56MY Series II

[stormchaser]

EDIT: Ugh, so there's no such thing as a Series II...but the questions remain the same for the series 1...

Any owners on here? Comments on them? How common are they and how do they compare to a 1510 series like a 53MY? I would think they are massive by comparison. How are they for maneuvering? Fuel consumption at 9-10 knots? Wonder how they would compare to something like a OA 63?

Just starting the thinking/planning for our next upgrade...I usually start thinking/planning about 3-5 years out and about 2-3 years after buying...which means I tend to won boats for 5-10 years before upgrading.

 

[TopHattandTails]

Dave- Its a lot of boat. 3' longer and 3' wider. Great headroom throughout. Only difference I've seen (might depend on years) is that the VIP cabin and the master cabin are separated via the engine rooms. I "think" they had an option for either 8V71's or 8V92's in them. I think its one of the better layouts Hatteras has for width. The popular 75's are no wider. Just about the same in a lot of respects compared to the 53 as far as performance and handling (the 56 squats a little lower when running though). 2 of my buddies run 56's - one moved down to a picnic boat and the other is talking about getting into a 64 (classic). He might be moving up in a few years - I'll pass it along to you if/when its time (FW boat). Just another great example of what a great boat Jack H. designed.

 

[stormchaser]

Wish I knew somebody around here that has one, just to see if its a contender.

 

[TopHattandTails]

I'll say it again, its a lot of boat. The only reason I might be interested in the 56, is the head room (I'm 6'8"). Although I'm partial to the 53...I like the maneuverability of the 53 - might be a "get used to it thing" but I've probably spent equal amounts of time on a 56 and our 53 over the past 15 years (I've only had the 53' 2 years). In my life - the 56 would require dock hands (coming and going) and a new dock for depth concerns. Love the flybridge on the 56 (3 helm chairs across and an area that doubles as a dance floor and room for a dink aft of that). Inside, its sort of like the pilot house of the 53ED with a separate wall behind the helm station, the main and aft salons of the 53MY, then drag the corner of the boat 3 feet diagonally out (like in powerpoint). It has the walk around decks of the 53MY, but the interior volume of the 53ED. In a lot of respects, its a lot like the 53ED, but with side decks and higher head room throughout. It has the lines and the room of a great boat. A lot of people refer to it as a "wide body". You get the same speed and the same wave bashing cushy ride. Same systems, same maintenance, same projects. If your shopping, I might also throw in a Burger of the same vintage - just look out for the tarnishing... But it will be a good fight between the 56 and the Burger.

 

[stormchaser]

- the head room
- Love the flybridge on the 56 (3 helm chairs across and an area that doubles as a dance floor and room for a dink aft of that).
- It has the walk around decks of the 53MY, but the interior volume of the 53ED. In a lot of respects, its a lot like the 53ED, but with side decks and higher head room throughout.

Sounds nearly perfect for me. Especially with the big aft deck. If Hatteras had made a "widebody" 53MY (meaning no side decks like the ED, but with the aft deck like the MY)...that's what I'd have. Sounds like that is pretty much what the 56MY is. As far as handling a big boat goes, as long as it handles well, size doesn't worry me...I used to captain a 60' passenger ferry in Norfolk.

 

[SKYCHENEY]

The 56MY was only built for 4 years. That hull was later stretched to make the 58MY series II. This has always made me wonder about the sea keeping of the 56. Why was it discontinued in 1984 only to be reintroduced as a 58 in 1985? Is the 58MY a better hull since the length to beam ratio is slightly larger? I don't know the answer. I'm just asking the question.

In today's market, you can probably buy a nice 58 for the same money as a comparable 56. If so, which is the better boat? They are so similar that it makes me wonder.

I, personally, would not consider either. If I were to upgrade from the 53ED, I'd be looking at something with a cockpit. The choices would be 58YF, 58LRC, 61CMY, or 63CMY. I doubt, however, that I'll ever buy another one.

 

[SKYCHENEY]

If Hatteras had made a "widebody" 53MY (meaning no side decks like the ED, but with the aft deck like the MY)...that's what I'd have.

They did exactly that. It's called the 58MY series 1.

 

[stormchaser]

They did exactly that. It's called the 58MY series 1.

