Looking for help becoming Hatteras owner

[HahnR]

Hello all, I've been the proud owner of a 1982 40 ft. Egg Harbor MY for 14 years that I was sure they would bury me in. But a little over 1 1/2 years ago we decided we wanted something with more room among other things that a bigger boat offers. I'm pretty dead set on a Hatteras, narrowing our search to a 53 - 61 MY. In the past year we have done a good bit of travelling, & been on just about every model between the 53 & up to a 70. Love the galley up & 4 staterooms of the 61, love the room, walk around side decks & aft deck on the 56's & series II 58's, love the cockpit on the 58YF, & love the layout & room on the 53ED. As with any boat, what you gain in one area, you lose in another. I could definitely appreciate the extra room in the engine rooms, galley, generator room, etc., as well as the higher capacities in all the tanks with the wider beam.
Are there any pros or cons for any of the models to watch for? 71 series vs 92's? We will mostly be running at displacement speeds, & I have read the thread Brian started about over propping. Has anyone else had success doing that? Can anyone owning a 53 confirm a dry weight? (Skycheney?) Our current marina can only lift up to 55,000 lbs. Anything over that & we will be making a 115 mile one way trip to a sister marina in the spring & fall for winter haul out. Not a deal breaker as they do have inside heated storage. Would really like a freshwater boat, so if anyone knows of something not already listed or someone who may be thinking of selling please let me know. Our decision will be based on condition, location, & price, most likely in that order. Thanks to everyone for the help you have already been the past year I have been lurking on the forum!

 

[bobk]

I can't offer anything on the larger vessels, but will provide a caution on vessel weight. We have a 48 Series I MY. Dry weight is listed at 44000 pounds, but our cruising weight is actually 53000 pounds. I'd think the 53 will be a lot more.

Good luck,

Bobk

 

[SeaWhisper]

HanaR,

I have a 1969 - 53' MY. I was out last year painting the hull. Weight with full water and 3/4 fuel was around 62500 pounds,

 

[luckydave215]

I realize it's a different boat, but I just completed a haul out using a brand new travel lift with calibrated load cells.
96,000 in the slings with half fuel!

 

[MikeP]

Our "perfect" boat would be the 58LRC! Sadly, they didn't make all that many and they seem to hold their price better than any other Hatt. If we had one, it couldn't fit in our covered slip anyway - too wide AND to too tall...

The one possible advantage of the 53 (or 58MY) over the others you mentioned is that the width will fit in most any marina slip that is long enough for the boat. The wider boats may have some trouble. Otherwise, I'd almost always go for the "bigger is better." I don't know if you've been on a 58 MY but despite the fact that it is the same beam as the same as a 53, it's a noticeably "bigger" boat as far as how it feels; more headroom and slightly larger spaces. When we were looking for a 53/58 back in '03 we were inclined to the 58 but at the time, the prices were such that a nice 58 was above our budget - we saw none that were acceptable for less than around 350K.

The 8V71s in the 53s SEEM to have a better reputation than the 92's that are used in some of the larger boats. One of the mech guys around the marina's opinion is that there are two kinds of 92's, those that have blown up and those that are going to. I can say that I know of at least 2 in our marina that have done exactly that. But that could easily be due to poor maintenance rather than some inherent weakness. Recently a guy at the marina grenaded a transmisslon which turned out to be because there was no oil in it...

 

[tomrealest]

During our search back in 2001 & 2002, we looked at over 20 53' MY & 58' YF. We went with the best 58' Yachtfish we could find with 8v71TI's and have been very happy with it. Ours weight with some fuel and water around 71,000 pounds. A year later we saw a 61' CPMY that really hit my hot button. After 15 years with the 58' Yachtfish, I am happy and satisfied. The master cabin is smaller than on the 53' because the cockpit is so large. The cockpit makes it easy for the Admiral to handle the lines and get on and off the boat. I think the extra 5' give the 58 a better ride. I would definitely have to have stabilizers. I think you would be wise to find a fresh water boat up north if you can. Based on what I have heard over the years, I would greatly prefer the 8v71's. Mine have been flawless and I have been aggressive on maintaining them.

 

[Boatsb]

The larger and wider boats are great. The 1510 boats are nice but I'd rather have the wider beam and certainly a stabilized vessel for cruising. Then again I have a 41c because it is lower and wider than the motor yacht and easier to handle. Rocks less and some to maintain. Plus you can fish.

