HI, I am looking for some advice from you all who are much more experienced than I am when it comes to a Hatteras. I have the oppurtunity to purchase a 1971 Hatteras Yachtfish for $40,000. It is in ok shape. Two of the big things I can see is the lower helm station throtles and wheel have been disconnected and is this something I can fix or is it a more complicated job than what I think it is? Also it has 2 gensets which neither work and the owner says it would cost about the same as buying 1 new one to have both rebuilt. One is a 18k and the other is a 14 k both are northern lights. The interior has been redone and the engines run fine with no smoke coming out of either. They are detriot 8v71t's with about 2200 hrs on them. The gelcoat looks good with a small crack here and there but nothing major. Electronics may need upgrading a bit. So I am open minded here, I dont want to jump into something that might be over my head. But I also know It is a fantastic price and I dont want to miss out on a steal. Any opinion with be helpful. A survey will cost me about $1100.
The 2200 hours on the 871's is probably SMOH. Since you're in Fl. I doubt you'll get much use from a lower helm station. Don't bother fixing it. Both gens being shot indicates someone hasn't been keeping up with the boat for a while. Don't bother fixing them. One new gen should be fine for an old 41 Hat. I'd expect this to be a bit of a project boat, but for 40K it sounds OK. A survey is a must. Absolute. We recently sold a boat to a guy who claimed to be quite the mechanic. He did his own survey. Over the next couple of weeks he called asking about things that he easily should have checked out. Buyers always wear rose colored specs. The surveyor will open your eyes. Good luck.
I ran a 1979 58' Yachtfish for about 4 years, it is a well built boat and would recommend one. They have a great range, are built really solid, and roomy. Every single 53' MY or 58' YF built had only 1 generator. The one I ran had a newish 16kw Northern lights and it handled everything with ease and is what I would replace both with (a new one). The motors should go around 5,000 hours between overhauls if taken care of. I would recommend fixing the lower station as it is very useful on long trips and in rough seas the flybridge may be a little wet. You'd need 4 new cables for throttle and gears (although the runs aren't that long from the lower station to the engine rooms). As well as probably a lower helm pump. It sounds like the person did the least amount of maintanence they had to. Definately get it surveyed, including hauling it and inspecting the bottom. I don't think you can go wrong with the price as long as the hull and running gear as well as engines are sound.
Previous Post billbinfla, there are some excellent posts on a previous thread. Do a search for mariog as a topic starter. He was looking for 58 in 2005 and he got several good responses which you may find helpful. Good luck Steelydon
