Decisions Decisions, Again

[Freebird]

Let's try this again since the first round got so far off track and eventually zapped by an unknown source. Not to question the powers that be, but why not just elminate the "improper" stuff instead of the whole thread? PM please?

I asked for input (seriously) on a '78 Hatt 70CMY I found in California. I have been seriously looking at purchasing a larger boat, and I went with Pat Bustle to Lauderdale last week to look at a 70MY. Bottom line is, I am going to buy a larger boat as a liveaboard. I thought that this forum was designed for folks in my position.

The original questions to all you members were does anybody know this boat, can anyone tell me pros and cons on this particular model? Please limit your responses to the subject at hand as to avoid any further misunderstandings.

 

[richardoren]

Re: Decisions we all wish we could have

Hi Randy,

I hope that thread vanishing isn't due to my tasteless sense of humor.

In any case, I want you to know I won't be digging into your elbow room. Although I did contact Ian about Ocean Drive before hearing that you were interested. Since I learned that you had already done a walk through, and were preparing an offer, I haven't replied to his messages. I won't visit that boat unless you've gone full cycle and aren't following suit.

Regarding the unit in Newport Beach (decidedly we have the same taste), it looks really good and at an already appetizing asking price regarding the vintage and quality of the boat. I wouldn't pursue it as I am pretty far away. But if the distance isn't a barrier for you, I think there are deals to be had in California these days because the boat market has been depressed there for several years running. You will however want to make sure the engines haven't suffered from corrosion due to lack of use: due to high real-estate prices quite a few boats are used as floating condos, and their heads will be worn out whilst their engines will have gone south sitting around year after year with an owner who may not even know how to fire them up...

Photos sure as heck don't show anything, so an in person visit is important. However, if it follows up as nicely as in the pics it may be well worth considering. Were it closer by, I'd be all over her in a nick. But that is why boat prices way out there on the new frontier are lower: strictly a coastal market, and most locals are too politically correct to buy 2 huge Detroit Diesels.

Rich

 

[Freebird]

Thanks for the reply and the unheard of consideration regarding the 70MY in Lauderdale. I am going to see if I can fly out to CA to look at the CMY next week. I'll let you know what I find so you can pursue the MY if it goes that way.

This boat belongs to a dead man. Unfortunately, his kids apparently have no interest in it. It is captain maintained and started on a regular basis though that's no substitute for flat out running on a 2-stroke. But it's better than just sitting.

 

[yachtsmanbill]

I took out the papers and the trash, I still aint got no spendin' cash-- resend that pm ws

 

[CARL GUZMAN]

Randy I don't know where that boat was in January 06 when I purchased mine but I'll tell you ,I like it !!! it must have been off the market or priced over 600k because It was below my radar or I would have been all over it Also don't expect to get on plane much the fuel triples when I do and I got 770hp. I'm better of useing it like a trawler at 1200rpm 10nts 16-18 gph
or 1800rpm 14nts 50-54gph FORGET IT for 4nts not worth it....

 

[Passages]

so I had 2 removed!

Stay on topic...I must stay on topic...(LOL)

 

[SeaEric]

I have spent a fair amount of time with a customer on the old 70 in Ft Lauderdale. The more you look at that boat, the scarier she gets. The good thing is: she is original and unmolested except for the teak decks someone added, and the ice blue paint job. What frightens me about that boat is the fact that she is really very lighly used over the years and only used sporadically. All of the systems on that boat seem to appear original. This includes the AC units, the galley systems, pumps, everything. It seems to me that if she starts getting used on a regular basis, a ton of stuff is gonna give up the ghost.

She was listed by the previous broker for an ask of $399K. I was told that they were offered $350 and turned it down. The ask is now $455K. She is a big boat, shed kept, and as I said-unmolested. But a buyer should be ready for a laundry list of survey findings and lots of "desireable" upgrades suggested by the surveyor. One more thing- That ice blue paint job, like it or not, was not a great job and seems to be failing in several areas. Lets not forget about the need for all new interior soft goods. She is going to be an expensive boat to own for the next 10 years.

 

[Freebird]

Stay on topic...I must stay on topic...(LOL)

I will behave.....I will behave....I will behave....

 

[Freebird]

I have spent a fair amount of time with a customer on the old 70 in Ft Lauderdale. The more you look at that boat, the scarier she gets. The good thing is: she is original and unmolested except for the teak decks someone added, and the ice blue paint job. What frightens me about that boat is the fact that she is really very lighly used over the years and only used sporadically. All of the systems on that boat seem to appear original. This includes the AC units, the galley systems, pumps, everything. It seems to me that if she starts getting used on a regular basis, a ton of stuff is gonna give up the ghost.

