The end is in sight........

[billcanuck]

I've been a boater all my life although never on a boat the size of which is usually discussed here. None the less, I made a decision sometime ago to purchase a "live aboard" and finish my earthly years coastal cruising, that day is now soon upon me, the "anchor" of thirty one years will be dispatched to the depths next month and I will have no obligations other than to myself and mini schnauzer. I am, at least marginally, prepared, I have researched boats for a number of years, been on many that looked interesting and also supplemented my practical knowledge with six boating courses offered by the Canadian Powerboat Squadron. As much as I researched, I always returned to the Hatteras brand and am convinced, as most of you are, that it is top of the heap and represents very good value both from the enjoyment angle as well as subsequent resale somewhere down the road. This is my first post here although I have lurked for about a year as well as at boatdiesel.com, cruisersforum.com, sevenseas and others.

I have pretty much decided on a 43' aft cabin, the headroom on a 44' wouldn't work as I'm 6'3", and two in Florida interest me. My preliminary intent from this post is to get any additional info anyone here might have that you could share with me that would either encourage or discourage me from going further with either of them, the links are posted below. There are not too many specs given on the '74, I'm assuming 671's which I prefer but will defer to other more experienced comments. I like the fact that the '72 has only had one owner but saw that there was an offer on it about 60 days ago that didn't come together and wonder if it might have failed survey, it has the 853's as well. As you can see, my first post but I'm hoping to submit others as I continue to learn from everyone on here and will hopefully, one day, be able to return the favor by posting something someone thinks of value. Thanks for reading and have a great day, Bill.

PS: had the URL's in ........OOPSSSSSS, not allowed as I do not have 15 posts. The boats are on yachtworld, Astor, 1974 #1929754 and Fort Lauderdale, 1972 #2021742.

[Avenger]

I can't find listings on Yachtworld by number, so I did it the "hard" way.

Here's your links:

Astor: http://www.yachtworld.com/boats/1974.../United-States

Ft. Lauderdale: http://www.yachtworld.com/boats/1972.../United-States

[billcanuck]

Scrod:
Thanks very much for posting the URL's, I appreciate it.

[Jaxfishgyd]

The 6-71 N's are pretty much bullet proof... Just make sure they have water, oil and diesel and they are happy.
We do not have a flybridge but a hardtop where we store our 13' Boston Whaler...
Bought ours in June 2000 and live full time on her. Easy to run by myself but big enough to have a few friends onboard.
If I could, I would of gone with the 53' ( we now have 6 grandkids) but got such a good deal on this one, I couldn't say no to her...
Besides, I couldn't afford a 53' (dang it).

[billcanuck]

Charlie:
Sounds like you arrived at your decision the same way I did, I too would love a '53, maybe even a '50, if there weren't such a premium on them, but I don't want to own and then worry about the cost. With pensions and some investment income, I know the '43 is very doable, the others may only "might be". I'm fussy about my things, especially mechanical, after paying for it, I'll sleep better with no worries from the $$$$ side. The decision for me was refined by paying attention to the comments on here about exponential increases based on length, the bottom line is to do it and if it "needs" to be a '43, I'm "over the moon". Goodbye Canadian winters.

[Brian Degulis]

Good Luck I wouldn't assume a deal didn't go thru because of survey problems. The way things are right now the market is just crazy. It may have fallen thru do to lack of financing or insurance etc. If you find something you like go after it hard there may never be a better time to buy. Now is the time in the FL market the winter selling season is just ended so sellers that need to sell are now looking at 6 months of expenses before the buyers come back.

Brian

[REBrueckner]

This should be a great time to secure a real value as the market is still awful.

My only comment would be to think about how you will use the boat...if dockside in a marina, an aft cabin is likely ideal as it gives more interior room. And a flybridge of marginal utility. But if you will cruise, gunkhole,fish, a cockpit and flybridge is hard to beat....
I just sold my 48 YF which I loved it because of the combination aft cabin and cockpit. I launched a Whaler almost every day when crusing six months at a time, mostly between Maine and NY, and the fast lift and deploy from across the (low) stern made for a minimum of effort....and the flybridge was a necessity when cruising among lobster pot floats....The other consideration might be dinette or no dinette? this was the subject of a thread this past winter season. I'd definitely go for 6-71's...I have heard some parts for 8V53's are getting scarce but do not know that first hand.

[67hat34c]

I know of a broker that knows the vintage hats very well and he should be able to help you with fl boats. Send me a PM and I will give you his info.