Hatteras LRC Mark I or comparable?

Hi,

I'm new to this forum and to trawlers in general.* My husband and I (and dog too) are* planning on a lifestyle change.* We want to liveaboard for a while, travel slowly along the east coast, possibly to the Caribbean.* We have done some research and the strong forerunner is a 42' Hatteras LRC Mark I.* Given our budget, we are looking at 1978-1980 models.* Unfortunately, we haven't been able to view one in our area yet, but we have viewed some other boats for comparison that we may also consider.

What we like about the Hatteras (atleast on paper and pics):* fuel economy,*full displacement hull for a more comfortable ride, seaworthy, fiberglass decks, fiberglass tanks, walk around deck.*

We have looked at comparable Grand Banks and Marine Traders (walkaround trawler), and while they have a similar feel, we are concerned about the teak decks of boats this old.* We also read that these boats may have problems with leaky windows.*

Also, how important is a stabilizer for any of the boats we are considering?

What are your thoughts/opinions on the above boats?* If you have any recommendations on other comparable boats, please let me know.* Thanks !

Welcome to the forum, I am sure you will get lots of suggestions here.

I think the Hatt42lrc is a good candidate. Your reasoning is sound, although some may argue if the boat has a full displacement hull.

For East Coast cruising I am not sure if stabilizers are absolutely needed.* It depends on whether you will have time to avoid bad days or if you*must push on regardless of seas and winds.

All boats need work, and older boats sometimes need quite a bit, it helps if you are handy. Otherwise a good deal can become a nightmare!

Good Shopping and keep posting.****** JohnP

Extra stabilization is perhaps useful for serious offshore work, not for 99% of the East coast.

The only ocean work on the East coast is the short hop from NJ to NYC harbor, maybe 40 -50 miles.

Hardly worth $20K + to install hydraulic fins and accept their maint and danger to the hull.

After you get used to the boat , the Carib , by the "Thornless Path" would be EZ choice.

Watch out for the Dom Rep, many cruisers swallow the anchor there!

Your should go on all kinds of boats and the best place is a boat show or better yet a Trawler Fest so you can go on and compare. Do not be concerned abut the brand name or even the price just do on them and see what you like.* *Also more in detail what/how you plan on cruising, dock or anchoring as that will have a great influence as to the capability and features. The more you anchor the more the boat will have to be self contained/capable so alternate power, refrigeration, sanitation, water tank/supply, ground tackle, dink and other things become more important.* Living in the warmer climes is a lot easier than the colder/rain/snow/windy climates and how the boat is out fitted.
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Since you are going to be living on the boat 100% of the time and cruising a less %, the layout/design/creature comforts maybe more important that stability/range.*** Do not be to concerned about brand name in an older boat as how the boat was maintained and its present condition is more important. Not having walk around decks is not as important as most people think. If you control the bow, stern and middle of the boat the rest of the boat will follow. **The advantage of a wide body is the full beam is used for living space.* You may find that the older long range boats tend to be longer and narrow which gives them better stability as stabilization was not common in the 70 and 80. Since they are longer and narrower the house with side deck tend to be narrow also.
*
As for teak decks, they fail because the past owner do not know and/or take care of them.* Teak deck give plenty of early warning sign and have to be maintain just like anything else on a boat. **Maintained properly teak decks will last as long as the boat.
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So dont be in a mind set yet as there are a lot of older boats out there.**

Thank you everyone for your feedback.* We are in the process of viewing more boats, so I'm sure we'll have alot more questions along the way.* Sounds like in general, the stabilizer is not necessary, so in comparing boats and prices, doesn't sound like it's worth the extra $.* The walkaround deck is important to us since we have a dog and that would give him the extra space to stretch his legs, not to mention ours .* For us, the perfect boat (if that even exists*on a budget)*would have the main salon open directly onto the aft deck (no steps, same level, sliding glass*door).* We've seen a 1997 Mainship 39 that has that layout with the walkaround deck, but the interior felt too cramped.**

We are able to do small maintenance projects on the boat, and expect to, but we aren't so keen on big projects like wood deck repairs.**Can we assume that a 30 yr old boat will need expensive deck repairs right around the corner?*Or that there may be water damage underneath? Any idea how much that would cost to repair?* What about removing the wood and replacing it with a non skid surface?

Thanks again for the advice!

