What happens to these old girls as they are aging?

[night0wl]

Hi all,

Always admired the lines and lookes of Hatteras sportfishers and motoryachts. Now as some of these girls enter territory where they would be eligible for social security, i'm wondering what the future holds for these old Hatts. I've walked away from a few that I thought would be ok projects, after learning that they're just too much to take on vs. the price of boats ready to go.

After all, the hulls are still good. Just everything on the inside is ready to be ripped out and replaced. Is it going to be like those classic American Muscle cars that spiked in price then crashed as the Baby Boomer class started aging out/dying out?

So many of these boats are falling into the price range where dreamers or doofuses with no cash are buying them, but they dont sink thanks to their good construction. Whats the future hold?

 

[madhatter1]

There are 2 main categories. Ones well kept and ones too far gone. And then everything in between. My 34 was brought up to well kept condition and it went way downhill from there. But we are fixing all that. There is a price to pay. But at least we know the boat and engines well.

Out 46 was cared for new, fell a bit into neglect with one owner (including a literally destroyed engine), was acquired by a mechanic (from this forum), and was saved. It was well cared for since 2003. Then it came to us. I have literally everything working. Lots of preventive maintenance on the engines/gears. Try to do thing right, not just get by. We just has an engine seacock handle shear off. To me that means I am replacing the other 1982 seacocks all at the same time.

So what it comes down to is the boats leaning towards well kept are a good starting point. Then it's up to the new owner to maintain as well kept. It's not cheap but it pays dividends. They (any boat) go to hell quickly if not.

 

[SEVEN]

There’s nothing that time and money won’t take care of.

 

[SKYCHENEY]

When you look at the price of new boats, it makes upgrading an old Hatt look cheap. And when done right, you have a better boat than what you can buy new.

The problem is that banks don't finance that type of project so only those with cash on hand can attempt such a refit. Even those in the 1% are probably financing a new boat instead of taking on such a project.

Dreamers then buy these boats with great ideas and little resources. The results are butchered up boats that just get passed down to the next dreamer.

 

[night0wl]

When you look at the price of new boats, it makes upgrading an old Hatt look cheap. And when done right, you have a better boat than what you can buy new.

The problem is that banks don't finance that type of project so only those with cash on hand can attempt such a refit. Even those in the 1% are probably financing a new boat instead of taking on such a project.

Dreamers then buy these boats with great ideas and little resources. The results are butchered up boats that just get passed down to the next dreamer.

Don't you still have a 60 year old boat with relatively cramped quarters and an aging approach to boat's purpose? I dunno, I vacillate on whether its worth upgrading an old design to modern fit/finish. That being said, yes a modern big Hatt is well out of reach of a mere mortal. Only billionaires can play in that pool.

 

[Sadey]

I disagree with the cramped comment. At least as far as the 53-60 footers are concerned. That’s the size range we looked at when we decided to move up from our 40’. Very quickly we settled on Hatteras, not for the purchase price but for the quality and ride. That and the ability to refit and upgrade with off the shelf (like quality of course) equipment and furnishings. As others have mentioned, you get the most bang for the buck if you buy the right boat. However, the purchase price is only a starting point. Even a boat that has been cared for will be expensive to keep and upgrade. As long as you can afford to lose the money you put into the boat and you’re OK with that, the satisfaction of owning one of these beautiful vessels is well worth it.

One piece of advice that someone gave me, don’t buy the biggest boat you can afford, buy the smallest boat you can be comfortable on.

 

[madhatter1]

I 100% agree with Sadey. Also, we have plenty of room in our 1982 convertible. It’s all about layout. There are cramped old boats and cramped new boats.