Ok, I had no clue, I'll have to check them out...although the added beam might be nice.

 

[dcate]

The first Hatt I ever went on was a 53MY and I wanted one, until I went on a 53ED, then I wanted "one of those"...until I went on the 56MY...which was nothing short of "awe-inspiring" to me. I bought a 56my this past fall. The first week of Oct. was spent going around the state of Michigan on the great lakes from Toledo to Chicago, and the weather was crappy the whole week, everyday. I had never been in that before, but the skipper had grown up on the great lakes owning Hatts. His current is a 53YF. He told me several days..."I would not be out here in a 53YF right now". The stabilizers worked hard, but were wonderful. Turn them off, and the boat became a cork, turn them on and up and down only, no side to side. We took a beating to the point of him saying after the 6th day...."I just want off of this lake". (it was the only complaint he uttered for 3 weeks). There was one day we sat out because weather. This confused me because the boat never once "complained"....(at least to this rookie's assessment). It just "felt" so solid and "safe" to me. He said..."I'm afraid we could lose the mast. In some weather, you don't go out in any boat".

I have never been on a 1510 boat underway...so I cannot tell you first hand what the differences in handling are. What I can tell you is that this boat is not hard to manage. The main drawback being finding a slip it will fit into. But for the roominess of the master stateroom, I was willing to accept the trade off.

I also looked at several 58 wide-bodies. The main difference in layout (to my eye) was that the upper deck felt noticibly larger. The other differences in roominess seemed inconsequential to me. They are both big boats.

The 56 has the double doors leading out to the aft deck from the salon, but the 58 only has the single, off-centered, door. The double doors vs. single door layout is worth what little bit of space you loose from the 56 to the 58. I believe the 58 also has larger engines, something else I wasn't too keen on.

I cannot remember the fuel burn rate off hand, but I can tell you that there is a big difference in keeping the turbos down. Anything below 1500 rpms is affordable, and not worth the extra couple of knots you get by spooling them up. This boat will do around 8 knots at 1200 rpm and 9 to 10 up around 1500.

I'm going to the boat tomorrow and I'll check the log and let you know what the avg. fuel burn was during that 190 hr., 20 day run from OH to Knoxville.

 

[SeaEric]

Check out the later series 58 MY with the wide beam. In my estimation it is the best of all worlds, in a platform under 60'. Its the same basic layout as a 53 Classic with the wide beam, walk around decks and a nice big WIDE aft deck. Only downside I see is the 8v92 power. There's one for sale on Kent Island called "Sabrina".

My all time favorite Hatt remains the 72MY (no cockpit) built in the mid to late 80's. But 72' is a lot of boat to deal with! There was one for sale a few years ago here in Ft Lauderdale called "Superstar" with a black hull. She was spectacular.

 

[GJH]

I have lived on and cruised a 56 for 2 1/2 years and over 7500 nautical miles, from Key West to Nantucket and back and very side water in between, just me and the wife. Time has only increased our enthusiasm and gratefulness for the choice we made. I am a fairly big and clumsy guy, so ergonomics mean a lot to me. My wife is not particularly interested in being a skilled boater, although she is an enthusiastic one. and I don't consider myself a particularly skilled helmsman. We have had a wonderful time, having docked and squeezed into some pretty odd places, used mooring balls as our base for months at a time and anchored in almost 59 different places.

We shopped extensively before buying. We looked at every flavor of 53s and other 1510s, including 58 series I and 58YF, plus 18-2 58MY and 61MY, 61 CPMY and 63 CPMY. The 61 CPMY is our boat with a cockpit, essentially, but with 12-71s instead of 8-92s.

We cruise at 8 or 9 knots most of the time. At 1200 RPM average (7.5 knots average with bridges, no wake zones etc), we get one statute mile per gallon combined. If you want to run 10 to 12 knots you will cut mileage in half very quickly.

The boat does tend to pitch more than a narrower boat into a head sea, and my subjective opinion is that it is a bit more of a handful in a following sea. We have stabilizers, but you need to get into a 2+ foot beam sea to really get the value out of them.

All in all it is a really fun boat to go boating in. The visibility from the open lower helm is fantastic, and the ergonomics with the side decks and doors plus double door to the stern are wonderful.