Shelli

Stabilization depends on the type of hull and the cruising water.* In protect waters like the inside passage, rivers, lakes and maybe some of shore ocean, stabilizers are not really necessary but they are nice to have.* The layout/model you are description is called a pilot house.* The Eagle is a pilot house which my wife also want with easy access getting on/off and in/out of the boat with few stairs.* The reason my wife also wanted a wide body, Portuguese bridge and solid rails is for the safety/protect of the passengers and crew as we can total enclose the area as we have/had grandchildren living and staying with us.* Believe me you will get plenty of exercise being a live aboard.
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I have helped remove several teak decks which does not take long if you are not going to try and save the teak pieces.* The easies is to use a linoleum scraper/remover and just pry the teak deck off.* Took two of us about 6 hours to remove a 16 X 10 deck.* Then took a sander/grinder and grind/sand off what remained.* There were* couple of areas that need replacing so we took a circular saw and cut the areas out, and replace with new, and fiber glassed over. Whole project over two weeks about 40 hours.* If you did it your self $500 to $1,000 bucks if you had someone do it about 4 to 6 thousand.* Most people putze with a project rather than just doing it.* September when the deck is the driest as the wood does shrink is when I check and repair the deck and re seal it. *If you like the boat and it surveys well, having a teak deck would not be a big factor to me especial in the southern not so rainy/wet clime.*
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-- Edited by Phil Fill on Thursday 21st of April 2011 08:31:29 AM

Can we assume that a 30 yr old boat will need expensive deck repairs right around the corner?*Or that there may be water damage underneath

My 40 Albin is a 1983 with teak decks. We bought it 5 years ago. The decks*are sound and do not leak as far as I can determine. We re-caulked the flybridge deck as a preventive maintenance task. Took the first mate and I one weekend. We also re-caulked some areas that looked suepct but were still sound as best I can determine.

You just need to survey everything well. My ex old Mainship had fiberglass decks and they were a lot of work to fix.

So don't assume that only because the decks are fiberglass that they are sound and because they are teak they are not sound.

*

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Just a thought but if you want to sound your hull I would stay away from ballpeen hammers the best tool*I have found is a large screwdriver with the round ball for the end.

Less chance of cracking the gell coat. I have seen spiderwebbing caused by overzelious use of a heavy hammer.

SD

What do you think of the 45'CHB Sedan Trawler 1982 in comparison to the Hatteras?** Just came across pictures of this boat and really like the pilothouse design...

David,

Thank you for the feedback.* Since neither the Hatteras or the CHB are available in our area , we need to travel some distance to get a viewing.* No problems doing so, but we definitely want to do our research before we make that investment of time and money.* In terms of seaworthiness, comfortable ride, craftsmanship, how would they compare?* Any details on the pros/cons would be really helpful.*

Also, is the headache of shipping a boat like this accross country worth the effort?* I understand it might add $10-15k to the cost for us, but what about the other intangible headaches that we cannot forsee?

Shelli,
My humble advice would be to go on and look through as many boats as possible before you decide on what model is "the one." The fiberglass tanks of the hatt are definitely nice but there are a lot of other factors too. The detroit diesels....I'd just as soon not have them myself and prefer a perkins or lehman but is just me. Don't be fooled into thinking hatts don't have leaky window- I've been on many an older hatt of various sizes and trust me- they have their fair share of leaky windows. When you look at older boats, in my opinion, it is not so much about brand X or brand Z, it is more about how each individual boat you are looking at has been updated, maintained, etc. I'd rather have a well maintained Taiwanese made trawler than a neglected hatt. How old are the engines? Ever rebuilt? How old is the HVAC system? What is the battery bank and how is it set up? What kind of condition is the generator? How are the topsides and hull? Do they need to be painted? Etc. These things vary highly between boats and are where you are going to spend $$$ on older boats, regardless of the brand, if the boat has not been taken care of. If you are just coastal cruising the ICW, hoping to the bahamas, etc. the other question is whether a $150k 30 year old trawler does the job any better than a $50k 30 year old trawler. The hatt LRC's are good boats so not saying anything against them- just saying there are a lot of options out there and the best thing you could do is get on as many different makes and models as possible to decide which is the best fit for you and your needs. The good news is that the shopping and hunt for the right boat is fun.
P.S. I assume you have checked out the website dedicated not just to hatts but to the hatt LRC's....

I will agree with what Woodsong said. But the Hatteras is less likely to have leaky windows or soft decks. The Hatteras is more likely to have a hull that is thicker and in better condition. Given two equally neglected boats(one Taiwanese and one Hatteras), the Hatteras would survive the neglect in better condition than the Taiwanese boat. Bottom line is that the Hatteras is a better built boat....all the way around!

HI,

Have you considered other Hatteras motor yachts?* The 53 Classic is a nice design with good stability and fuel economy.* Decks are all fiberglass and the hull is heavy with a keel for tracking.* It is a three state room vessel with*plenty of space for living.* It has 2 stations and could be run from either.* The buyers market is in full swing for these vessels and they have standup engine rooms and good acess to all systems.* If you would like to see some pictures I can send some along.* These are old technology meaning you can get them fixed anywhere and parts are plentifull.* I am selling one that I have $ 250 K into for about what*the mainship 35 / 39 would cost, most systems are rebuilt or replaced.

