Sport Fish Advice - Operating Cost?

For as early as you are in the process, (mind you, this isn't necessarily a bad thing) figure roughly $1,000 per foot per year. This will of course be influenced by amount of use, type of use, maintenance, or lack thereof, smaller issues growing to larger ones, insurance, crew (if applicable, plan on at least a Captain for the first year unless you have your license and are insured as Captain yourself.) etc. etc. That should get you in the general ballpark for a budgetary figure.

I can't speak to the two boats you mentioned specifically. I'm a fan of both, but have owned neither. Others in the forum are well versed on both boats.

Spend good money on a very thorough survey from a highly regarded marine surveyor who comes recommended to you *not* by your or the selling broker, but a trusted / recommended 3rd party.

You won't hurt yourself by using the search function of the forum to dig up similar conversations that others have asked in the past which may lead to some additional reading and education.

Best of luck to you, and welcome to the forum.

No direct experience either but both have good reputations in those year ranges. There are 3 members of my club who have Vikings in that size and age range and they are also fine boats you may want to consider.

I'll second the survey point.

Good luck.

Welcome to the Forum BigWhit.

You will find an enourmous depth of advice on boating on this forum....is that the right way to express this?
Anyway, having owned quite a few boats over the years I still am not as qualified as the least member on this forum to give you advice, BUT, Mate....
Hang on TIGHT to that wonderful wife of yours!!!
Your first few sentences are just soooooooo sooooooooooothing to most of us here;

"I need some advice. My wife informs me we are in the market for a boat. "

Good luck and go gently buying someone elses dream in this market.

What is your price range? How long and far are your trips going to be? Do you plan on fishing, or just cruising. Are you on a time schedule or can your trips be more planned around weather? How mechanically savy are you, and do you plan on doing any maintanence yourself? I am located in Ft. Laud, e-mail me and I might be able to better advise you.

You might be better off looking into boats built in the late 90's early 2000's with better engine technology etc and slightly smaller. A 45' Cabo express comes to mind, vikings as well, and a few others....

I have a 1984 54' Bertram and I'm amazed by the number of systems on the boat. Just about all of them required attention to one degree or another. Now that the refurbishment work is just about complete, I expect to spend in the neighborhood of $50k to keep her in great condition. Add fuel, slip, insurance, note that that.

One observation is that ... it's typical for a surveyor to overlook several systems he simply didn't know how to operate or didn't operate for one reason or another. Of course, each of these items that are overlooked could be a $5-$10k issue. For instance ... refrigerated fish boxes, seawater system, air conditioning and heating systems, holding tank level lights, engine alarms and idiot light systems, fire suppression systems, high water alarms, charging systems, all the through hulls and water pumps, fuel tanks and gauges and on and on. It could take a surveyor two full days (if not more) to thoroughly verify the operation of all of the systems on the boat.

If I had the budget I would be inclined to take this approach for a future purchase ... find a seller claiming the boat is in bristol condition ... then carefully verify the complete operation of each system over a period of 2-3 days or reduce the price further for replacement of that system.

My final surprise of my boat after replacing 3 flat screen TV's and sound systems, running wires etc was to open the KVH Satellite TV dome only to learn there was nothing inside ... of course the solution is some where in the neighborhood of $5k.

Bringing the boat from seemingly decent shape to bristol condition can be hundreds of thousands of dollars so .... finding one in bristol condition could save you big bucks if the initial purchase price doesn't scare you away.

Will certainly be comfortable for the family and dogs





Mike

if a surveyor doenst' spend two days checking EVERY system on the boat, he didnt' do his job. it's that simple.

every surveyor i've hired, either for own boat or customers, has checked every single system, incl. all gauges, alarms, sat TV, etc... although obviously when a surveyor notes "sat tv not tracking properly" you dont' know if it's going to be a $100 or $5000 fix...

back to the original post, i think you are making the right decision by stepping up to a mid size sportfish instead of a 35'ish something smaller, more open boat. Larger CC (Intrepid and co) are very popular in so fl and make great day boats but if you intend on spending more time on board and going to the bahamas then it's hard to beat a 45/50 sportfish.

personally, in the year range you're mentioning i'd pay close attention to construction and would not assume that the early Ferreti era Betrams are as solid as they used to be or as Hatteras (and Vikings) of the same vintage. I believe Hatteras was still using solid bottom and cored sides vs all cored bottom/sides which to me is a deal killer.

That said, when you're looking at any used boat, the maintenance history and how the boat was operated is as important if not more as the badge on the sides of the boat.

dont be afraid of looking at slightly older boats, especially if refitted and/or repowered.

as to operating costs, it really depends so much on upgrade history, your own usage... and luck. most people use 10% of purchase price as a ballpark figure, it's often less than that but it only take a couple of bad surprises to quickly go over.

has anyone ever heard of a bad hatteras???

Yes there have been a small few of them that have had major issues resulting from the build quality. I know of one personally that was majorly wrong in regards to how it sat full of fuel, and also had issues getting onto plane which Hatteras did remedy eventually. The early Bertrams were built well also and had a great track record as well.

As for your $500k price, you can get into a fairly late model sportfish that has more modern equipment. A 50' Viking is a nice 3 stateroom boat, the 45' cabo, 50 Hatteras SF, a 54' Hatt if you can find one in your price range is an awesome riding boat but they may be a little higher.

Another option is finding one that needs a lot of work and redoing it. I just ran a 1979 53' Hatteras SF that was a repo and the buyer paid $35k for it. He put $5k into it to get it running, but the boat was pretty right after a little digging. Both generators ran, one was around 7 years old. Both 12v71TI's had 300 hours since majors. I ran it 250 NM, without any major issues. Granted it needed another $40k to make it pretty darn nice. