Hatteras 34

[nautoncall]

Hey, I'm looking at a 1969 34 Hatt. It has been recently repowered with twin Merc 454 and recent Westerbrake genset. The rest of the boat is pretty original with the old refrig (it works) the sink/cabinets. The bathroom has been redone, but he AC/DC panel is still in the closet in the bathroom. Is this where Hatteras put it? It says Hatteras on the panel.

What do you think about the gassers in this boat?

How servicable are the things under the sole? It looked pretty tight. There is a water heater back behind theh engines.....I don't think it would come out without pulling the engines. It was located on the port outboard side.

Great site. Thanks for any advice.

[67hat34c]

I own a 67 34c with crusader 454's.

power panel is original in the closet.

454's are easily accessable.

454's are fine for this boat. if they are fuel injected then you will do better with economy than mine does. only problem is if you ever have to use Ethanol Gasoline. It will distroy the fiberglass fuel tanks etc. I am in Fl and for now am safe from Ethanol.

I too have original Frig stove etc. all works.

You can obtain the owners manuel from hatteras, all you need is the hull #. Hull # can be found under the deck between the engines, forward. look up and it should be there engraved in wood.

Where is the boat, post some photos

[nautoncall]

I assume the tanks are not in use. The boat has aluminum tanks under the back deck I can see thru the hatches. Also, there is a huge tank between the engines and just centerline forward to them with a big hole cut in it where it was drained. Was this the gas tank or a water tank?

Also, I didn't know that all Hatts were painted not gel coated. That explains the hull color, etc. Also, there are lots of places where they filled in "holes" in the console and gunnels and bridge sides.

Thanks again.

[nautoncall]

Trying a pic

[nautoncall]

trying others

[nautoncall]

Hey, anyone else out there with any suggestions?

[jim rosenthal]

The tank that was drained is probably the water tank, or used to be. The boat may have fuel tank issues either way; the glass tanks are old enough that they would almost certainly not be compatible with ethanol, and aluminum tanks have a whole different problem set of their own which aren't trivial either.

The gas engines will drink a lot of fuel, but none of these boats run cheaply. If you stay out of the four-barrels, or keep the revs down with EFI, the economy will be bearable. Much depends on the condition of all this stuff and how the boat was maintained.

I am a bit surprised that the boat would have metal tanks- hard to imagine why someone would have taken out the fiberglass tanks since the whole ethanol disaster just started recently...maybe they were ahead of the curve. If so, and the metal tanks are recent, you may have really lucked out.

If the water heater position is like my 36C, which was derived from the 34 design, you CAN get the water heater out with the engines in, but it isn't easy. These are not the roomiest boats in the world, but the maintenance work CAN be done, it just requires a lot of contortions.

The electrical panel sounds original, which could be good or bad.

[nautoncall]

Hey, I went to the boat today and took a closer look at everything. The tank with the hole was the water tank.

There is a middle aluminum fuel tank which looks failry new based on apperance. It sits right in the middle of the fiberglass tanks. The fiberglass tanks are still "in line". Right now the motors are running off the middle aluminum tank which makes me suspicious about the FG tanks.

The big positive about this boat is the fact that it has brand new Mercruiser 454's and brand new Westerbrake 5kw genset.

It does have lots of cosmetics that need addressed. Lots of holes, fittings that have been poorly epoxied. Also, there are lots of electrical things that have been added. As usual, instead of properly using the old panel, etc. They added several 6 gang 12V panels like you get at West Marine or Boaters World.

The guy is really wanting to sell, but I don't know if this "project" is worth it.

thanks.

[67hat34c]

there are several places to look for problems but first of all how much do you expect to pay for it as is and what do you plan to use the boat for? ie. cruise, fish, project etc.

As an owner of a 34c I can tell you what to expect as well as any of the other members of this forum with various other models. A boat this age will take work no matter what condition you think it is in. The basic thing you will have is a solid hull with no core problems, fiber glass stringers, mechanical who knows. what you cant see is water damage where anything from rub rails to lights are attached. plan on everthing being mounted impropertly and water damage underneath and you will not be disappointed. all of them have leaky window and port lights. This is relatively easiy to fix but can cost a few dollars. the decks and gunnels are all cored and you can expect it to be rotted, if not then you have a bonus.

