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Classic 53 motor yacht

  • Thread starter Thread starter edward
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edward

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Do any owners actually cruise these boats on plane,or is it only hull speed ? Is it just not costs effective? Regards , Edward
 
These darn things are so heavy it’s quite difficult get them up on plane unless your wallet is overflowing with gas money. Besides my wife’s jewelry is on board it weighs it down too much. Lol. She’s going to kill me.
 
heavy underpowered old boats may not be able to plane. Some repowered and newer ones with more HP will and are run on plane. Cost should not be the deciding factor if you own a 53 foot or larger yacht.
 
Over the years, if I needed/wanted to get to my destination and was not on a leisurely cruise, I would
run on "plane" at about 15-17 Knots. Of course cost of fuel was a fraction of today's cost. Well under
one dollar per gal. I actually remember paying 25 cents for diesel fuel but I'm an old guy. Cruising at
displacement speeds has many advantages including much better mileage/range, less wear and tear on
the engines, quieter ride, ability to relax and enjoy the ride and many more reasons. I made the crossing
from Panama City Beach, Fla when I lived there, directly to Clearwater on a then new 53ED mostly at
displacement speed until we got close enough to our destination to bring it up on plane after calculating
that we had enough fuel to do so. These boats were designed to run on plane but over the years many
owners have added so much "stuff" on board that all the additional weight made it difficult to get the
boat over the "hump". As far as the op is concerned, the way you run your boat is up to you and the
condition of your wallet.

Walt
 
Most cruise at hull speed as you burn half the fuel over the same distance and also make it easier on the engines.

Overall the older Hatteras Mys are underpowered and while they will get on plane the engines are pushed pretty hard. It s to have the power of you need to avoid some weather

When I repowered mine I debated putting smaller engines but figured that over all the cost difference for the extra HP was small compared to the restvof the work. I also installed larger trim tabes to help get the boat on plane. I can cruise at 17kts but still enjoy running 9.2 kts
 
Pascal said:
Most cruise at hull speed as you burn half the fuel over the same distance and also make it easier on the engines.

Overall the older Hatteras Mys are underpowered and while they will get on plane the engines are pushed pretty hard. It s to have the power of you need to avoid some weather

When I repowered mine I debated putting smaller engines but figured that over all the cost difference for the extra HP was small compared to the restvof the work. I also installed larger trim tabes to help get the boat on plane. I can cruise at 17kts but still enjoy running 9.2 kts
Click to expand...

Pascal,

You can cruise at 17k.... that's excellent. How much more is available at WOT? Also do you know the
fuel burn at 17k and at displacement...

It sounds like you made the right choice with your repower last year....

Walt
 
My 53 will cruise at 16kts but I never added granite countertops and extra batteries and other heavy stuff that many have over the years. As stated, these boats were made to plane and she rides well and feels great doing so. I do, however, run more at 10kts mostly due to the noise. Standing right on top of the engines in the pilothouse is loud. On the flybridge is better but I do not have an enclosure up there and only run from there in great weather.

I would really like to repower with maybe 600-650hp modern engines to get just a little more speed and lower decibel levels. Maybe someday.
 
If you had 800 hp from a modern engine (1600hp total) could you cruise at 20knots ?
 
A 53 convertible with 12-71 ti’s will cruise 20 knots at 1800 rpm. I think it was burning about 45 gallons an hour. I think those were rated about 750 hp. It was a delivery so I’m not 100% on the fuel burn
 
Someone actually repowered a 53 MY and it scooted very nicely. I don't remember the specs but there
was a video showing the repower as well as sea trial results. Very impressive...

Walt

p.s. I think the engines were QSM 11's
 
Walter P said:
Someone actually repowered a 53 MY and it scooted very nicely. I don't remember the specs but there
was a video showing the repower as well as sea trial results. Very impressive...

Walt

p.s. I think the engines were QSM 11's
Click to expand...

No it was Yanmars. And that yard that owned it went bankrupt.
 
But it did move pretty well according to the video.
 
One of our crusing clubn members repowered his 53 MY with C series Cummins. It's plenty fast. Certainly planes and I think will cruise 18+ knots. Easier on fuel, too. Sadly, the boat is named Freebird, but no one's perfect. :)
 
Walt, I clocked 20kts (just) at WOT but keep in mind these number are with large stabilizer fins (6 sq ft)

Modern 600hp engines would really make these old girls perform well. There is a member here who s doing a complete refit and installing QSMs Maybe he ll chime in

Time and money permitting, these boats still have a lot to offer. Between the bulletproof hulls and wave destroying entry they can be modernized to be as good as modern boats. While mine isn’t finished I love the new layout with a master stateroom and head larger than many 70 footers, centerline bed in the bow and still room for a third small stateroom. Plus galley up, huge ventilated aft deck and side decks. I just wished I have the wider beam of the later 53s
 
Mine will get on plane, 16 to 17 knots. To do so, the engines must be in great shape AND the bottom and running gear clean. Especially the props. There isn't enough power left in the 8v71s to handle much else. I generally run at 9 knots, but it isn't just about cost. Running on plane takes about all these engines have, at least to get up on plane, but even to stay there takes high RPM. If I didn't have to run the engines so hard to do it, I would probably run on plane more often.
 
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