 

[rsmith]

Like my dad used to say every boat is in a constant state of deterioration. When I was a kid every boat owner we knew did most of their own work. Now we have a generation of people who call a plumber when the float is stuck in their toilet at home. Same ones but one of these old boats and run them until everything is broken. Ridiculously low interest rates have brought a lot of people who shouldn’t own a boat into the new market also which further reduces the price of older boats. Your going to see a lot of these boats ending up in boat graveyards getting crushed

 

[Pascal]

The muscle car market, and classic cars, in general hasn’t crashed and isn’t about to crash. Some models may have dipped a little in a correction but overall prices are going up

I don’t know how many new boats you have been on but many have cramped quarters. A few years back I helped a friend look for a new 50 footer and looked at a few with him. I was surprised to see how much more space my old 53 has. And these were boat selling in the 1.3-1.5M range. For half of that you can repower a classic hatteras, new gens, new chiller system, stabs, new wiring, etc. The only area the hatt will lag behind, literally, is performance because of weight and hull shape. But that’s only until the going gets rough and most modern boats have to slow to a crawl

A lot can be done to update the layout incl replacing bunks with full size beds. That’s what I did on my 53 at the bow, after moving the galley up and aft… Having combined the master and VIP, I can guarantee you no sub 60 footer has master and master head that big.

But as Sky said, it has to be an effort and the owner has to be knowledgeable. Not for everyone. In the meantime, more and more will fall into disrepair…

 

[bostonhatteras]

The muscle car market, and classic cars, in general hasn’t crashed and isn’t about to crash. Some models may have dipped a little in a correction but overall prices are going up

I don’t know how many new boats you have been on but many have cramped quarters. A few years back I helped a friend look for a new 50 footer and looked at a few with him. I was surprised to see how much more space my old 53 has. And these were boat selling in the 1.3-1.5M range. For half of that you can repower a classic hatteras, new gens, new chiller system, stabs, new wiring, etc. The only area the hatt will lag behind, literally, is performance because of weight and hull shape. But that’s only until the going gets rough and most modern boats have to slow to a crawl

A lot can be done to update the layout incl replacing bunks with full size beds. That’s what I did on my 53 at the bow, after moving the galley up and aft… Having combined the master and VIP, I can guarantee you no sub 60 footer has master and master head that big.

But as Sky said, it has to be an effort and the owner has to be knowledgeable. Not for everyone. In the meantime, more and more will fall into disrepair…

Agree '69 Hemi charger north of 200K, that's a long way to fall.

Our hatteri are legitimate measurements for things like beam and length overall, far more representative of interior space than new boats. For instance my series one 45 is measured loa at 45' 1". If you measure the waterline length it is approx 3 feet shorter maybe less. Measure a modern 45' boat with a difference between loa and waterline length and you might come up 10 feet short. Thats a lot less interior space for the same 'sales literature' length. Plus, i dont find screws on the sole after every trip out.

 

[Captain Ralph]

The PC term is Recreational Income/expenses.
The Real term is disposable income/expenses.
Sadly, the industry has yet to finalize a PC plan for disposable FRP money pits.

 

[dar636]

I am always taken back to Hatteras when I see the small tankage on newer boats. When we travel with others they are usually surprised, especially at the water and black water capacities of our YF.

 

[Glory]

Many good points above. I own a 50 year old boat, my son grew up on it. He recently acquired a '69 series 1 45C. He is handy. If he wasn't it would be $erious challange. My son also grew up around the warm wood, fine carpentry doors, flat floors, ample head room, storage space and the weight needed when pushing through a rough seaway. Many production boats use small amounts of wood, as accents some times, plenty of plastic (sometimes it looks like wood) , less storage (yes they are using that for living space) and lighter, l do get the weight/speedconcern. And these differences are not wrong or bad just different.
I think younger boaters are just used to that type of construction and connect it with new. In the current disposable world the mind set is different. Not universally, but different.

I hope classic boats are still sailing when my grand children are on the water aboard their own vessels.

Maybe they will still be using Glory?

These older Hats are fine boats and have made many great memories for my family and many other families.

Looking forward to more memories as soon as I flush out the non tox in the spring.

 

[Sadey]

These boats have personalities. So much so I think she misses us as much as we miss here over the storage season.

 

[cww]

Don't you still have a 60 year old boat with relatively cramped quarters and an aging approach to boat's purpose?

In a word: No. If there is a modern 53' boat with half the usable interior space of my hatt out there I sure haven't seen it yet. That's the primary reason I picked this boat. It's got a huge amount of room compared to anything newer unless you go much larger.

