Is there a bad Hatteras year(s)?

[johngalt]

This may seem like a crazy question for this forum , but I know that both Chris-Craft and Harley-Davidson went through ownership periods where the quality of their products really suffered . Was there a corresponding period for Hatteras ? I am thinking of moving up to a 48'/52' sportfish and the best prices for me are of the mid 80's vintage . Are they of the usual hatteras quality ? Also , how are the Detroit 8v92's . Thanks for any input . Bruce

 

[johngalt]

Two other questions : What could one expect for fuel/dockage costs to bring a 52' sportfish from south Florida to eastern Long Island ? How many hours are acceptable on 8v92's ?

 

[stormchaser]

If you run her nice and slow, around 8-9 knots, you can likely get CLOSE to 1 mile per gallon...so figure out your mileage and that's your fuel use.

 

[Sparky1]

Two other questions : What could one expect for fuel/dockage costs to bring a 52' sportfish from south Florida to eastern Long Island ? How many hours are acceptable on 8v92's ?

Hey Bruce, let me know if you need some help moving that thing north for YankeeFest. Are they the 735HP 92's?

 

[johngalt]

Thanks for the offer Randy . I will certainly take you up on it if I need to go to Fla. for the boat . Right now I would prefer to get one closer to home . There is one in Mass. with the 735hp TA's that you are refering to but most of the boats seem to be equipped with 675hp TI's . I do not know the difference . Mechanics is not my speciality . Bruce PS : I don't know that this purchase will happen in time for the rendezvous .

 

[stormchaser]

With the same size, higher hp generally means shorter life. The general rule is if it is more than 1 hp per cubic inch...run away. on an 892 that would be 736hop. That's not to say 725 is great, you are really close to that line. I'd bet time between majors on the 725 hp ones is far less than the others...

I question I would have is...how important is speed to you? The extra 200 hp will help with speed at the cost of fuel burn and longevity.

 

[Sparky1]

The difference in a nutshell will be bigger turbos to make bigger power and fewer hours between rebuilds.

 

[johngalt]

The one in Mass. , which is the closest that I have found has the 735hp TA's with 220 hours SMOH . It also has a tower which I could do without , but I would be glad to save the expense of the journey from the Southeast. Stormy , I personally could care less about the cruising speed . Anything I get will be a big step up from my 1966 41c with 8v53's that cruises at about 16 knots . A 20 knot cruise would seem like a race car to me . B

 

[johngalt]

Oh yeah, does anyone know the displacement for a mid 80's 52'er ? BoatTrader.com omits that spec .

 

[Red Hatt]

I surveyed a 52 1986 called tripple trouble over a year ago with 892 and it was owner agent and he lied about eveyrthing. When we went out on sea trail the port engine turbo caught on fire. The engine he said that had been prof. rebuilt--- come to find out he and his brother tried to rebuild it. The trans. were both bad also. It looked dolled up but it was junk.

 

[robertm]

Ed Mc Knew (Powerboat Guide) reports displacement at 55,400.

 

[Walter P]

Bruce, Some specs for you...

52 C. Built from 1984-1991 Approx 200 units built. Bare Wt was 55,400 lbs. Fuel 1,068 gals, Water 188 gals, Draft 5 ft, Beam 16'4". Cockpit has 153 sq ft. Factory new with 8-92 DD at 720 HP (735 not listed as having been available) cruised at about 23 K and top speed approx 26 K.

Be aware that the hull sides are Balsa cored and the bottom is solid glass. This means that you need a good surveyor to be sure that you didn't get any water intrusion into the core. The two stateroom option had a galley down with the three strm model having a galley up.

I hope this information is helpful to you.

Walt

 

[Bertramp]

If you decide to look in FLA., please give a hollar ... we know all of the same folks from 3 Mile Harbor to Sag ...and I would be glad to poke my nose in some bilges with ya.
I think you were rafted with "growler" at last yr's boat party ... I was the 45 to your stern.