 

[kjcampos]

Hi we just did a trip from Marathon Marina in Marathon Key FL. All the way north to the Toms River in NJ both on the outside and in the ICW and we have the DD 8V-92TIs and we ran our boat at various RPMs from our normal 1200-1350 8-10 knots to 1500-1800 10-12 knots with WOT for 5-10 minutes at end of the day and we kept a very accurate log and our fuel burn was less then 10 gallons an hour....oh yea and we had to run our 20 KW generator for 3 hours just about every day to recharge our inverter batteries....I felt our engines ran like champs we are very happy...

 

[Bill Root]

You don't mention having looked at the 1986-1990 54' MY. The classic model has a below deck lay-out similar to the 53, but just reversed. The ED model has a completely different lay-out with galley up and 4 staterooms down. The compromise is that it has no side decks and a very small aft deck similar to the 53 ED. The difference in interior space feel in the 54 compared to the 53 is dramatic. Nice, well maintained boats seem to sell in the mid to high 200's.

 

[HahnR]

Thanks to all who have replied so far. Sounds like all the models we are looking at will be too heavy for our home marina to lift so weight won't be the deciding factor. Joe, by my figures you're averaging better than a mile a gallon, as good or better than we're getting with a boat weighing less than half yours does. I would be very happy with that!
Bill, we have not been on a 54 yet. The admiral really likes the layout of the 54ED's we have seen on yachtworld. We were hoping to see one last month but the one we had lined up sold. I personally prefer the more traditional look, with wood everywhere, but I must say it appears to be a very interesting layout. I would like to see one in person before I would rule it out. From the pics we've seen, it looks like the salon is smaller than say a 53 ED, is that true?
We've been on a 58 Series I galley up, liked that layout and the aft deck. As far as docking & line handling, how does the aft deck of the 53 classic, 56 & 58 series II compare with the open aft deck (back porch) on the 53ED or 61? Docks up here are floating, so no pilings to tie to. That means getting off the boat, having someone already on the dock, or being pretty handy at throwing a loop around a cleat. I like the walk around side decks on the wider boats, does anyone find they would prefer more room in the salon vs being able to walk around the whole boat, washing windows, handling lines, etc.? Boating up north we don't need the added ventilation Pascal says you get near as much. We start in early spring 1st or 2nd week of April & go till the 1st week in Nov so we utilize inside space a good deal for a good 3rd of our boating season..
Like the layout of the LRC, but the ones currently listed are a little out of our price range. We really like the cockpits of the YF, but hate to lose the extra room in the master. We do hope to find something up our way here, Great Lakes or inland rivers

 

[saltshaker]

Are you sure the lift is 55,000 lbs and not 55 tons?

 

[HahnR]

No Jack, for sure 55,000 lbs., & that's stretching it since they widened the well and the travelift to fit. I think it's rated a 25 ton. Their sister marina about 115 miles away can lift 120,000 lbs so that's where we'll have to go for winter haul out. No bubbling allowed here, & I wouldn't want to since we live 45 min away from the boat

 

[Fanfare]

My 50MY has the same basic layout as the her successor, the 53MY. We love our big open afterdeck and spend a lot of time there. We have very wide side decks, no wing doors. Tossed the plastic window stuff years ago, but then we are a southern boat. A couple hulls after us Hatteras took six inches off each side deck to widen the salon one foot. This does make a big difference in cabin size and was continued for the 53MY. I have not checked this out on a later 50MY, but on the 53MY this widened deck pretty well eliminated all the storage spaces on each side of the galley and dinette which were beneath the deck. Hatteras compensated by building large cabinets over the counters which I find intrude into the galley space headroom.

 

[HahnR]

We've been keeping an eye on a the 1978 Series I 58 MY in Hilton Head, SC. I can't post the link because I'm 2 posts short

 

[HahnR]

Appears to be well equipped but no Naiads unless it's just missing in the listing. I didn't see the resevoir in the engine room pics either though. Also no arch

 

[HahnR]

OK, got enough now. Here's the link:

http://www.yachtworld.com/boats/197...377/Hilton-Head/SC/United-States#.V4fdDdQrLs0

Anyone know anything about this one? Thanks

 

[Bill Root]

I don't think the salon on the classic 54 is much if any smaller than the 53ED. Most of the 54 ED's were done in the light ash wood. Some folks like it, some prefer the darker Afromosia that is in most of the 54 classic style boats. You really should try to look at one. I know where quite a few of them are. Where are you located?

 

[HahnR]

Bill, we're located in Iowa. We're not opposed to travelling, we've done a good bit of it already. Definitely kissed some frogs! Been keeping an eye on the one in Destin, Fl., & the one in New Orleans. We haven't made it to the Louisiana/Texas area yet, were in Fl last August & haven't been back yet. Lately we've been concentrating more on the freshwater boats up north here. Do you know of any in our neck of the woods, Great Lakes maybe?