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Best live aboard yacht.

Discussion in 'General Yachting Discussion' started by navydave, Jun 11, 2012.

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  1. navydave, Jun 11, 2012
    #1
    navydave

    navydave New Member

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    Hello All,
    Me and my wife have been considering moving on to a yacht. My budget is about +/- 200k.We would like to have something large enough to take out and lightly travel. Something large enough to have 3+ Staterooms. A large master, pilot house and a davit if possible. I would like the boat to be extreamly reliable and easy enough so I could do my own basic engine work. We were planning on making it a type of boat and breakfast with some extra stuff such as fishing and dolphin watching etc... Any advice/ help will be appreciated :)
  2. Ormond Bert54, Jun 11, 2012
    #2
    Ormond Bert54

    Ormond Bert54 Senior Member

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    "extremely reliable" might be the deal killer. You could look at
    Hatteras or to make your money go further, Bayliner. Boats require constant maintenance in order to achieve some level of reliability over time. The boats reliability will generally have a lot to with with your ability to understand and maintain the systems.

    Sounds like fun.
  3. Capt. Mike, Jun 11, 2012
    #3
    Capt. Mike

    Capt. Mike New Member

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  4. carelm, Jun 11, 2012
    #4
    carelm

    carelm Senior Member

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  5. Capt J, Jun 11, 2012
    #5
    Capt J

    Capt J Senior Member

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    53' Hatteras MY has all of your criteria and is in your price range and is a VERY comfortable livaboard. That being said, it will need constant maintanence as will any yacht that size.....
  6. navydave, Jun 11, 2012
    #6
    navydave

    navydave New Member

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    I'm not worried about the maintenance just as long as it stays maintenance and not turn into endless trouble. How well do you think my boat and breakfast idea would go?
  7. brian eiland, Jun 11, 2012
    #7
    brian eiland

    brian eiland Senior Member

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    Interesting the Huckins website indicates they started building 'composite vessels' in 1975....and that listing didn't give any details about what sort of 'composite' construction it was?....clean looking vessel though.
  8. carelm, Jun 11, 2012
    #8
    carelm

    carelm Senior Member

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    Brian,

    I agree, it was rather nice looking. One other thing in its favor IMHO is that Huckins is still in business. That should help in parts availibility.
  9. RT46, Jun 11, 2012
    #9
    RT46

    RT46 Senior Member

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    Hatteras MY or the LRCs comes to mind first...

    dont forget to think slightly outside the box;
    the vintage 43 Viking Aft cabin and the newer 44 Viking Aft Cabin could also make a nice liveaboard.

    I would also consider some of the 70's vintage Crist Crafts. I had a dock neighbor who lived on a 53 CC MY.

    Also some of the 40-50 SFs can be very nice live aboards for a couple. Some have two staterooms and two full heads, with a nice salon.

    Dont forget the trawler crowd, how about a Katie Krogan 36' Manitee. Not the prettiest boat, but one of the largest living spaces of a boat under 60' that I have ever been aboard, and one of the most economical boats to run with its single 4 cyl diesel.


    It really is a buyers market, shop around, make some comparisons, see what you like.
  10. Pascal, Jun 12, 2012
    #10
    Pascal

    Pascal Senior Member

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    i'm obviously a little partial to older Hatt MYs but they do offer an incredible amount of space, plus some pretty seaworthy hulls and quality construction/systems often superior to other boats of that vintage. hard to beat fiberglass tanks for instance...

    that said, like everything else that vintage, how much maintenance and upgrades were done over the years is as important as initial quality.

    these days you can get a good 53MY for well below 200k, even a 58YF (identical to the 53 but has a cockpit). you can probably find an 80s vintage wider beam 53 or 56MY for not much over 200k.

    Bed and Breakfast? depends on where you are... dont' know if there is a market for that in Norfolk. chartering can work but like every business it takes a few years to build up to the point where you can turn a profit. marketing is key, jsut having a website isnt' going to bring you business.
  11. RT46, Jun 12, 2012
    #11
    RT46

    RT46 Senior Member

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    i agree with Pascal, Hatts are a great way to live aboard.
  12. navydave, Jun 12, 2012
    #12
    navydave

    navydave New Member

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    I'm not panning on staying in Norfolk. I am originally from Texas. I was thinking between Florida And Texas for a location. I'm favoring A 50my or larger.
  13. Pascal, Jun 12, 2012
    #13
    Pascal

    Pascal Senior Member

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    when Jack Hargrave designed the 50 MY back around 1966, which quickly became the 53 by 69, he simply threw away the conventional MY layout with the saloon down below forward of the helm and came up with a true flush deck where the saloon, pilothouse, aft deck and side deck are all on the same level. it was a revolutionary layout which Hatteras adopted, very succesfully, across its line, eventually dropping the 58TC a few years later.

    Chris, Bertram, pacemaker and others stuck with the older design and eventually lost ground.

    it's really a terrific layout, the only downside are the somewhat smallish split engine rooms, but access to the engines is still pretty good. he made up for it with a large genny room under the galley...

    the fact that hatteras kept that original design alive all the way into the late 90s, in various sizes and beam, is proof of Hargrave genius....
  14. navydave, Jun 12, 2012
    #14
    navydave

    navydave New Member

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  15. Kafue, Jun 12, 2012
    #15
    Kafue

    Kafue Senior Member

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    That is something every boat owner hopes for and is impossible to predict no matter which brand or who does the pre purchase survey.
    "Endless trouble" is actually endless maintenance/costs.....endless, unless you let things go, in which case it will be major issues.
  16. navydave, Jun 12, 2012
    #16
    navydave

    navydave New Member

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    I feel dumb LOL Hatteras not Hyatt I'm sorry.
  17. creepin, Jun 12, 2012
    #17
    creepin

    creepin New Member

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  18. Bostonh2o, Jun 13, 2012
    #18
    Bostonh2o

    Bostonh2o New Member

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    I'm in search of similar yacht, I've found that I'm really looking towards a Marine trader, or DeFever, pilot house, or an Ocean Alexander. Albin also makes a great live aboard. I'm coming off a 50 ft sailboat, and I also captain a 50ft Viking sport fisher. both beautiful boats, but to travel I want to go faster than my sailboat, but not a gas guzzler sport fishing boat. So I've researched a lot of boats, and the pilot house Defever has really caught my eye, I like the space, and price. also easy engine rooms to work on the engines to do your own maintenance. all with in your price range.. and remember with the size your looking at, it is a buyers market....
  19. Pascal, Jun 13, 2012
    #19
    Pascal

    Pascal Senior Member

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    lol... and i'm planning to sell the Hatt for a sail boat...

    my next slip neighbor has a 49 Defever w/cockpit. i've helped him a few times, there is no comparison in quality and space between the DeFever and the Hatt. not sure what year, fairly recent, 10 year old maybe.
  20. Bostonh2o, Jun 13, 2012
    #20
    Bostonh2o

    Bostonh2o New Member

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    I love Hatt's, perfect size, and an amazing yacht. and definitely more room than a DeFever.. I've been drawn to the pilot house style of the 49 DeFever.. and more in my price range also.. most of the Hatt's Ive looked at are a bit out of my price range.. or they need a ton of work...
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