She was listed by the previous broker for an ask of $399K. I was told that they were offered $350 and turned it down. The ask is now $455K. She is a big boat, shed kept, and as I said-unmolested. But a buyer should be ready for a laundry list of survey findings and lots of "desireable" upgrades suggested by the surveyor. One more thing- That ice blue paint job, like it or not, was not a great job and seems to be failing in several areas. Lets not forget about the need for all new interior soft goods. She is going to be an expensive boat to own for the next 10 years.

Thanks for the input. She's a nice original boat, but like you said, she does have her flaws. I suppose that's going to be the case with any early 70's boat. The teak decks are really very pretty, but I would have never added them. I'm sure they are a pain to keep up and will cost big bucks to replace/remove in the future. Sometimes, as I'm sure you are aware, previously turned down offers are accepted six months later. Either that or the owner wished he had taken the offer he turned down.

I have shifted focus (again) to a 70CMY in California. I don't suppose you are familiar with that one being so far away. My original plan was to buy a bigger boat and bring it back to TN. My plans have changed, so I can see the merits of a cockpit in a FL boat. It seems to be in the same category as the 70MY on some levels. Realistically, anybody who buys an old boat has to be prepared to continuously spend some money on it. Like I've always said, buying the boat is the easy part. Keeping and operating the boat can get expensive.

 

[SeaEric]

There remains a large inventory in Hatteras cockpit yachts. Some have been for sale several years. The public side of YachtWorld does not show you that, but brokers can see the list date. I would look at the specs on the net without too much regard for the asking price. Find a boat the looks good and the specs read well. Then call the broker and inquire as to the "situation" of the sale. Plenty of these sellers own well maintained boats but are motivated for one reason or another for the boat to be gone. In the face of lots of competing inventory, a prudent serious seller will consider any offer. As long as they're not up against a high loan payoff, there are bargains to be had. I was aboard a 1989 70 footer that sold last fall for near $500K and she was beautiful. The wealthy owner had already bought his next boat and this one needed to go away, so it did-cheap.

If anyone here has potential interest in a 54' Hatt Motoryacht, PM me. I have heard of situations on 2 boats out there, not my listings-other brokers, that may be bargains.

 

[Freebird]

There remains a large inventory in Hatteras cockpit yachts. Some have been for sale several years. The public side of YachtWorld does not show you that, but brokers can see the list date. I would look at the specs on the net without too much regard for the asking price.

I'm not shy when it comes to making offers on boats. I know enough and do enough research to come in with an offer that will be considered low, but not so low as to be insulting to the intelligence of the seller.

I've purchased a number of boats where both the seller and I wrote checks when there was a lien involved. Asking prices are merely a starting point, and nobody ever gives you a bottom dollar price until you show them the money.

When I make an offer, it's usually done with the placement of a cashier's check into the hands of the owner rather than verbally or on a contract. This separates me from the tire-kickers and generally gets the owner week in the knees if we're anywhere close to his magic number. It's awfully hard to hand back a cashier's check with your name on it, especially if you're tired of tire-kickers and really need to move a boat.

 

[Freebird]

One more set of questions for you guys as to getting this boat home if I can make a deal. Obviously the most fun way to get her home would be on her own bottom with yours truly at the wheel. Yachtsmanbill speaks fluent (or is that fluid) Spanish, so he can work the radio. Would that be considered +1 or -2?

I haven't done the math on distance from Newport Beach, CA to Palmetto, FL. Anybody know what the fuel availability is on such a trip? I was told you had to have a "professional" pilot take you through the canal. Is this true? Yes or no, what will it cost to go through?

I know it may be more prudent to use all that fuel money to cruise the Bahamas and such, but this would be a once in a lifetime adventure for me. However, it may prove to be just too darn much money, especially after plunking down the cash to buy the boat. Not to mention mechanical issues that could rear their ugly head and make me a citizen of Mexico. Any ideas on how much it would cost to ship my ship to FL? The cheapest POE would do.

 

[Paul45c]

Any ideas on how much it would cost to ship my ship to FL? The cheapest POE would do.

No idea on cost, SkynyrdBoy, but what MIGHT make some sense dollars-wise is for you to run the boat at least down to at least the west coast of Costa Rica or somewhere close, because the tournament fishing crowd ships sportfishermen all the time from all kinds of east coast U.S. home ports. Some of the big kahuna fish guys keep the boat down there for a whole season. With trucking, popular routes usually equal lower freight costs.

 

[ThirdHatt]

The fuel is available but you would want an extra bladder or two in the cockpit for reserve anyway. All the sportfish at Los Suenos in Costa Rica had their cockpits full of fuelbladders for the trip back to the U.S. Their exhausts were completely submerged at the dock!