Thanks

*Capt.cbc@gmail.com

IF you do not desire the work or expense of a 'teak" deck , or Chinese "composite", simply do not look at boats with decks that are built of plywoof wuth a slather of glass on top.

There are loads of boats that have far better construction , at the same price 20 -40 years old.

Read Dave Pascoe ,online free surveys , to get up to speed.

Opinions are like belly buttons, we all have them and they are all different.* I have found many of the Hatteras boats (esp. the LRC) to be somewhat rolly for my tastes 'out of the box'.* They are well built and (with a few systems updated) are among my favorites.* I would seriously think about stabilization (again esp. on a LRC) on an older Hatt, but that's*just mho.* Be sure to arrange a test ride in conditions appropriate to your cruising if you can so you can make your own judgement.* Also, the folks on the Hatteras owners forum (just Google it) are very nice and you can probably arrange a short ride with*one of them*close to you*if you are seriously considering a Hatt., they love their boats!

I have a 48 LRC

A Hatteras LRC has a couple of things going for it that most Chinese boat don't. They have well thought out robust electrical systems, and very heavy duty mechanical systems. They are also very comfortable in a seaway. The down side to these older Hats is the cost of replacing these heavy duty components. Compared to a Chinese trawler they are more complex, two engines two generators, 4 fuel tanks, three water tanks, ect. Most are air conditioned with three or four units. Most are 120/240 volt systems and some are 32 volt dc. On the up side they use house hold appliances and often have real washers and driers. I live on my 48 and it gives up very little to a home. But these boats are complex, if your handy mechanically they are great boats. LRC's have held their value better than most boats with some selling for more today than they cost new in the 70's. They also suffer from deck coring problems due to balsa coring. This is usually not a dangerous problem but can dramatically effect a survey and insureability. The 42 and 48 share the use of Detroit 453 naturals which are noisy but stone ax reliable. Inexpensive to rebuild and can be rebuilt in the boat. Some of the older generators are very difficult to get parts for so beware of old Onan units. The old Hats were luxury yachts and are very comfortable, but they are complicated.

This is getting to be an old thread, but its subject matter may be of wide interest.

In the early 1970's, many men who had big cruising boats believed that Hatteras' hulls were stronger than the Grand Banks' hulls.

Of course, some of them were Jack Hargrave fans, and knew about the "Hargrave test," and many had seen the film of the police captain who Willis Slane had shooting at the Hatteras hull with no effect. So, their belief may have been influenced by advertising & marketing and their marked preference for American-made products.

I was a boy then, and liked both types of boats, but never saw core samples or anything else wholly objective to validate the common confidence that Hatteras was better.

Perhaps someone here has access to some credible unbiased evaluations?

The Navy used Hatteras hulls for river patrol in VietNam of course...

Wolf Hound

Wolf Hound said:

The Navy used Hatteras hulls for river patrol in VietNam of course...

Wolf Hound

Click to expand...

I know the first 31' PBR was based on the stock Uniflite hull. One of the presidents of Hatteras Yachts had a 31' Uniflite that was used as a test bed for the colt twin 50 cal. turret in the bow. He had been president of Colt Arms. How do I know? He told me. Hatteras may have built some, but I am not aware of it. I believe that Eric (Manyboats} could add much to this.

"Just a thought but if you want to sound your hull I would stay away from ballpeen hammers the best tool*I have found is a large screwdriver with the round ball for the end."

Leave the smash hammer to the woody folks.

The easiest tool to use to find GRP problems is a tuning fork.

AS one is simply looking for a DIFFERENCE in sound , its a 10 second tool to master.

And leaves no scars or damage to the inspected areas.

HATTERAS YACHT - ( PBR ) Mark I Navy Gun Boat Prototype 1965 - YouTube

The boats were Hatteras hulls, but Willis Slane died just after the Navy approved them, and Uniflite got the contract to built these Jack Hargrave designed hulls to the Hatteras specs...

Wolf Hound

HATTERAS YACHT - ( PBR ) Mark I Navy Gun Boat Prototype 1965 - YouTube

BTW, that YouTube link above is well worth a look...

Wolf Hound

I watched it and sometime back watched that same part on the history channel. Larry

"Impressed with the prototype, the Navy requested 120 such boats in less than 6 months. United Boatbuilders of Washington State ultimately won the contract with the lowest bid. The eventual Mark-I design incorporated a 31-foot fiberglass cruiser hull along with a completely new, Navy-designed superstructure. Twin General Motors 216 horsepower diesel engines powered the boat’s water propulsion system. Fully loaded, the boat weighed 14,600 pounds and could reach speeds of up to 25.7 knots. The original boats cost just $75,000 each."

Link to full article is below.

Papa, Bravo, Romeo: The PBR Story*|*Armed with Science