raw recruit needs help

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harrylambert

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I want to start motor cruising and have selected a 1975 Hatteras 58' as a potential in my price range. It has 2-380hp GM engines with 1200 hours since overhaul and is offered Vat paid in the med on a panama flag.
Has anyone got any particular advise to offer on these boats and advise generally, apart from 'you must be mad/don't do it/take up canoeing'

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the Panama bit sounds a little dodgy

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In my limited experience it helps to complete you bio, as to where you plan to keep the boat, your experience etc etc... you may well find that more people respond with positive helpful advice...

1) get a survey....
2) enjoy it



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The Panama flag just doesn't seem right. I would make 100% sure that it is VAT paid!!! I don't actually believe that it will be, there has to be some reason for registering it there! Demand to see a piece of paper that says VAT PAID

Tread carefully

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Great boat, get it properly surveyed and double/treble check the VAT status. Have the engines checked, get an oil sample from each engine checked, inexpensive and very informative as to their condition.

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I admire your nerve, that size and age of boat is going to require money and dedication. Since you asked.

Please dont be put off, but cheap moorings may not help.

The beast advice is to enjoy whatever you get, beit canoe or ginpalace.

<hr width=100% size=1>I want to operate a Landing Craft off the Kent coast!
 
I was going to be more circular and less effective, like Blair really only with power. :)

<hr width=100% size=1>I want to operate a Landing Craft off the Kent coast!
 
There's nothing like jumping in at the deep end is there? On the plus side, all Hatteras are built like the proverbial brick outhouse but you should get a full hull and equipment survey and as ljs says, definitely get an experienced GM engineer to inspect the engines and carry out an oil analysis (Ebbtide Marine Engineering on 02380634070 would do this)
Are you ready for the maintenance bills though? If you're not extremely handy yourself, as a rough guess, you could be spending £10-20k per year to keep a boat like this in seaworthy condition because there will be endless maintenance jobs. Then there is the fuel bill. You can reckon on 0.4 - 0.6 mpg at cruising speed (thats something like £6 per nautical mile of cruising in the Med or about half that in the UK until red diesel goes)
I dont like the fact that the boat is registered in Panama. I would be extremely concerned about proving title ownership to the boat and I would investigate how difficult it would be to re-register the boat under the British flag as this would make it easier to sell the boat on. You should also obtain original documentation confirming the VAT status (the boat might even be old enough to be VAT exempt)


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Wishing you all the best there ..... the boat's Panama flag would be what I am concerned about, so will add my voice to the ones raising the concern about the VAT status.

The boats were strongly built and should last a long time, if properly maintained.

Now to the engines.... Presume these are the GM 71 TA's which are onboard. (6.9L, 2-stroke straight six's...). If they are then i may be able of giving you some advise as I have just signed the final papers for a 45 footer with these onboard, although at a slightly lower power rating. (325's). Irrespective.... get a GM/Detroit mechanic to check them out.... and do an oil sample from both engines .... don't forget the generator(s).... The standard 71's were on a much lower power rating, but 380 should not be too much in a leisure boat...(they were taken up to 485 HP, but are very sensitive to cooling at ratings above 410). In a 380 rating, you should get at least 1500 - 2500 hrs between overhauls.... but only if properly maintained and oil changed at the right intervals. Relatively easy engines to work on and smooth runners with plenty of torque.

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Harry:
Agree the other comments. They are excellent boats but you are jumping in at the deep end for a first boat so plan carefully. There's nothing in your bio so I dunno if you plan to live on the boat quite a lot or whther you work in UK and will fly to med at weekends etc. If the latter, do not underestimate the amount of time it will take to maintain and clean a boat this size you will have zero leisure time if you clean and maintain it diy. It's just too big an undertaking. So, consider hiring a full time employee, either a captain or a stewardess type. We got a 58 footer in Med at start of this season and quickly realised we haven't enough time to clean and polish it so hired a full time person.

Are there enuf scheduled flights to Corfu?

Yes you will want to change the panama flagging. I think in these cases it is normal for the purchase contract to require the seller to deflag, ie before you pay the balance of the price the seller must provide a certificate of deletion from the panama registry. This will then leave you free to register it in UK. The Uk will only part-1 register the boat if you have the cert of deletion AND you supply the boat's ownership history, ie bills of sale going back some years, etc etc. See <A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.mcga.go.uk>http://www.mcga.go.uk</A> for more on UK registration

If you are buying for cash, no loan, you dont need UK part 1 registration, SSR will do instead, and the paperwork needed for that is much less. Again, see website

Good luck!

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