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Reviews of different Hatteras yachts for live aboard?

Discussion in 'Hatteras Yacht' started by patch, Jan 24, 2011.

  1. Capt J

    Capt J Senior Member

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    Both Marinco and Hubbel sell 50 amp cords and their standard length is 50' that they are sold in. So one would either need to hook 2- 50amp cords together to make a 75' distance, or have a special cord made. Not to mention a 50amp 50 foot shorepower cord is heavy to lug around to start with. A 75' cord would be unbearable.
  2. NYCAP123

    NYCAP123 Senior Member

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    Viking keeps about $1M parts inventory in NJ.
    When dealing with 50 amp cords a cablemaster is a backsaver. I'd consider it a must have item.
  3. Pascal

    Pascal Senior Member

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    Hatteras redesigned most hulls starting in the early 80s increasing the beam. again, Yacht world and the brochures on Sam's will give you accurate info. the 54 and 56MY for instance have the wider beam.

    As mentioned earlier, I was impressed with that viking 63 i took to the bahamas ealier this month. parts are rarely an issue on Hatts (or other boats) since most stuff is really off the shelf or comes from the system manufacture (Cat, DD, Onan, Hynatic, etc...)

    a big plus on Hatteras (and Viking) over Cheoy Lee are the fiberglass fuel tanks... they will last as long as the hull, unlike alum or steel.

    viking may stock a lot of parts in NJ but many if not all their 80s vintage MY, all the way to 1990/1991, where actually built by gulfstar in St Pete. Not sure how the part situation was handled after they purchased Gulfstar. One thing I found is that they dont' seem to have the built data like hatteras has, the owner of that 1990 63MY hasnt' been able to get electrical and plumbing diagram from viking. Hatteras on the other hand can still supply blueprints for most of the boats they built, as far back as the late 60s.
  4. wsdemmer

    wsdemmer New Member

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    My wife and I have looked at the Chris Craft, Cheoy Lee, Viking 63, Defevers and have settled on a Hatteras. We are purchasing one in Ft. Lauderdale that was originally a 61 model and was extended. It has a great rear entertaining area, Euro transom to get to the water and plenty of living space. It is an 1981 model that was extended in 2001 and is in great shape. It was the only boat that looked better in person than it did in the pictures. Access to the Cheoy Lee rear stateroom was more of a ladder. The Viking 63 was really nice with the aft deck but had a ladder to the swim platform. Loved the Defevers but did not have the living area that the Hat did. I surfed Yachtworld everyday and made several trips to Florida (West and East coast) to find the right boat. My wife walked on to our future boat and turned and said "this is the one". The 58' Hatteras was not quite large enough for us so the extended version with galley up was really nice. Good luck with your search.
  5. patch

    patch New Member

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    Best Live aboard

    We are still looking, but have decided we are getting a Hatteras. Since the boat will be over 10-15 years, I want the most support as possible.
    My friend has a late 1980's 53 with cockpit that is in good shape that I might consider. I find it a bear to back into a slip on a windy day, because you cannot see and it don't have bow thrusters.
    I think I will check on how much money and trouble it will be to put rear controls.
    Has anybody seen one with rear controls. Do you install them on the Aff Deck or the cockpit?
  6. Pascal

    Pascal Senior Member

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    I've backed many boats on 20kts day and never found the need for a bow thruster. when you back into a slip, the bow as nowhere to go but follow the rest of the boat, obviously assuming we're talking standard slips with wooden pilings... if anything, i found a BT to be a distraction more than anything else.

    the visibility is an issue but again a good stern cam will solve that problem.

    on a cockpit boat, i woudl still install the engine controls on the aft deck. the visibility aft will be the same but you are closer to the controls when moving from the helm. It may not seem like much, but on a windy day in close quarters, even an extra 5 seconds down the steps and in the cockpit can make a difference.

    the 70 i run (not a hatt) has a skylounge and no lower helm, but has engine controls on the aft deck, by the saloon door. visibility aft is excellent and i like the short move down the flybridge stairs.
  7. patch

    patch New Member

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    Aft deck controls

    It make sense to put the rear controls in the aft deck. The 53 Hatt I'm looking at does not have a lower helm also, so I will always be running in from the fly bridge.
    I was considering a Bow Thruster because not being an experience captain, I have been on boats where the wind caught the bow and without a BT, you couldn't bring the bow, back in line.
    My problem now is, I've always had good Bow & stern thrusters and became dependent on them.
    The last 3 times I backed my present boat into the dock, It was perfect.
    So, I'm getting used to mechanical shifting and no thrusters.

    Does anyone have any idea how much rear controls would cost on a 53ft.
    I would only need the shifters, because I don't touch the throttle anyway.
  8. patch

    patch New Member

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    We think we found our dream Live-a-board

    Thanks for telling me about Sam's Marine. We downloaded most of the brochures of the older Hatt's and my wife and I both love the 56 and 58 MY.
    So we are on a mission to find the best one we can.

    My next questions is, whats the best way to buy a used one. I doubt I can find one that has been fully restored and since I live in the bahamas, I don't want something that is a maintenance nightmare. I found one 56 that had 3400 hrs on each engine, which is too high for me.