 

[JD5652]

Don't you still have a 60 year old boat with relatively cramped quarters and an aging approach to boat's purpose? I dunno, I vacillate on whether its worth upgrading an old design to modern fit/finish. That being said, yes a modern big Hatt is well out of reach of a mere mortal. Only billionaires can play in that pool.

The quarters on my 1976 58 LRC are anything but cramped.

The MSR shower is about as big as the one in my first house.

 

[SEVEN]

These older girls are just fabulous. Thank you to all of you that spend your hard earned money to bring them back. The newer boats around 53’ sell in the millions with less room and style as the older Hats. Classic yachts that will be around for their 100th birthdays.

 

[zigzag930]

I'm with JD. Our 58LRC has more room than just about any new comparable sized boat I've seen. In fact, I wouldn't even trade if for a 65LRC. Just don't need more staterooms...

Been to FLIB a few times and unless I want to spend 20-30 times what I have invested in my LRC, there isn't anything else out there for me.

The other nice thing about these older boats is that the are easy to work on and find parts. I can't imaging trying to find a curved/molded dashboard to replace on a new boat 10 years down the road or other custom parts that are on these newer boats.

Finally, I'd have to trade in all my SAE Snap-on tools for "metric" stuff - No Way!

 

[MarioG]

When you look at the price of new boats, it makes upgrading an old Hatt look cheap. And when done right, you have a better boat than what you can buy new.

The problem is that banks don't finance that type of project so only those with cash on hand can attempt such a refit. Even those in the 1% are probably financing a new boat instead of taking on such a project.

Dreamers then buy these boats with great ideas and little resources. The results are butchered up boats that just get passed down to the next dreamer.

Sky, this was my exact same logic I used to determine that updating our boat was the most cost effective when compared to the price of a similar size and class of a new boat. we've owned our boat long enough to see it's mortgage paid off and depreciate in value. So in my mind the choice was clear, if we are staying in boating and enjoy our boat and its sentimental value, but do not want to pay for a new modern boat, then updating/refitting make total sense.

 

[Fanfare]

We spent 40 years cruising between Nova Scotia and island hopping in the far out islands of the Bahamas, often with as many as eight adults aboard, anchored out for weeks at a time. Although we were all younger then we never felt particularly cramped. The three cabins were great, the salon sofa bed only a morning inconvenience. (Use of the dinette area as a double did not work well as it separated all of us from our coffee.) Six is great, a cabin and bath for each couple. A dozen or so of our kids college friends at a time was a real experience! The 360 degree view from the salon, the several separated areas (aft deck, fly bridge, bow settees, etc.) for a quiet spot keep our boat from feeling small. We still manage to fit our kids and grandkids, who still fight for the upper berth, aboard. It's great that they want to come and see us.

I have spent time on several newer power boats (up to 75 ft.) which I felt did not have the flow of our Hatteras. Always bumping up and down stairs for cabins whose ports don't open, trying to make a bed in the bow with lowering head room and a deck narrowing into a point with no foot room. No side deck. Maybe a salon door on only one side which you have to use for docking. Plus so many are simply ugly in my view.

No question there have many new advances in comfort on new boats. Climate control is much better and quieter now. But so many systems are interconnected--if the GPS goes out it may take out the radar, depth sounder, fish finder, etc. I have two separate duplicated systems for everything on the fly bridge and the salon. When one goes out I can still get home. A nearby lightning strike in the Exumas took out all but my radar and the engines. Still got back. Try that with these new electronic models! I have four separate AC units with duplicate water pumps. Three self-contained heads. Back up fresh water pumps installed by Hatteras. All of these have broken from time to time. But the are mostly simple machines and I can often fix them. Or just use another. I have come home three times on one engine. Repairs on my Detroit Diesels are so much less that the required periodic factory maintenance on a set of the new MANs or other modern engines. Stabilizers? We no longer go out in weather like that.

These are great live aboard boats. I don't think there are many coastal cruisers like these being built today.