My boss is in the market for a large sportfisher and has come down to one of the late 90's or early 2000 model 65's or 70 with enclosed bridge. With the economy the way it is they are almost equally priced depending on what they are powered with and the condition/updates of the boats. Do any of you have a specific reason for or against one of these models? He plans on taking the boat from the US gulf coast to the virgin islands and central america fishing. There are some great deals out there on these boats right now and we are trying to take advantage of the market conditions and make the purchase in the next few months. Any info would be greatly appreciated. isaac
A friend of mine has a nice Hatteras 65 convertible for sale in Costa Rica. She's listed with a broker here - 1989 Hatteras 65 Convertible Power Boat For Sale - www.************** Let me know if you are interested and I can put you in touch with the owner.
the 65' Hatteras is definitely a more superior vessel. Sure, the 70' is bigger and can be bought for cheap, but there's a reason for that. the 70' footers roll WAY too much, and I even heard it's so severe that the boat could even capsize if the seas are bad enough. Not sure if that last bit is true or not that's just what I've heard....but I can definitely tell you the rolling on the 70' is pretty bad. the 65' on the other hand is a fantastic vessel in comparison in terms of performance.
Bizarre as they are virtually the exact same boat except for the 70 being stretched at the cockpit a few feet. I never cared for the 70, the boat never ran the way IMO it should have. Hatteras tried to fix this buy adding those massive wooden rails just above the chines, even still, the boat still ran awful.
Won't any boat capsize if the seas are bad enough? You might want to take a look at the 65' Viking enclosed bridges as well.