I enjoy working on mine as much as using it. mental and physical challenge.

If this boat is something that is in usable condition and something that you want to put alot of time and money into then go for it. that is what mine was when be bougt it. in the last 4 yrs we have put countless thousands of hours into it and countless thousands of dollars into it, much the same as the other fanatical owners on this site. Yes i get frustrated with age issues with it and the expense and time but when I stand back and look at what I have I dont regret it. Only regret is that we overpaid for it initialy and knew it.

My only recommendation is have a price in mind and keep to it, buyers market, gas boats not selling that well,,, if you buy right you can never justify diesel expense.

[nautoncall]

Here are some other things about the boat. I went and really crawled around today.

The boat's wood interior looks pretty good. The engines and genset are new. Its the old trans. Unfort the gas tanks are orginal. It does have an aluminum extra tank in between the two FG tanks. I don't know if we have had much ethanol added to our gasoline down south yet. But I certainly am aware of the concerns. Anyway to know if its got any sludge? Its got a new hot water heater which is pluged into the heat exchanger. It's got reverse cycle AC, but not working right now (it was hot in there crawling around today)

I walked around on the front today stomping around pretty good, and I didn't feel any definate spots...but I didn't look that closely. I looked in the foward cabin, and noticed the old foam under the headliner. I looked for any water intrusion, but didn't see any to my "untrained" eye. I also looked at the salon windows knowing these leak, but they looked pretty dry....but what do I know!!!!!

The guy has dropped the price to 28K. He lives out of town. The boat is pretty run down because no one is here to keep it up. Lots of scrapes and gouges on the hull sides and very very chalky. I'm trying to work out some trade with my Bertram 25. (The owner has moved out of state and inland and wants a trailerable boat).

It has several "added 12 V panels for the lights, guages, electronics. You know....they didn't feel like searching wires....so they just added new stuff. Even the old AC unit is still under the cabin sole on the starboard outboard side.

I know the broker said the owner really wants out of the boat, but I have two boats right now. I have the 25 Bertram and a Trojan International 9 meter. I love both boats but want a fishing/cruiser. I have a wife and two kids. The Trojan is great...a nice cabin and a huge back cockpit. If I keep it...I will add a tower to fish offshore. Thats what's great about the Hatt...it has both...a great cabin and a nice flybridge. the head has been redone in the Hatt.

Just so many things done poorly on the "makeshift redo". Mostly the electrical panels.....ie...I couldn't find out how to power a new 12V panel....which in turn powered the electronics on the lower statioin. Well.I finallly figured out, the "shower pump" in the main panel in the head closet turned on the other 12V panel at the helm. I'm sure lots of things like that would take time to figure out.

I love working and fixing up a boat. I spent hundreds of hours on both my Bertram and Trojan. Thats part of the joy of ownership. So, well see. The broker told me today that the owner said to tell me to be creative. The broker said I should make some deal contingent on selling my boat/boats. I just don't know if this is worth it. My Bertram is a novelty boat...its like a 57 Chevy.....not that practical....but a great head tuner and a great day boat. The Trojan is a two owner boat....extremely well kept and maintened. It really is a boat well before its time. Its 20 yrs old and well designed and extremely well built. I know there is almost a 15 yr difference in the boats, but you may not believe me, but the Trojan desgin and craftsmanship is really high quality. After crawling around in the Hatt..not to mention lots of 28 Berts, a couple Tiara 31's, etc.....the Trojan is as good as any I have seen.....little to no wood, gel coated everything, hardware is top quality, maintence of every system is easy to get to, etc. Only downside is the cored hatches...and no tower. But I love a flybridge from being on the Bert.

Anyway, as you can see....I'm confused. So, well see that happens.

Guys, thanks again. Great site by the way. You Hatt people are similar to Bertram guys. I got so much helpful info from the www.25bertram.com site. You know the Trojan sites, suck. No one seems to be as fanitical about their boats. My boat/boats are a deep down passion...and I like to see sites like this. Thanks.