I know I’m late to the party on this thread, yet it popped up during some forum search or other, and I can’t help but throw another $0.02 into the pot.
IMHO, Hatteras had two distinct “lines” - the Sport-Fishers and the Motor Yachts.
In the 60s-70s it developed those lines, and outright OWNED them in the 80s.
Viking, Rybovich, Cabo were/are the chief competitors in the SportFish market; a market Hatteras continues to try to keep itself in.
Back in the day, a Hatteras MY could hold its head high along side Burgers and Browards.
I think of Ocean Alexander & Pacific Mariner as the primary competitor/leaders in the MY division, today. Hatteras long ago abandoned any pretense of playing in that area. (Flemming, Outer Reef, Marlow and G.Banks [Alaskan] are - to me - a distinct sub part of the MY group; one where the LRCs lived.)
The thing (to me) about OA and Pacific Mariner is that they have kept true to the look and feel of the brand. You can spot one from across the harbor; even when it is a Gen 3.0 version of the granddaddy yacht.
Hatteras did that with the 2000-era 75 MY & CMPY.
You can see the roots of Hatteras in those yachts. From across the harbor.
Updated, sleek, “modern” without becoming Euro-ized.
Then it abandoned the “Brand.”
And screwed the pooch.
Could (should?) Hatteras attempt to return to the MY arena?
Could (should?) it try to “go back” to the ‘modernized’ design?
If it were my company?
If I won the lottery (the BIG one) would I try that?
Yes, I believe I would.
If Pacific Mariner can do it, Hatteras can.
Yet I expect that such a multi-million dollar investment is outside a Board of Directors’ comfort and it will never happen. Too bad.