1981 Hatteras Classic

Accommodations and Layout

Board amidship port or starboard and into light, airy salon thru sliding doors. Salon was totally refit  and features custom lower helm forward and access aft thru double doors to covered deck with ladder up to remodeled flybridge.

 From forward starboard area in salon down curved stairs to renovated galley port side with redone dinette opposite to starboard. Forward from galley to guest stateroom with over/under bunks, ensuite head and Miele washer/dryer.

Aft from galley thru companionway with stand up engine access thru wing doors either side, further aft guest stateroom port side with head starboard and full beam master stateroom far aft. Master stateroom features queen sized berth (with a VERY comfortable Keetsa memory foam mattress!), generous closet/storage space and a private ensuite head with stall shower.

Note that the interior has been extensively updated throughout and shows BEAUTIFULLY; note in particular that all the lovely Honduran mahogany woodwork has been finished in gloss varnish and the effect is STUNNING. Owner has even gone the extra mile to use high end air filtration & dehumidifiers and has had environmental testing done; the resulting HERTSMI score was an 8, which is recognized by regulatory agencies as safe for occupancy. 

Galley and Head

Stainless steel deep double sinks with hot/cold pressure water and disposal (20 gal. hot water heater new in 2021, both engine and AC fired), Regency four burner cooktop with Gaggenau oven, Sharp convection microwave oven, Sub Zero refrigerator/freezer, Miele dishwasher. Three heads all with Vacuflush toilets.

Note galley has been updated with brushed stainless steel appliances and dark, dark gray countertops--it's a striking combination! Also note teak & holly sole and custom burlrwood dining table, galley completely outfitted with custom dinnerware & Nespresso machine, high end Conway air filter plus heater and dehumidifiers.

Electronics and Navigation Equipment

Furuno GP 1650 chartplotter, Furuno radar, Robertson autopilot, Standard Horizon VHF radio, two 6" Danforth magnetic compasses.

Electrical System

110/230V AC / 12/32V DC. Dual 50 amp shorepower service connectors, batteries in two separate banks (house and starting), note new 3kW inverter power system with upgraded batteries for extended power (2022, $11,200) with parallel switch and Newmar Phase 3 battery charger (reportedly new in 2020).

Deck and Hull

Single chine solid hand laid fiberglass hull with cored sides and decks, entire exterior LPUd by previous owner and shows PERFECT. Fortress FX-55 anchor with Galley Maid electric windlass and adequate chain/line rode.

New Aft Deck Isinglass (top of the line Makrolon MK60 all around); completed 2021; cost - $12,400, new Fly Bridge Bimini (premium Ferrari Stamoid); completed 2023; cost - $9,900

12' Novurania 360DL dingy with special bottom paint, 40hp Suzuki four stroke outboard, electric davit on flybridge.

Mechanical Equipment and Engine Details

Twin 425 hp fresh water cooled Detroit Diesel 8V-71TIs (turbo charged and intercooled). 

 

Article on the 53' Hatteras by David Pascoe

Without doubt, the Hatteras 53 Motor Yacht is the most successful medium sized motor yacht ever built, with over 600 of them between their various incarnations. The main flavors are the standard motor yacht, cockpit motor yacht, the extended deckhouse (ED) version of the early 1980's, and the 53 Convertible which is the same hull. They were in production from 1971 to 1989, a full nineteen years.

Coming in at a whopping 55,000 lbs. in its original version, you need 1600 HP or more to move this yacht at the kind of speeds people like to have today. Instead, you're only going to get 850 from a pair of 8V71's or 924 from the 6V92's found only in the 1983-84 models of the motor yacht. In all the years of its production, the weight never changed much.

The hulls and superstructure are built like a tank with the bottoms about an inch thick with balsa cored sides and decks. The coring is rarely a problem unless someone has drilled the decks full of holes and improperly attached equipment. Quite often you'll find that the pedestal seats on the sport fish bridge have let water into the core, and this will be notable from water dripping out of the aft housetop overhand in the outboard corners. Or you'll see green mold, water stains or cracks here. And, of course, you'll probably find the famous Hatteras blisters on the bottom, but with laminates this thick, who really cares?

 

All things considered, these are first rate production motor yachts, although you'll find the electrical systems in the North American Rockwell boats from the second half of the 1970's. Other than that, these boats have no major problems. Nor should they after Hatteras had 19 years to work out the bugs. That's the advantage of long-term production.

 All models have dual control stations, so you don't have to look around for this feature. Another good point for folks in bad weather climates is that visibility from the lower station is quite good.

 With her 15'10" beam this is a big 53 footer and the layout takes maximum advantage of that space. Most people love the galley down layout with the dinette opposite which is great for informal meals. And the galley is big enough, and well enough equipped with a full sized Modern Maid range top, oven and dishwasher for the serious chef, while still having adequate counter space as well as plenty of storage space. The owner's stateroom is adequate but the guest stateroom is cramped and many prefer to use the forward crew or guest stateroom instead, despite the upper and lower berths. Heads and shower size is more than adequate.

 Seaworthiness? If you want the accommodations that a full bow gives, this is what you get. In my view, it does especially good in a short 3' chop where most folks in this size boat have trouble. The deep entry hull design is one of the reasons she doesn't go so fast. Being built like a tank means that it doesn't bob like a cork.

Taken altogether, the popularity of this yacht is well deserved.

 

Article by David Pascoe of D.H Pascoe & Co Inc, Marine Surveyors, Destin, FL.

Disclaimer
The Company offers the details of this vessel in good faith but cannot guarantee or warrant the accuracy of this information nor warrant the condition of the vessel. A buyer should instruct his agents, or his surveyors, to investigate such details as the buyer desires validated. This vessel is offered subject to prior sale, price change, or withdrawal without notice.