The "livability" is perfect for us. This is where the extra 2 feet or so of beam makes a remarkable difference... in the master, the engine rooms, the galley, the generator room, the aft deck...

y'know, we go to boat shows and look at boats, and visit other peoples' boats. We still come back saying to ourselves, "gee, what's really better than what we've got for what we do? "

 

[spartonboat1]

The first Hatt I ever went on was a 53MY and I wanted one, until I went on a 53ED, then I wanted "one of those"...until I went on the 56MY...which was nothing short of "awe-inspiring" to me. I bought a 56my this past fall. The first week of Oct. was spent going around the state of Michigan on the great lakes from Toledo to Chicago, and the weather was crappy the whole week, everyday. I had never been in that before, but the skipper had grown up on the great lakes owning Hatts. His current is a 53YF. He told me several days..."I would not be out here in a 53YF right now". The stabilizers worked hard, but were wonderful. Turn them off, and the boat became a cork, turn them on and up and down only, no side to side. We took a beating to the point of him saying after the 6th day...."I just want off of this lake". (it was the only complaint he uttered for 3 weeks). There was one day we sat out because weather. This confused me because the boat never once "complained"....(at least to this rookie's assessment). It just "felt" so solid and "safe" to me. He said..."I'm afraid we could lose the mast. In some weather, you don't go out in any boat".

I have never been on a 1510 boat underway...so I cannot tell you first hand what the differences in handling are. What I can tell you is that this boat is not hard to manage. The main drawback being finding a slip it will fit into. But for the roominess of the master stateroom, I was willing to accept the trade off.

FWIW as a frame of reference for sea keeping, that was the worst Oct weather for running the GL's that I can remember in 50 years. One of the weekend (23rd I think), the seas knocked out 3 commercial ferry boats 1) computer, 2) engine 3) cracked windows fwd. So if your skipper didn't want to be out, then its because it was really and truly bad. To quote and old GL master, "I might be in when I should be out, but I am never out, when I should be in". At any rate, it speaks well for the sea worthiness of that model of Hatt.

 

[JLR]

I have my 56 MY since 1998. Bought it in Michigan and brought her back to New York. She has cruised from the Bahamas to Vermont. I have owned a lot of boats. I find this to be almost irreplaceable. She is great in all seas but a following sea. I understand most MY's are bad in a following sea. I burn 48 gallons per hour (total) at 2130 rpm cruising between 15-16 kts. I burn about 20 gph (total) at 1400 rpms doing 10 kts. The more people you have on board, the bigger the boat seems. Great seating on the bow, more on the large bow cushions, more on the bow dunnage boxes, the salon, the large aft deck and the bridge with custom seating added--and that's before going into the pilothouse, the dinette etc. I have entertained as many as 40 people on board and room was not an issue. I recently went to the Norwalk show to look at the Hatteras 60 or 63 I think. It wasn't half the boat the 56 is. The new one had small side decks, sleeping quarters bunched together, no real aft deck, access to the engines through a hatch in the floor. Simply put--the 56 is a great boat. As nice as the 53 boats are, the 56 is a completely different boat and she seems a great deal larger, mostly due to the 18'2" beam. I believe the only real difference with the 58 18'2" is found in the master stateroom.

 

[stormchaser]

Wow, twice the fuel burn of a 53 at 10 knots.

 

[TopHattandTails]

On our 53 we're burning ~36gph at 1,900 rpm, genny running and 5 a/c's blasting. 48gph doesn't seem bad. At least it's not 140gph like some of the new SF's. Plus- just think how much more fun your having. The weather this past year was garbage from mid August+, especially October. Some impressive blows in mid to late October...It seamed that a gale warning was an improvement most days.

 

[REBrueckner]

"I burn 48 gallons per hour (total) at 2130 rpm cruising between 15-16 kts. I burn about 20 gph (total) at 1400 rpms doing 10 kts."

I assume thats for 8V92's???? What HP???

