byresch]

There are 2 58YF repowered with Cummins, one in Jacksonville and one in Key West, I would look at both of those.

[hoop1013]

You should definitely look at the 2 YF's that Byron mentioned, line handling is very difficult in an enclosed aft deck such as the 58' MY I operate. As to your question regarding repowering... ballpark can be anywhere from $75,000 to $200,000.00 depending on what you want and what you are willing to do yourself. Often times when repowers are done people realize that this is the best time to change generators and some other systems as well as cleaning, painting etc.... the more you can do on your own the cheaper it will be. If that is a process you are not comfortable managing or knowledgeable about then I would professionally recommend that you look for a boat that has already been done or that has such low hours and amazing maintenance records that a rebuild is not in its near future.

Just my $.02.