New Hatteras Classic Models!

[MarioG]

Jim,

I would love to see a new 58 Yachtfish and a new 58 LRC. Both with the option of Diesel/electric power.

*sigh

 

[Maynard Rupp]

Just go to yacht world and look at engine hours on some of the new style boats, I looked at 63 Sea Ray that only averaged 10 hour per year, and many others have extremely low hours. These are the dock queens that are literally floating condos. I would imagine that they never really get used much except for occasional short afternoon cruise. I guess that we are out numbered and the current market rules. It was a nice thought anyway.

Many folks wonder why almost all boats in the Great Lakes have gas engines. These boats almost never run more than 50 hrs./year. The extra cost of diesels for that little use is not smart. The weather in the great lakes keeps usage way down. Almost no one does any boating, except launching and delivery, until late May. By labor day things are winding down fast. Most boats are out by early October. Thats why we moved our 36C to Florida. It probably helps that both of my boys have re-located to Florida.

 

[Boss Lady]

I put over 300 hours just on my Fountain in 6 months and I am 2 hours from the coast, and I live in NC so we don't have great weather like they do further south. If you actually do something with a boat you are talking 5-8 hours a day, so you guys go to all that expense and trouble just so you can go out 5 or 6 weekends a year? You are dedicated I can say that. I would try to figure out how to have my boat somewhere I could actually use it. I feel fortunate now, realizing that you guys have it rougher than we do. But I will not be content until I can boat year round.

 

[SKYCHENEY]

Just go to yacht world and look at engine hours on some of the new style boats, I looked at 63 Sea Ray that only averaged 10 hour per year, and many others have extremely low hours. These are the dock queens that are literally floating condos. I would imagine that they never really get used much except for occasional short afternoon cruise. I guess that we are out numbered and the current market rules. It was a nice thought anyway.

If you want a floating condo, why buy a go-fast boat with no portholes or inside living space? It seems the floating condo really is a Hatteras MY. The best part of the Hatteras though is that you can still use it. Maybe those stinkrays are just so unfit for anything but calm seas that you can never actually find more than 10 hours per year that you can actually cruise them without getting beat up.

 

[Boss Lady]

Maybe I should clarify my statement, they are literally "Stationary" condos, unlike a Hatteras which is blue water capable and highly mobile. LOL

 

[SeaEric]

FWIW, The average here on the Chesapeake is 50 hours running time per season. With my current annual "boat overhead" that would equate to right around $450. per hour. Yikes! I need to own my boat longer and use it more to get my cost per hour to go down.

 

[Pascal]

"Problem is, even present or past 1510 owners could think of a bunch of improvements they'd want,"

you know, I really cant' come with any significant improvement i'd like to see in a modern version of the 53 MY. really... I mean that... at least nothing that woudl affect the character of the boat.

the layout is just brilliant. A big aft deck on the same level as a reasonably size saloon... 3 staterooms and heads with tons of privacy... galley down ? it's fine with me...

the only thing which i think is a little dated is the narrow beam so maybe the later versions woudl be the real dream boat !

speed ? maybe... but it's more of an engine issue than boat...

Hatteras did built some "classic" looking MY well into the 90s if I'm not mistaken, 60 or 70 footers, didn't they ?

 

[tomrealest]

Hatteras has an annual sales meeting in New Bern for the top Hatteras sales people from the dealers. At the end of the event the sales people have to fill out an extensive questionaire. They were asked several years ago if Hatteras would build the boat they wanted what would it be? The answer was the 53 MY. There was no close 2nd place. Hatteras told them it would never happen because they couldn't make money on it.

I think the answer has already been in this thread. You can buy a ragged out Hatteras cheap. If you redo it & If you'll use the boat for ten years, you won't get your money out of it but I think you'll get your money's worth!

 

[thoward]

I have to question if the primary reason they would not make money is the cost of modern engines and generators. On my 60' we have 2 25kw generators and the 2 12v71s. We only use 1 generator at a time, we switch back and forth to keep the hours close but we really only need 1 and that is in the Florida heat. The new engines are more powerful and such but is there not another alternative which is cheaper and will still get the job done?

 

[Maynard Rupp]

I have to question if the primary reason they would not make money is the cost of modern engines and generators. On my 60' we have 2 25kw generators and the 2 12v71s. We only use 1 generator at a time, we switch back and forth to keep the hours close but we really only need 1 and that is in the Florida heat. The new engines are more powerful and such but is there not another alternative which is cheaper and will still get the job done?

I think it is the same problem the auto industry has, and for that matter, most US manufacturers. Manufacturing costs, whether boats, engines, Gen-sets, or door latches, are prohibitive. The only ones that seem to be successful are the ones that get as much done in Asia as possible. Manufacturing plants in other countries, especially the Asian ones, don't have an EPA, an OSHA, UAW, CIO, or any other limiting groups. The US companies just csn't compete with that so they have to design all of their products around that problem. The old Hats were designed when labor and regulations were different. Those designs would be hard to make economically today.

 

[Boatsb]

What happened to the can do attitude?

We have some great minds here and some of us even built boats before. Why not build our own classics? Some of us are hands on types. Others I am sure are well versed in design marketing of finance. If anyone could put together a solution it us.

Any marine architecs on the board?

 

[Paul45c]

We're mostly all classic (read that, older) Hatt owners, so the hard part for me to get my head around conceptually is the cost to buy a new one compared to the range of dollars most of us have paid for our older used ones. I can honestly say that even if Hatt was today making my "dream" boat, I wouldn't pop for new. There's just no reason when there are so many quality older hulls out there with still-reasonable equipment on them.