Not having owned a 56 I can't attest to these quotes but they seem about right; in contrast, some earlier figures posted in this thread, with higher NMPG, seem real optimistic. In addition, I don't see how you can run the older two cycle Detroits much below 1400 RPM for extended periods; sure you can boost up RPM several times a day to clear them out, but with my 8V71TI's (in a 1972 48 YF) I tried cruise RPMS from about 1,000 (boringly slow and smoky when goosed up to higher RPM) to about 1500 RPM and 11 knots, where the engines would hardly smoke when goosed up to 1800 or 1900 to blow them out. There are good discussions on this forum regarding turbo exhaust temperatures...apparently you've got to keep them over 500 degrees minimum to keep your engines clean and safe..and 600 degrees is likely better.

And for what's it worth, my mechanic, a looooooong time Detroit guy, NEVER liked me running my engines at even 1,500RPM "too slow" he always told me; better to run them about 1800 where the turbos are kicking in....

As for stern seas, a wider hull in a given length is likely to increase yaw a bit more...but in a longer hull there may be off setting effects. With props further apart than in a narrow boat, thrust might better balance wave effects but there is a bigger butt for waves to move against.
Hull shape also plays a role....no way I am aware of to guess at the net effect...best to ride in conditions you might expect.

How do stabilizers affect the yaw in stern seas??

 

[GJH]

I don't want to get into another discussion of running speeds; I'll just note that both the mechanics I use (one in Baltimore, one in Norht Carolina and both very experienced old Detroit specialists) are quite supportive of the speeds I run at, the oil samples come back fine, smoke is minimal to none, things look good. I will go back and double check my log books, but that GPH at 1400 RPM JLR quoted looks high to me. His boat is a little faster than mine at various RPM; I am more like 9 knots at 1400 RPM. Of course at 10 knots you are getting at the limits of hull speed and fuel burn will be fairly inefficient. My boat is set up to go slow, similar to Brian's theory; I have never seen 16 knots. 10GPH at 10 knots in a 53MY is a figure I would challenge as optimistic. Regardless, there are no free lunches in boating other than playing tidal currents, and that extra width and over all bulk are going to cost you some diesel fuel.

The stabilizers do help in quartering seas. Mine were out of commission due to an oil leak when we made a transit of Pamlico Sound to Ocracoke from New Bern this summer. 3 footers of steep chop on the stern or the starboard quarter the whole way. Mr Otto Pilot didn't like it one bit and neither did my wife. Similar trips with the stabilizers working were "OK"comfort wise, but still a lot of yaw when seas are on the quarter. If you play with your speed, dead astern following seas can be quite comfortable. We had a genuinely fun ride down the Chesapeake one fall when strong north-ish winds made things a little sporty for the other boats out there, especially the non-sailing sail boats.

 

[REBrueckner]

"...and both very experienced old Detroit specialists) are quite supportive of the speeds I run at, the oil samples come back fine, smoke is minimal to none,"

I like to get advice from my mechanic, then "fact check" it myself as you have done...good oil samples and limited smoke seem like reasonable indicators...good enough for me....

What engines and HP are you using? What's your top WOT RPM??

It's difficult to draw conclusions regarding many comments above because a 450 HP engine running at 1200 RPM and turning up only, say, 2000 RPM at WOT is loaded a lot different than a 650 HP engine running at 1200 RPM which turns up its full rated 2300 RPM WOT. The first is likely loaded reasonably well, the second is likely running rather cooler than optimum...just a laymans comparsion....

"..10GPH at 10 knots in a 53MY is a figure I would challenge as optimistic..."

Me too....but it's not an absurd claim....

 

[Pascal]

the key thing when comparing fuel burn is to define the word "about".

what is "about 10kts"? 10.3? or 9.5? on most 50 to 60 footer, at 10.3kts, your fuel burn can be 30 to 40% higher than at 9.5kts.

at 9 to 9.5kts, which may be "about 10kts" to some, there is no way a 50ish foot boat can burn 20gph...

the wider beam boats will burn more fuel, but certainly not twice the amount of a 1510...

as to the "140GPH of the new sportfish" that's probably at 35kts, twice the speed of an old hatt so it's not that much more considering...

 

[SKYCHENEY]

With a 53 with 6v92s, I can get a legitimate 10gph at 9kts and 1300rpms. Once I go above that, the burn rate goes up fast. 10kts is 15gph and 1450rpm and it goes up from there. Once you exceed hull speed, you might just as well get her up on plane.

I'm sure an 18'2" beam boat will burn more.