60' Hatteras Enclosed Bridge '79 For Sale

[oldboat]

i never did go to see wanderlust when she was put up for sale, i did talk to someone who said she was a trade in on a 65 foot sportfish. i have never heard a discourgaging word about the old supersixties if they were well maintained.
perhaps the hull/deck issue is actually a bulkhead problem that pascoe mentions in one of his articles. the paragraph from that article is below. the link to the article is below that. if the link doesn't take you directly to the paragraph it is about six paragraphs down in the 'rigid or flexible hulls' section. if it is a problem copying a paragraph from pascoe's site perhaps one of the moderators could delete it.

from pascoe:
The early models of the 60' Hatteras Convertible were a prime example of a large hull that was inadequately bulkheaded. These hulls would twist so badly that when you put it into a hard, full speed turn, the propeller shafts would bind up in the bearings. And you can just imagine the effects on shafts, engines and transmissions! This was not so much a matter of a boat with not enough bulkheads, but rather the bulkheads that it did have were poorly designed and executed.

link to article
http://www.yachtsurvey.com/HullFailPart1.htm

[captddis]

Never heard of hull to deck issues but the other issues are real on early models. Most were upgraded in the field and should be ok. I have been on a couple early models where the interior creaked, moaned and groaned like a out of tune orchestra. I also know of a couple early models where the referigerator came through the floor. Not sure where the rot came from ,but something to check. The later 60s had all the issues addressed.

[1Hogtow]

Thank you all for your input, and Dave i really appreciate the hour or so on the phone. I must have misunderstood Bunker when he told me about the bulkhead issues the 60's had. (i thought he said deck joint and he must have said bulkhead joint) I have heard some history on this boat and how it was used so, we will be looking very hard at her. I have also "redone" a few boats in the past but, never had a chance to work on a Hatteras. I will let you all know how the survey goes.

[Ross Macdonald]

When we were looking for the 60 series I with the enclosed bridge, we found that all had been after market fitted with various I- beam supports in the engine rooms depending on which yard did the work. Some were done much better than others. The conventional wisdom was that the enclosed bridge created so much weight that the floors flexed and eventually began to have problems. ( hence the "refridgerator through the floor" example). I don't know who did the work on ours, but the I-beams fore and aft in the engine room are made of aluminum and are really heavy duty. So be sure to look at the structural integrity of these supports. I would assume the heavier the better. We have not had any bulkhead or floor issues on ours after approximately 7,000 NM of travel with some of it being in very rough seas. Good Luck....Ross