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New Hatt owner 61'/advice anyone?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Tawney1
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Tawney1

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Apr 11, 2006
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  1. OWNER - I own a Hatteras Yacht
Hatteras Model
61' MOTOR YACHT (1980 - 1985)
Hi Folks,

I just purchased a 1985 61' Hatteras which will have Ft. Lauderdale as its home (at least for sometime). Needs a little work (including a bow thruster and stabilizers), so if any of you "veterans" have any advice/suggestions for this new owner, I would love to hear from you, so give me a yell.... We have moved up, and this is the largest vessel we have yet owned.... Thanks, Paul
 
Tawney1 said:
...Needs a little work (including a bow thruster and stabilizers), so if any of you "veterans" have any advice/suggestions for this new owner, I would love to hear from you, so give me a yell....

Paul, I'm afraid I have no knowledge of your boat (except to say it's very good by reputation, but then again, what Hatt isn't?!), but I CAN say that both of your projects have had some recent discussions. Search back through the pages of the forums and you'll find plenty about each project you'll be working on. Congrats on the new purchase.
 
I own a 56 MY. Just a suggestion. Do not spend the dollars on a bow thruster. You will not need it.
 
Congratulations on your "new" Hatt. You probably have four major investments: Engines,genny,electronics,hull. I'd focus on them in that order.

Are you repairing the bow thruster and stabilizers or planning on installing them new? If the latter, you should be SURE that before you spend such large sums you are certain of you future boat use.

Better yet, wait a year before you add anything major unless prior experience has already convinced you it's a "necessity". A mega yacht captain told me " the bigger they are the easier they are to handle"...All ideas are just great before inception, but many turn out to be "irrational exuberance". For example, if you pull in and out of slips daily or weekly in troublesome currents a bow thruster may be a great aid. But it's totally unnecessary for cruising and anchoring. As for stabilizers, frequent use in open ocean might make them very worthwhile. Cruising in local inland waters makes them a fuel drag which adds nothing to your boating experience. For an annual crossing to the Bahamas they'll likely cost you over a thousand dollars a trip.

I'd first be a lot more concerned with insuring my main engines and genny were safe and sound. Make sure the mains turn up rated RPM at WOT. Run them that way for ten or fifteen minutes and carefully watch coolant temperatures. Ideally have somone in the engine room to monitor. Do a careful inspection while under load for leaks and use of an infra red thermometer to check each exhaust port temperature, inspection of fuel filter bowls for crud, changing filters as required, etc. Nothing will give you greater peace of mind than the following: salt water flow alarms and transmission oil cooler temperature gauges for your main engines, a genny coolant temp gauge and alarm in your salon, and spare impellers for mains and genny. Maybe an impeller puller...total cost under $1,500 if you DIY. Dirt cheap insurance. When were your raw water impellers last changed? At 500 hours I'd sure do it.

Also, how many hours since your engines were tuned?? If it's over a thousand hours or so, that's likely a worthwhile expenditure if you'll be running much. Under $50/cylinder. Maybe have the the genny valve clearances checked also. Maybe $200 or so.

The other thing you must do is use your boat...if you are experienced at handling so much the better; if not, use the boat and find out how to maneuver her. You'll never get the practical experience you need sitting dockside. Exercise everything on the boat...you'll find many things that don't work or work differently than you expect. Use your electronics: practice with GPS, radar, atuto pilot,etc. Don't wait til nasty weather/fog etc to find out how to use your electronics.

The above should take care of 95% of common problems on a new boat.
 
Congratulations! Great boat!

So the first thing to do is run her and have fun. You'll see stuff by just using her that we'd never think of.

If you don't have the original Hatteras manuals for your boat, get your hull number and call Hatteras. They can make you up a set of manuals, wiring diagrams and schematics for your exact boat for about $75.00.

Check all hoses for cracks or old age and replace them before they bust. This includes bilge pump hoses and head hoses.

Dry out your bilges at the dock and watch where water comes from, if any. Then do the same while running.

