Check out the asking price on this 53

[Captain Ralph]

Fair boat.
What have they been smoking to dream of that price??

[Freeebird]

No issue with that price at all. Hope they get it.

Maybe you have no issue with the price because you aren't in the market. That ask is absurd, even if the boat were perfect, and it's not even close.

If it brings that, it'll only mean there was one person who had done zero research and had money to burn. It would in no way change the value of any other 53 on the market.

[tom5518]

I knew this boat when she was brand new, spent a lot of time and many rides on her back in the day. The only error I see in the listing and it is understandable because over 40 years things can get forgotten, she wasn't in heated storage the first few years. She wintered in the water in a fully enclosed boat house from 1979-87 with the exception of 1981/82 when she was at Walstrom Marine getting an aft deck hard enclosure installed. There were two things I remember that were done wrong from the factory, the first is two of the stanchions were installed wrong and the lifeline between the handrail and deck was not even. This was corrected when the two stantions were switched then the lifeline was straight as an arrow. The other one was not so easily fixed, one of the two portholes in the aft guest stateroom was a little crooked. i don't know if this was ever fixed.

On second look the Interior looks to have been done on the cheap. They didn’t even bother updating the awful fluorescent lights in the heads…. Wet bar seems be cheap Formica, maybe the head counter as well. Can’t tell for sure. Flooring in the salon is not “custom teak” but “engineered” flooring. Aft deck furniture wastes a ton of space and salon is cramped. No galley pictures.. original blue cruisairs, yes they were good back then but they’re over 40 years old. Doesn’t seem to have any cushions for the windows and bench…

If you re asking these kind of prices you don’t do a “preliminary” listing… you really make the boat attractive.

The salon looks like teak, not engineered flooring to me. As far as the salon being cramped, welcome to the Hatteras 53, nothing new there. At least they didn't try to cram a galley in there too.
Walstrom has pretty much done everything on this boat and while it might not be to everyone's taste I doubt anything was cheap. Walstrom don't know cheap....

I would think the freshwater history and winter indoor storage count for something, but I can't ever recall this model selling at that price. Some people may like the renovation, esp of the heads. Not everyone. Seems like a very optimistic asking price.

The asking price does seem off the wall, but i have no idea how prices work these days. Back in the day 53's brought big money. The original owners paid $305k when she was new. They ordered it and it took about a year before delivery. Walstrom was the selling dealer.

Fair boat.
What have they been smoking to dream of that price??

It's beyond a "fair boat", not many 43 year old boats where the history can be documented. As for the price, I gotta agree with you...

[Pascal]

I would think the freshwater history and winter indoor storage count for something, but I can't ever recall this model selling at that price. Some people may like the renovation, esp of the heads. Not everyone. Seems like a very optimistic asking price.

Hmmm. Jim…. These are Hatteras not carvers or bayliners. fresh water is nice but not a big bonus.

[tom5518]

Hmmm. Jim…. These are Hatteras not carvers or bayliners. fresh water is nice but not a big bonus.

It's actually a BIG bonus on a 43 year old boat, regardless of who made it....

[Pascal]

I knew this boat when she was brand new, spent a lot of time and many rides on her back in the day. The only error I see in the listing and it is understandable because over 40 years things can get forgotten, she wasn't in heated storage the first few years. She wintered in the water in a fully enclosed boat house from 1979-87 with the exception of 1981/82 when she was at Walstrom Marine getting an aft deck hard enclosure installed. There were two things I remember that were done wrong from the factory, the first is two of the stanchions were installed wrong and the lifeline between the handrail and deck was not even. This was corrected when the two stantions were switched then the lifeline was straight as an arrow. The other one was not so easily fixed, one of the two portholes in the aft guest stateroom was a little crooked. i don't know if this was ever fixed.


The salon looks like teak, not engineered flooring to me. As far as the salon being cramped, welcome to the Hatteras 53, nothing new there. At least they didn't try to cram a galley in there too.
Walstrom has pretty much done everything on this boat and while it might not be to everyone's taste I doubt anything was cheap. Walstrom don't know cheap....



The asking price does seem off the wall, but i have no idea how prices work these days. Back in the day 53's brought big money. The original owners paid $305k when she was new. They ordered it and it took about a year before delivery. Walstrom was the selling dealer.



It's beyond a "fair boat", not many 43 year old boats where the history can be documented. As for the price, I gotta agree with you...

History and documentation is nice but not worth that asking price. It still has 40 years old blue cruisair, Heavy DDs, and a salon that you can’t walk thru without having to bump into furniture and that TV / helm seat from the 80s…. Yeah galley up isn’t for everyone especially if they can’t cook… and 40 year old 32v wiring and no stabs and most likely brittle bilge pump hoses and aft deck drains …

[tom5518]

History and documentation is nice but not worth that asking price. It still has 40 years old blue cruisair, Heavy DDs, and a salon that you can’t walk thru without having to bump into furniture and that TV / helm seat from the 80s…. Yeah galley up isn’t for everyone especially if they can’t cook… and 40 year old 32v wiring and no stabs and most likely brittle bilge pump hoses and aft deck drains …

I don't disagree with any word of your post, I have no idea how they arrived at the asking price and agree it is not worth the asking price. Having said that, there are many things I don't understand these days. I like watches and some of the watches I have are worth several times the MSRP that I paid for them. Some are worth 53 money and it baffles me.

[Captain Ralph]

It's beyond a "fair boat", not many 43 year old boats where the history can be documented. As for the price, I gotta agree with you...

I'm the 3rd owner of our 44 year old, 58'. Owned her for 18 years now.
Never thought that was an advantage.
Just proves brain damage.

[tom5518]

I'm the 3rd owner of our 44 year old, 58'. Owned her for 18 years now.
Never thought that was an advantage.
Just proves brain damage.

The advantage, at least from my perspective, is fewer "new" owners putting their personal touches on her and fewer owners who borrowed and begged to get $$$ using her as collateral. I know that for two of the three owners money wasn't a problem and they didn't need to borrow money to buy or maintain her. I am thinking the third owner didn't have a money problem either. The original owner is 91 years old and still around if the future owner has a question about her. One of the other owners is a marina owner so chances are he didn't try and save ten cents while he maintained her.

[Freeebird]

Freshwater absolutely matters, but think of what you could have if you spent a more realistic $125K on a solid, saltwater boat and spent the difference making it new again. Yes, it would take time, but there is zero doubt which boat I would rather own at the end of the transformation.

It’s a nice boat, but it’ll boil down to someone who wants a nice 53 at a premium and wants to cruise it next week. More power to them if they can pull $300K out of it.