Bertram 43 - Hatteras 45 - Viking 43

I would steer clear of the bertram for fear of soft decks (FB, bow, cockpit) etc. It's sort of a toss up to the other 2, Hatteras better in a bow sea, Viking better in a beam and following sea.

Bertram of those periods are class acts when it comes to rough seas handling and keeping.
So if ride is your concern I would make it at one. The David Napier hull of that age Bertram is still admired today.

May be not the best for fishing due to the deep Vee which would make rolling consistent in side swells and slow speed running.
Hatteras of that time had better quality interior, and the hull shape is usually flatish Vee aft which would say they are better to go slow, then fast.

You have a tough decision those three were the top boats in that size range during that time period. Another option to consider is the 43 tiara convertible, which came 6v92 detroits. I believe the viking 43 might be on the slow side with the 671's, they were powered by 6v92's as well, and then 680 hp v8 man diesels later on. In comparing the 3 boats, The 43 viking had 2 cabins and one head while the 43 bert and 45 hatt would have had 2 cabins with a master head and then an extra "wet" head and shower for the guest. This might be a decision factor if you are spending time aboard for long trips with a full house. The ride on all three should be pretty similar with the hatteras being a bit squirly in a following sea compared to the bert and viking. The hatteras and viking will probaly top around 25 knots or so and the bertram will do a bit better and maybe do 28. As captain J said, some of the bertrams of that era have been known to have soft spots on the deck and flybridge, so that is something to look out for. but then again you are talking about 25 plus year old boats, so a thorough survey of any boat of that age will be recommended.

good luck with your search

Had a Hatteras 45 next to our boat slip for years. Nice looking boat at the dock, but overweight for its length, pushed a lot of water at cruising speeds to the point that the forward head sink had seawater being pushed up it's overboard thru-hull back into the head, had to put clam shell covers on all thru-hulls forward of midships. Wet boat underway, but the better quality of the three at that era. With the weight and the bigger 6V-92's, she burns the most fuel of the three.

The Viking is the more fuel efficient of the three, you must be including the Viking 45' in this mix? There is a nice one kept in freshwater in the Great Lakes:

http://www.**************/boats/198...040031/Bay-City/MI/United-States#.WMvVzHIzWUk

The Bertram 43 is the same hull design as the Cabo 43, except Cabo eliminated the lifting strakes on the hull bottom. The Cabo is newer (and more money) and would be my preference as the best quality of the three, but they are harder to find and that says a lot as well. Would prefer 6-71's over the 6-92's.

One thing to keep in mind about boats in this era - the 10% Luxury Tax kicked in during that time (November 1991): http://articles.baltimoresun.com/1991-06-09/business/1991160128_1_luxury-tax-yachts-Harrison

It lasted until November 1993. Coupled with an industry recession, it was a killer for the yacht industry and its workers. So, I would tend to avoid a 1991 - 1993 era boat if I could, as builders faced the difficult decisions of limited cash while they operated their floundering businesses, and there were compromises made on many different levels.

I would stick with a 1988 - 1990 model, as the impact was not yet felt in the industry, and model years usually precede calendar years by at least 6 months.

I did some work on a 45' Viking SF and was very impressed with it's ride and would choose it above the other 3 now that you mention it. It had 6=71 JT's and cruised at 24-25 knots. It was very stable and rode good.

I have fished on all three. In a good chop the Bertram would have the best ride, then Hatteras. I owned a 89' Viking 45, it rode like a brick it a choppy head sea, otherwise a great boat, check the coring very close everywhere! Stay with the 671's in the Viking. 692's on the Bert or Hat.