 

[Sparky1]

Bruce, Some specs for you...

52 C. Built from 1984-1991 Approx 200 units built. Bare Wt was 55,400 lbs. Fuel 1,068 gals, Water 188 gals, Draft 5 ft, Beam 16'4". Cockpit has 153 sq ft. Factory new with 8-92 DD at 720 HP (735 not listed as having been available) cruised at about 23 K and top speed approx 26 K.

Be aware that the hull sides are Balsa cored and the bottom is solid glass. This means that you need a good surveyor to be sure that you didn't get any water intrusion into the core. The two stateroom option had a galley down with the three strm model having a galley up.

I hope this information is helpful to you.

Walt

I ran a SR (just for you Walt) 500 Dancer with 8V92TA's quite a bit up here with 735 HP versions, and it was God awful on fuel. Best I can remember, that would have been in '90 or '91. I can't imagine the extra 15 HP coming into play that much in terms of speed or durability.

Bruce, I know I sound like a broken record, but if you really don't need speed, check out Al Scarborough's 53C. It's in the for sale section on here.

 

[johngalt]

Thank you Walter , I was concerned about the quality of construction and now you have made me wary of this model . Having become used to a solid 1" + thick hull I don't know if I would like a balsa cored hull . Anyone have any thoughts on this subject ? Also are boats pre-84 solid glass ? Randy , where is this 53 you refer to ? I did not notice one in the for sale section . Did I not go back far enough ? Bruce

 

[johngalt]

I have seen many 52's availible in the 1980 to 83 range . Are they better constructed than later models ? Please advice

 

[Sparky1]

Thank you Walter , I was concerned about the quality of construction and now you have made me wary of this model . Having become used to a solid 1" + thick hull I don't know if I would like a balsa cored hull . Anyone have any thoughts on this subject ? Also are boats pre-84 solid glass ? Randy , where is this 53 you refer to ? I did not notice one in the for sale section . Did I not go back far enough ? Bruce

Here's Al's boat.

http://www.samsmarine.com/forums/showthread.php?t=10618

 

[captddis]

Bruce, Some specs for you...

52 C. Built from 1984-1991 Approx 200 units built. Bare Wt was 55,400 lbs. Fuel 1,068 gals, Water 188 gals, Draft 5 ft, Beam 16'4". Cockpit has 153 sq ft. Factory new with 8-92 DD at 720 HP (735 not listed as having been available) cruised at about 23 K and top speed approx 26 K.

Be aware that the hull sides are Balsa cored and the bottom is solid glass. This means that you need a good surveyor to be sure that you didn't get any water intrusion into the core. The two stateroom option had a galley down with the three strm model having a galley up.

I hope this information is helpful to you.

Walt

The 720 and 735 are the same. Hatt rates it @ 720SHP and DD rates it @ 735 BHP. If you look at a 52 with TA's the valve cover will say" This engine was designed to operate at 0735HP @ 2300 rpm" .

 

[johngalt]

I appreciate all the input but I still have not gotten the info that I am looking for . While I realize that at a Hatteras site few would be willing to bad mouth the brand and I also realize that a bad Hatteras is still better than a great Sea ray or other type of second rate craft , my original question still stands unanswered : were there / are there years of manufacture better left alone . looking at the link Randy provided , I am reminded that I think that it was AMF's purchase of Harley-Davidson that lowered their quality . And my second question also needs some enlightenment re; are pre 1984 52'ers solid glass or also cored ? Bruce Randy , Is that 53' still for sale ? Where is it ?

 

[Sparky1]

Bruce, Al's 53C is still for sale and is located in Ft Lauderdale. As for your original question, there are no bad Hatts to my knowledge, and I can assure you that Al's boat being built during the AMF years had no impact on the quality.

I understand your thinking with the AMF/Harley thing, but the folks at Hatteras had more sense than to let AMF do to them what they did to Harley.