I'd check carefully for any "soft" spots on all decks. Around the winch, and all over the flybridge particularly. There are a number of threads on Hatts with water intrusion into the cored deck material which then gets mushy inside and needs to be dug out and replaced. If none are found, excellent, and then add to your eventual to-do list a resealing of the screws all over the flybridge (that hold the superstructure to the deck) and all around the bow pulpet, inside and out. This will prevent future potential problems evidenced by others here.

Also keep in mind that bronze pump-out tubes inside the holding tanks have a tendency to rot out about near the tank contents top. They look OK inside, but even samll air holes destroy the suction. If you think your holding tanks fill too soon, or if you don't think you're getting the full amount out when you pump out, you may need to replace the tank tubes with PVC. I don't know when Hatteras started using PVC pumpout tubes, but they don't rot out. Maybe yours already has them. See old threads on this one too.

Again, congrats on your Hatt purchase,

Doug Shuman
 
This is all excellent advice and borne out by my own experience and that of many friends. You buy a new to you boat and start thinking about the things you want to add/change. Then the boat, which is in charge since minute one, announces to you one way or another what you are REALLY going to be buying. I would spend a few months learning everything and getting the rhythm and sense of this particular vessel before I began changing anything. You will find plenty of things that just need repair/replaced in the process of getting her all squared away. Do all that first, and once you are comfortable and familiar with her, start thinking about things you need or want to change. Have fun, 6ls are really classy boats.
 
YEP to all the above. When we bought Brigadoon, one of the first things I HAD to have was the latest, Hi tech autpilot to interface with the GPS - like I put in my last boat. In researching I found a couple that seemed suitable. Now, nearly 2 year later, I have yet to replace the original 1980 Raytheon Neco AP. It does what I need it to do and works just fine (especially after going through all the connections and cleaning/Corrosion X-ing them). I MAY replace it someday but now I laugh at myself for initially determining that its replacement was important!

So, as Jim suggests, let the boat tell you what it NEEDs and give it and yourself a bit of time to let the "What I want's" settle out. I'll also heartily agree with the advice to ensure all the important stuff is right. Rest assured that you will find plenty of stuff that the surveyor didn't, some of it probably quite critical. I'm still finding things!
 
Good work Paul. Congratulations!

Captned
78 46 SF
 
Forgot to mention one simple basic: check all batteries (after letting them sit without charge for 24 hours) with a hydrometer. If they are sealed, have a load test done.
 
Congrats on the new 61 in your life. What a nice, comfortable yacht that is. As far as a yard in Ft Lauderdale for the projects that you mentioned, I have heard some good things about Cable Marine. Ft. Lauderdale presents many choices, and bad news travels much faster than good news. Its a good idea to shop around a bit. Ask around the docks for in person, recent experiences. On this forum, bad reports tend to be non-specific for legal reasons. Good news is always welcomed. We're interested to hear how your projects progress. Good luck and keep us informed. Oh yes, photos- We love to see photos! ;)
 
Congrats on the new boat!! I think you will find the 61' MY handles very predictably - I can't see investing in a thruster unless you are docking in significant cross currents often. Just remember, idle rpm for manuvering and take your time. Keep the wind on your nose. You'll use the pilothouse helm the most - you have very limited visibility to either side from the flybridge due to the 18.2 beam. She is wide. Your pilothouse helm is 1/3 of the way aft, 2/3 of the boat remain behind you, easy to forget when your stern starts to drift. Enjoy!!

Bear'
1984 61' MY Strategic Plan
 
I agree with Bear. Take some time to get to know her before you start making major changes.

FYI: I managed the refit of a beautiful 1997 70' Hat CPMY last winter. One of the many projects was a Vetus bow thruster installed by Florida Bow Thrusters at Jarrett Bay Boatworks in Beaufort, NC (GREAT GUYS, VERY PROFESSIONAL, AND GREAT SERVICE!!!). The total bill for the install including haul-out was around $17K. I was skeptical of the Vetus at first due to my experience having been mostly with hydraulic thrusters but it has proved itself many times when squeezing the boat into tight spots with wind and current.

Congrats on the new boat!


http://www.floridabowthrusters.com/
 
Thanks everyone for sharing your wisdom and experience. It is much appreciated!!
 

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