In market for mid 1980's Hatteras or Viking Motor Yacht

You may want to use the search function here on the forums as that question has been asked a ton o times.

Nice choice of boats. We live aboard. We started our search looking for older Hatts and Vikings but ended up finding something different that worked out great for us. Don't be afraid to broaden your search to other builds that might come up on your radar.

You'll get a wide array of responses about the expenses question. Some will be snotty and spew "If you have to ask you can't afford it." Others will give you a super low ball figure, but will only cover mandatory maintenance stuff and not the other stuff you will still *want* to do. So, a lot of it is a matter of standards. Keep in mind you don't ever save any money deferring maintenance.

The initial price of a boat is just the entry fee. Keep a reserve kitty for incidentals. Here is a breakdown of some of our expenses for my 70 footer off the top of my head. I'm sure I'm forgetting stuff but I don't really keep a budget.

- Docking + Elec. + Water: About $2200/month (we live aboard with kids so we use a lot of electricity. 9 tons of A/C cooling, boats are less efficient)

- Diver: $200/month (you can stretch this out depending on how much growth you have). Also new, fresh bottom paint is more effective and growth is slower.

- Haul/bottom paint: About $5000/ every 2 years. This includes other stuff like zincs.

- Insurance: About $6k/year, but I'm down in the Keys full time. Insurance cost is hugely variable depending on location, experience, and vessel condition. Most guys up north are "boxed out" during hurricane season and need to be north of Savanna GA. You will save thousands if that works for you. Also, if you plan on cruising the Bahamas/Florida in the summer you can get a rider for your trip.

- Fuel: I don't classify this as an ownership expense, but you need to keep the boat moving. The more you run the boat the less machinery fails. I know the last part defies logic, but it holds true. Figure out where you want to cruise to. Find out what your boat's cruise fuel burn is. Do the math. Double it. We do a handful of weekend trips every year, one or two week long trips every year, and one long 6+ week Bahamas cruise every year. Our boat is a trawler/LRC by design and burns about 11GPH cruising at 9 knots. We run at least one generator practically full time. We burn between 3,000 and 4,000 gallons. The cost of diesel like everything else is variable, between when we've had a fuel truck deliver wholesale, to filling up in Staniel Cay.

- Detail/Cleaning: I'd imagine you'd want at least a yearly detail (thousands of dollars) and a cleaning every month or two (hundreds of dollars). If your boat is looking a bit dirty and you see some black streaks are you going to whip out the deck brush and scrub it, or are you going to call your detail guy and schedule a cleaning?

- Oil changes/service: I'm not clear what mine cost since I always end up throwing in some other mechanical work with it and I don't feel like going through invoices. I'd pencil out a couple grand per year.

- Repairs: Depends on the condition of the vessel and the alignment of the sun, moon, and stars. Seriously anything from replacing a broken dishwasher to replacing old canvas to expensive failed machinery. Generator injection pump rebuilds, circulation pump replacements, steering ram rebuilds, watermaker service, yadda yadda. The more you can do yourself (if you do it right) the less expensive it will be. Mechanics run between $80 to $100/hour here. Don't expect a boat to be like a car. You don't just hop in and turn the key. Stuff breaks.

I'm sure I'm missing some items, but the pattern is clear. Everything is variable. Wish I could give you a solid number, but with boats those simply don't exist.

I'd like to add that when all is said and done, there is nothing like living aboard. Dockmates at our marina are some of the coolest people we know. Snowbirds show up yearly and its great to catch up with old friends. Most people enjoy being near the water, looking at it from the land. For us we need to be *on* the water, surrounded by it. You don't watch storms pass by, you experience it as the boat tugs on the lines. We just feel more connected to what matters living aboard.

Cruising in your HOME is amazing. Your toothbrush is where it goes and you have everything you need with you, but you look outside and you're surrounded by new scenery or gin clear turquoise waters in the Bahamas. You are at home in a different country. We have had vacation homes, but nothing is like being home while traveling.

Good point... I've replaced 5 of my 7 stand alone air conditioning units so far. The old units were 20+ years old though so I just wait until one starts acting up and pop in a new unit instead of calling the refer guy. The guys up north probably don't run theirs so hard.

Edited to add: My buddy that runs a 82 foot Broward has replaced the all the air handlers once and both chillers three times over the past 5 years. That was a lot of expense for just air conditioning crap. All the result of shoddy installers and nitwit manufacturers.

Pascal, I'm also in Miami and interested in having some options, which yard do you use ?

I run a 1981 56 Hatt, and I highly recommend them as a comfortable live-aboard and cruiser. If you're interested in such, probably one of the best recently came up for sale (a 1984). It's captained by one of our members. http://www.yachtforums.com/index.php?threads/1984-hatteras-56-motor-yacht.24129/#post-210055
It's the most expensive currently on the market but I'd say it's worth it, having just been refit. When my boss was shopping, Nightingale and the one we bought were our top two contenders, and I know what we've put in since between upgrades and repairs. On these boats I consider every dollar the bosses put into them worth it.

Take a look at the Sea Deuce thread here in the sportfish section; we've replaced many of the a/c units/air handlers and other items which may fail. I live aboard when the boat is in NY, the boat can be seen almost any time in Palm Beach Shores.