Having said that, if someone was of a mind to shell out what they'd need for say a new Grand Banks or something, why not a more classicly designed Hatt like the 53MY? I can't believe Hatt would be so much less competitive. I think the calculus for them is that they can just make so much more on a 70+ footer, so why mess with a 53 again? They can justify a WAY higher sales price.

 

[SeaSwick]

I saw too many pop up and down things in the galley and salons at FLIBS, to name a few things that I feel are off base on a boat, Just wait until you have a problem with that. Outside of Hatteras and a few custom builders, the materials used are not up to the marine environment and deteriorate quickly, just go look at a 5 year old Sea Ray or other marque, and you will see what I am talking about.

As much as I agree with the ideas expressed in this thread, BossLady's quote really does sum things up.

Buyer ignorance & attitude by huge numbers of Baby-Boomers drive the boating industry. Disgustingly, "Build it right, or don't build it at all," has become a business model death-nell for a production or semi-custom company. Hulls may be light & strong, but eliminating rounded corners that can "save" devastating injury below has become a cost-saving item.

Scrambling around pre-hurricane(s) in the early 80's boating boom, found marinas virtually empty... not of boats, but of boat owners. Exastperated yard personnel were muttering "We called the owners & they wanted to know what all the fuss was about, they had insurance." People just don't care.

On the other hand "The Famous Hatteras Ride" is as much dependent on weight as its design. Resin-infusing a couple'a tons out of a Classic Hatteras hull design will prove to be a very disappointing disaster.

As a parallel, I've be on a '69 45sf with hot-rodded 6v92s and the ride was not only unstable, but extremely slam-bang "hang-on" uncomfortable. I wanted to cross out Hatteras & write Ocean Yacht on the sides in big red crayon... except there were no stress cracks or other broken things aboard.

New Classic Hatts with some more speed, but more importantly, the vastly improved operating efficiency of modern power & systems would be outstanding.

Let's not forget how Hatteras came to be in the first place. A guy wanted a boat that could take what-ever was thrown at it offshore.

 

[egaito]

Three years ago when I toured the Hatteras plant they said that the molds for the 43, 53 and several other models (maybe 58 too) were cut up and sent offshore for a fishing reef project off of North Carolina. <snip>

I've seen this marked on a chart somewhere. Was joking with someone about how much it would cost to raise them as salvage Didn't know they had been cut up...but heck, that can be fixed too.....

 

[egaito]

But I will not be content until I can boat year round.

Amen my friend!

 

[34Hatt]

I've seen this marked on a chart somewhere. Was joking with someone about how much it would cost to raise them as salvage Didn't know they had been cut up...but heck, that can be fixed too.....

All you need is a hull of the boat you want to duplicate. Clean it get it real smooth and shinny wax it and pull the mold. Oh yeah and flip it over. So who wants to go in buisness . Actually I think if you change it by 15 % its not considered a copy and you can call it Class Hatt

 

[Freestyle]

I think the analysis is easier if you remember that Hatteras is one of many Brunswick brands which include Bayliner, Sea Ray, and now Tiara. GM has Pontiac, Chevy, and Cadillac and has moved customers up their ranks for years. I think from the Brunswick perspective they offer a complete line of product from affordable beginner to "my ultimate dream" status.

Our function as quirky owners of vintage boats is to keep old Hatteras boats looking and running good for 30 years or more. This helps sell the quality top end production product Brunswick still names Hatteras.

If history is any indication, these boats will be available for people in my income bracket in about 20 years. I just can't decide which one I am going to get then. But I bet it will be a great old boat.

Bruce
1976 43 DCMY
Freestyle
Tampa

 

[thoward]

I wonder what Tom Slane gets for a complete rebuild on a 53'er? There are so many old Hatts still out there if you can have one rebuilt for less than a what a new one costs then it does not seem it would be worth it to build new ones until demand outgrows supply.

How cool would that be...A classic Hatt worth more than its new counterpart.

 

[SKYCHENEY]

How cool would that be...A classic Hatt worth more than its new counterpart.

I already consider my 21 year old Hatt to be worth more than a new boat. I know I wouldn't trade her for anything else out there of the same size. Every new boat that I have looked at doesn't have near the room of my 53. There may be a few that have comparable quality (Nordhavn, Grand Banks), but in a 50-55ft model, they don't have 3 staterooms and 3 heads with separate showers. I would need a 65-70ft boat if I were going to duplicate her with a new one.

 

[Paul45c]

you know, I really cant' come with any significant improvement i'd like to see in a modern version of the 53 MY. really... I mean that... at least nothing that woudl affect the character of the boat.

the layout is just brilliant. A big aft deck on the same level as a reasonably size saloon... 3 staterooms and heads with tons of privacy... galley down ? it's fine with me...

the only thing which i think is a little dated is the narrow beam so maybe the later versions woudl be the real dream boat !

You've got lots of company in that view, Pascal, and believe me, I'm not knocking the 53MY design. But enough little things like an extra foot or two of beam, a little more bow flare to keep her drier , a little more headroom in the lower deck spaces, etc. would add up to at least subtle exterior design appearance.

Add in some other tweaks like different electrics (I don't Hatt will be in a rush to put 32v back in a modern yacht) and of course propulsion, and you've tinkered enough with the guts to differentiate her from the old classic.