A Great Day to Be Driving a Hatt

[smoothmove]

We took some friends out for a late season cruise today in spite of some rather discouraging weather. Had a nice trip through downtown Chicago and headed back south into a pretty nasty south wind. There was some concern on several faces as we looked ahead to 10 miles of aggressive whitecaps. No problem I told everyone. Grab a beverage sit back and enjoy the ride. We just pushed the throttles up, turned on the wipers, and mowed the waves down. I don't recall seeing many boats out there, but no one was having more fun than us, letting our Hatt do what it was bred for - delivering a safe ride in tough conditions. When I mentioned that it was a 38 year old boat, you should have seen the jaws drop. I know I'm preaching to the choir here, but I was sure impressed with and proud of the performance of our old girl today.

 

[yachtsmanbill]

Where in Chicago are you at?? ws

 

[smoothmove]

We are in Jackson Park. It's a small Harbor but we really like the low key flavor of things there. The best part is you can park within 20 feet of the dock almost any time, even on holidays.

BTW I just noticed that I became a senior member - not in Freebird's record setting pace however. it took me 17 months!!

 

[chris]

Hey Eric, You looked good parked in that slip in JP. Is that a 40' slip. This is a nice time of year to boat Lake Michigan.
Chris

 

[Freebird]

What's this, another cruising thread? How dare you talk about riding in your Hatt instead of working on it! Think I'll send PM's to Doug, your Mamma, and George W. his own self!

If you keep talking about such things as this, some of us are bound to want to join you! You wouldn't want that now, would ya?

 

[Hows Hatt]

Nice snapshot of what I hope to be doing if and when I complete "Man Hatt'n'". My wife and I took a walk on the shore this morning in the rain. I looked West to the 3-5 footers on Lake Michigan, saw nary a boat, and said to my better 3/4, "Great day to out there in a Hatt". Thanks for sharing your boat ride. Howard

 

[thoward]

It was a beautiful West Coast morning and the seas laid flat just like NOAA said. We ran the whole day just enjoing ride; that was untill the night came. Boy oh boy did NOAA miss the mark .....They called for 1-2'ers and a 5k wind and I thought we'll run the night hang out at the channel entrance 'till morning. Not...It was a 15 knot wind with a strong 3' chop. I wound her up to about 12 knots and set a course to quarter the seas and that is when I became a big fan of enclosed bridges. The water would break across the bow covering the windshield and for a while the spray went as high at the tower which, by the way, looks really cool as it wraps around the back of the boat in to the lights. Well, wouldn't you know it we arrive at the inlet at 2am and the seas are still ruff(NOAA never changed the forcast) so now I've got to run Boca Grande at night. Ooops, silly me, I forgot my chart card for this area at home and I have never been to the inlet. So now it is off to the paper charts and the part time navigator(my wife). Luckly it was straight forward and really an easy inlet. Finally we anchored up for the night in the harbor so we could get an early start for the big "O".

 

[CARL GUZMAN]

Finally we anchored up for the night in the harbor so we could get an early start for the big "O".

Hay Thoward what day are you coming across Lake O ? are you going North or South I'm having some of the forum guys down this weekend we'll be cruiesing the Naples - Ft Meyers area. let us know if you want to meet

 

[Jaxfishgyd]

You mean there is a "BAD DAY" to be on a Hatteras ???

What is really interesting is, our Hatt is not in "topnotch" condition, she needs work done outside and inside yet when we cruise anywhere and tie up to a dock, people who have bigger and newer boats always rave about the older classic hatteras's and how lucky we are to own one....

 

[spartonboat1]

Re: Bad Day in a Hatt...very recent post mentioned 10-12 chop on the Great Lakes and I must admit that is a significant sea even for a Hatt. However, I don't remember the size Hatt and if was a 55 or 60+ CNV, maybe slicing thru those size seas at 20 knots is not a bad ride. I just now remembered a conversation with a major Hatt boat yard staffer who checks out all their new arriving vessels (yard is in N. MI- MI locals will know who) that related that they took a new 65' CNV out for a run in heavy 6-8'rs and ran at 30+ knots to get her airborn. No luck, she just ran hot, straight, and true (much seas in the air, but not the boat), with no fuss...he was big-time impressed, and he is not impressed often.

But me in my 43MY, I will be in when 10-12's run! I've been in the 7-9's, and that slowed me to 12knots...plenty heavy. I suspect we could take on the 10-12's but not a preference; def not in a beam sea! As I have noted before, I have been in Lake MI 10-12's in 1962 in a 118' Yacht and we were sending spray all the way over the wheel/pilot house and I got a little green around the gills.

 

[luckydave215]

I was travelling between Long Beach and San Diego (20 or so miles offshore) about a year ago, and came across one of the Marine Corps hovercraft. Those things are HUGE, maybe 125+ feet. (and they go 80 knots!!!) It was rough, and the hovercraft was rolling and pounding her brains out, throwing so much spray you could hardly see her at times, even though they were going slow.
We were enjoying our smooth riding Hatt, barely rolling and taking no spray higher than the bow. It was easy to walk around without holding on at all, and the bridge enclosure never took a drop of spray. Gotta love it.