53C, 53YF, 53CPMY, or a 53MY?

[stormchaser]

Hello all,

I'm hoping someone can point me to a good read on the differences between the different 53' models? I've seen references to 53C, 53YF, 53CPMY, and 53MY but don't really understand the difference. My wife and I are looking at getting a 53' for long term live aboard. Mostly we've been looking at boats from the mid/late 1970s through about 1980. I have not clue if that means they are 53C, 53YF, 53CPMY, or a 53MY? Help educate me?

 

[MikeP]

Check out the brochures archive at sams (host of this site): http://www.hatterasowners.com/models.htm

Look up the boats you are interested in - it will give you a good general idea of the different boats.

 

[Nonchalant1]

Go to Yachtworld.com and look at the pictures of lots of different boats of each of those types and you'll see the differences. Then go see some in person. Primarily, the 53YF, 53C and 53CPMY all have "fishing cockpits" down near the waterline where you can fish and reach the fish. You can also get on and off at low floating docks more easily. The tradeoff is that you lose interior living space available on the 53MY. The 53MY has a really nice, roomy covered aft deck where you'll spend lots of your time. The 53s with cockpits have much smaller aft decks and smaller master staterooms.

Doug

 

[spartonboat1]

Maybe that is why the 58YF seems to have grown in stature, boat wise (couldn't get any heavier...lol). It is a 53'MY with a good size and useable cockpit. I've only seen two up close, getting a tour of one of them, but they have a lot use of flexibility and yet were the more narrow 1510, i.e. not as wide as the later 18' beams vessels.

 

[rwetherington]

53c is a live aboard fishing boat. One that you would use to charter fish with. 53MY is a very nice live aboard boat. 53YF has less room than 53my because of the cockpit. If you are planning on other couples this takes away room in the boat, what it does for you is if you like to dive give you a better platform for this. 58YF gives you a 53my with the cockpit for diving and ease of boarding from dingy. 53my are reat boats to enclose the aft deck to set on to get great views of the water.

 

[MikeP]

Of course I'm prejudiced, since we own a 53MY but there's a good reason the 53MY was in production for 19 years! I don't believe that any other pleasure boat is even close.

It is really a great combination as a cruiser or live-aboard. The first time we were ever on one the Admiral and I both said, "This is our next boat!"

THe 58YF though, would be a definite consideration because of the cockpit and the same living area as the 53MY. Five years ago, at the time we bought, a nice 58 (equal to our 53) was more money than we wanted to pay so it was not in consideration. If we were doing it now, we would seriously look at the 58YF. I'm not saying that we would definitely prefer it over the 53 but it would probably be a real tough decision. The covered aft deck area of the 58 is smaller than that of the 53MY. That would be the negative part of the 58 because the aft deck is a VITAL part of the 53 for us. Then again, the difference is not huge so it may not matter.

 

[StratPlan61]

Buy the PowerBoat Guide book, available in hardcopy or CD versions, by Ed McKnew & Mark Parker. It is a reasonable overview of the most available powerboats made/for sale around. American Marine Publishing, www.powerboatguide.com
Good Luck!

 

[Pascal]

i agree, if check out either yacht world or the brochures here on the site you will quickly see the difference. and as others mentioned, dont' overlooked the 58YF, it is the best of both world! the 53MY layout with a large cockpit, yet without loosing much space on the aft deck.

The 53 convertible is not a bad liveaboard either but the MYs (or YFs) have a privacy advantage since the windows and doors are higher. People on the dock on the boats next slip usually can't see inside the boat. The lower cockpit is also hotter when on the hook because of the wider house structure. The aft deck of the MYs are very cool at anchor thanks to the breeze coming in thru the wing doors.

the price you pay is a higher CG (they will roll a little more in beam seas).

Also, the MYs/YFs have a lower helm/pilothouse making them very easy to single hand since you are next to your spring lines. They also have better ventilation in the saloon thanks to all the opening doors and windows. right now I'm sitting in mine, windows and door open, and no need for air con... in south florida!

 

[frank]

I agree with several of the posts, regarding the 58YF,you get the advantage of having the cockpit w/ the same layout of the 53MY. If the cockpit is not important you may want to look at the 58MY. Since your going to live aboard. I believe the 58MY came w/1271N's which are great engines. I know the 58 Triple Cabin did.....someone correct if I am wrong?

Frank/58YF

 

[stormchaser]

Ok, thanks for all the info. We have looked at quite a few. The boat we've fallen in love with is the 53MY...I just didn't know the designation. The wifey and will be long term live abaords and nothing we have looked at even comes close to the 53MY including some "bigger" boats.

 

[Pascal]

"I believe the 58MY came w/1271N's which are great engines."

the 4 stateroom 58MY came with 8V92s not 12V71.

 

[stormchaser]

The boat we are looking at has 8V71TIs. Its a 1980 53MY. I've read some BAD things about these engines. Should I run away?

 

[SKYCHENEY]

Don't run away from 8v71TI's unless you don't want to own a 53MY. Almost all older model 53MY's came with 8v71's either N or TI's. Some had Cummins, but not many and the mid 1985 model year they changed over to 6v92TA's.

The 8V71 is a great engine in all of it's configurations.

 

[stormchaser]

OK, thanks. Of course a full engine survey for both engines and the genset will be on tap when/if it gets to that point. Anyone know what the fuel burn rate is for a 53MY with 8v71TIs?

 

[SKYCHENEY]

OK, thanks. Of course a full engine survey for both engines and the genset will be on tap when/if it gets to that point. Anyone know what the fuel burn rate is for a 53MY with 8v71TIs?

About 10gph at 9.5 kts and about 35gph at 15kts.

 

[stormchaser]

Thanks again. Are the engines properly loaded at that low speed? I can live with 10gph and 9.5 knots, no problem, heck even 15gph isnt terrible (My previous baot, a Willard 40 burned 2 at 7.5 knots)...but 35 would kill me.

 

[Diver Down]

My wife and I are liveaboards and divers and we're thrilled that we bought the 58YF rather than the 53 classic. If it weren't for the diving and boating, our choice would have been the 58 wide body, preferrably one of the newer 18 ft beam models, because the extra space could have been used for office space of sorts. If you don't care about those activities the 53 classic is a great boat. Like Mike P said, there's a good reason why this model was made for almost two decades.
Southern Comfort, 1977 58YF
Chespeake, VA

 

[SKYCHENEY]

Thanks again. Are the engines properly loaded at that low speed? I can live with 10gph and 9.5 knots, no problem, heck even 15gph isnt terrible (My previous baot, a Willard 40 burned 2 at 7.5 knots)...but 35 would kill me.

There is no problem running those engines at 9.5kts. At that speed you'll be running about 1300RPM and the engine temps will stay at about 160 degrees. What most of us do is to run them up to 2000rpm for about 15-20 minutes per day to make sure that the temps are up there and to "clean them out". This seems to work pretty well.

 

[spartonboat1]

Since your going to live aboard. I believe the 58MY came w/1271N's which are great engines. I know the 58 Triple Cabin did.....someone correct if I am wrong?

Frank/58YF

If for no other reason, the 12v71's are the Frank Sinatra of the DD's...a great song every time...of course a little expensive when turned loose at full song...lol.

 

[GJH]

Here is nice summary:

http://www.yachtsurvey.com/boatreviews/Hatteras53.htm

If you like the 53, you'll love the 56! We've lived on board one year now and it just gets better....

But, ok, the 53 is probably more practical.. just trying to save you from 2 foot-itis (beam, that is) ahead of time.

George