You must hire their pilot to be on your boat (and their helpers) to go through the canal and across Gatun Lake. They made us hire 4 guys and a pilot on a 120'. The pilot doesn't drive your boat for you, he merely tells you where you should be at all times. It only takes the better part of a day to cross, so it's not bad.

Dockwise would ship your boat to FL for probably about $1k/ft.

Either way, there's no cheap way to get a boat from the west coast to the east coast.

 

[Freebird]

The fuel is available but you would want an extra bladder or two in the cockpit for reserve anyway. All the sportfish at Los Suenos in Costa Rica had their cockpits full of fuelbladders for the trip back to the U.S. Their exhausts were completely submerged at the dock!

You must hire a pilot to be on your boat (and helpers) to go through the canal and across Gatun Lake. They made us hire 4 guys and a pilot on a 120'. It only takes the better part of a day to cross, so it's not bad.

Dockwise would ship your boat to FL for probably about $1k/ft.

Either way, there's no cheap way to get a boat from the west coast to the east coast.

I'm thinking this boat carries 1800 gallons. Would that be enough to get me between pumps at displacement speeds?

What do they charge for pilots and helpers for a 70 footer?

I checked on waterborne transportation a while back but I don't remember it costing a grand a foot. If that's the case I may check into cutting it in half and stacking it .

Obviously, I'm going to have to do my homework to calculate transportation costs vs finding something else closer to home. At a minimum I'll bring that into the equation when I explain my lowball offer.

 

[ThirdHatt]

I'm thinking this boat carries 1800 gallons. Would that be enough to get me between pumps at displacement speeds?

What do they charge for pilots and helpers for a 70 footer?

I checked on waterborne transportation a while back but I don't remember it costing a grand a foot. If that's the case I may check into cutting it in half and stacking it .

Obviously, I'm going to have to do my homework to calculate transportation costs vs finding something else closer to home. At a minimum I'll bring that into the equation when I explain my lowball offer.

Range shouldn't be a problem, but on a trip like that you'd be silly not to spend a few hundred more to have a nice bladder or two for extra insurance.

I can't remember, but I think it cost us like $2500 for the day, so it may cost you $1500 or so, just for a rough guess.

Transportation costs are THE biggest part of a west coast boat purchase. That's why most buy in FL. I know a local couple who sold their Fleming 55 in FL and went to the west coast to buy a Hatt 58LRC. They got there and were disapointed, so they bought a Cheoy Lee 61LRC and are cruising California to Alaska for 18 months, then headed through the canal back to the gulf.

You've got ALOT to think about!

 

[luckydave215]

Shipping to/from the west coast costs a fortune. That's why I bought my boat on the west coast. The boats in Florida were cheaper, but paying a lot more for one on the west coast "cost" the same.

 

[Freebird]

Oh well, you can't have your Hatt and drive it too. Like I said, I've got a lot of homework to do before submitting an offer that I'll be sorry I made when something local pops up.

However, if we all waited for that ultimate deal, none of us would own a boat or be married. Hey, maybe waiting for an ultimate deal aint such a bad idea after all!

 

[MikeP]

A minor point which probably doesn't matter since you could take the boat to a port in Mexico or Canada - Dockwise and Yachtpath are non-US carriers. Therefore they can't pick up and deliver a boat to US Ports. They can pick up OR deliver the boat to the US but not both.

 

[Freebird]

A minor point which probably doesn't matter since you could take the boat to a port in Mexico or Canada - Dockwise and Yachtpath are non-US carriers. Therefore they can't pick up and deliver a boat to US Ports. They can pick up OR deliver the boat to the US but not both.

I wasn't aware of that, thanks for the info. Maybe the Costa Rica departure Paul suggested would be the way to go. It would be a shame not to explore some western waters while the boat was in the area even if I do have it shipped back to FL. I'd want to do that anyway to get a feel for the old gal. I'll definitely take a guy with me to survey the heck out of those engines before plunking down the cash and heading into the wild blue yonder. I doubt I'll buy this one cheap enough to take a chance on having to major 12V71TI's amongst other things.

I still haven't done the math, but from all indications it may be cheaper to drive this thing home, and a helluvalot more fun. I've got more time than money these days, and my Garmin GPS is still in the portable stage with all the built-in charts just itching to go someplace different. Money will still be the deciding factor though.

Can't wait to hear the critics review on a maiden voyage from CA to FL on a "new" boat. I caught hell for leaving New Port Richey for the Bahamas/Keys . I'll be banished if I attempt a trip through foreign waters. Maybe I'll throw on an extra 1,000 rounds of .223 for that trip and those pesky critics!