    A friend visited me in the Bahamas from Calif. several weeks ago and told me about a friend of his who bought an old Hatt. and sent it to Bangkok to have it restored. He said that since personal property tax was so high in CA, people were buying old Hatts that still has a great solid hull and were on the tax roll for $100K and sending them overseas to be restored. They would end up with an new looking yacht for $500K. He said Bangkok was the largest refit place in the world, because wages were still $1.50 hr.
    Don't know if any of this true, but I'm going to look into it.
  9. Pascal

    Pascal Senior Member

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    a 53MY without a lower helm? that's unsual and not something i'd consider at all.

    the lower helm and side doors makes a huge difference when docking the boat since you're just a few steps away from your spring lines. no rushing down ladders, and rushing up the side deck. also, when it's raining or real hot, the lower helm is the best place to be.

    yes, a bow thruster can come in handy once in a while but you summed up the problem: becoming dependent on them! and the day they fail, you're in deeper trouble... anotehr problem with many BT set up is that they are not powerful enough when you really need it (strong wind) and by the time this becomes clear it may be to late to recover.

    on a 53, it shouldnt' be too hard to route control cables from the aft deck along the saloon wall and down into the ER. you'd have to look up the price of a set of controls and cables and figure a few hours of work. only concern may be the extra friction off all those mechanical cables but if the existing cables are in good shape it should be fine.

    indeed you rarely need "throttles" when maneuvring a 53 but occasinally you may need them. the labor/time involved will be the same to run throttle cables with the gears so i think i'd install both.
  10. Capt J

    Capt J Senior Member

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    I too would want throttles in addition to gears. You're looking at about $250 more for the throttle cables, and the price of an additional head unit. If you have a cockpit, mounting them in the cockpit would be the logical place in case you'd like to go fishing also.
  11. wsdemmer

    wsdemmer New Member

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    We are headed to Ft. L on Valentines Day to sea trial and survey our new home. The boat is a Hatteras 61 with a 14' extension done in 2001. The yacht apprear to be in great shape. I have Matt Jones and Stafford doing the survey and engine survey respectively. Knowing that the props and engine at at the original location for a 61' what is everyones opinion on adding a bow thruster? I know my pivot point is not at the rear but I am not sure how this will effect docking. Is this just something that I learn to discover how it operates differently or would I be greatly assisted by the addition of a BT. Everyone please chime in.
  12. K1W1

    K1W1 Senior Member

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    Hi,

    A BT will no doubt help your manoeuvring.

    A retractable Stern Thruster mounted as far aft as possible will more than make up for your props being so far from the aft end for tight in manoeuvres.
  13. Capt J

    Capt J Senior Member

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    I've run several Hatteras' and other yachts with extensions. A 14' extension is quite a bit on a boat that size. Most extensions are no more then 10'. Did they put larger rudders on it? When you split the engines the whole boat will move more sideways rather than pivot. A bow thruster would be a very good addition. The biggest thing is the detriment in handling in a following sea and performance based on fuel balance. You really want to keep the cockpit tank full, or near full......It counteracts the bouyancy and change in center of gravity created by the extension. In a beam sea or head sea handling is pretty much the same.....

    It should have a lot better displacement speeds.......Speed at cruise will vary several knots if you don't draw fuel from the right tanks and the boat is too stern heavy, but if you pay attention to your speed, you can valve it from a different tank when you notice it start to drop off......
  14. NYCAP123

    NYCAP123 Senior Member

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    When you extend, especially as much as 14' you have a unique craft. Captain J's post gives you a good idea about some of the variables. You'll really have to feel this one out yourself. Make sure your sea trial covers as many rough conditions as possible. Don't just take a tour of Pt. Everglades, if you get my drift. Certainly though a BT and/or ST will help in close quarters. I'd personally try to locate past captains of the boat to get their opinions of her handling, and bring an experienced captain along on your sea trial.
  15. JWY

    JWY Senior Member

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    You're in great hands with Joe Stafford. Be sure to ask questions - he'll tell you everything you want or need to know.

    Judy Waldman
  16. Capt J

    Capt J Senior Member

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    Matt Jones is very qualified and knowledgable as well, and have done a couple of surveys with him as the surveyor.
  17. wsdemmer

    wsdemmer New Member

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    Thanks for the input. I was concerned about the 14' extension. It appears that the owner did it right although it does exceed the rule of thumb about percentage of extension. It does have larger rudders at the original location and the stabilizers have 6' fins. Had not thought about a stern thruster but could see why it would come in handy. Hopefully it goes well at the seatrial and survey.
  18. wsdemmer

    wsdemmer New Member

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    Went through survey and seatrial. Twice I considered stopping the survey and calling it quits. Ran into moisture in some of the extension frames where the yard did not properly seal the supports and they had a little water in them. The engine survey also came up with cross hatched cylinders and slight corrosion on the cylinders from not running the engines at operating temps (boat did not leave the dock for a year but run in place). Both times I decided to continue. We hauled the boat and then found the extension had blisters into the laminate. We are in the final stages of negotiations and we are close to sealing the deal. I dropped my offer because of high time generators (10,000 hrs) that were previously unknown to me or my broker and the engines were 700 more hours than advertised. Sent the survey list back to the owner with primary and secondary issues that I want addressed and we will see in the next couple of days. I will keep you posted if interested.
  19. chesapeake46

    chesapeake46 Senior Member

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    I'm interested.... Thanks.
  20. wsdemmer

    wsdemmer New Member

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    Well, all that is left is for the seller to sign the final agreement. In the agreement he has agreed to redo the bottom where the extension was done and fix the other blisters at the balance of the boat. The owner has really been good about giving in on a lot of secondary items that were deferred maintenance. In the end he came off about 33% of the asking price and agreed to help teach me the yacht and give me dockage for up to three months if needed (he owns the slip). The owner is really genuine and is sad to see his boat be sold but financially he is ready to part with the boat. 75' is a lot of boat but when I was at the helm it really did not feel that large. Anybody have any info on the type of anchors that Hatteras owners have switched to instead of the old danforth? I want to get a second anchor and was thinking Rocna or Ultra. Any recommendations?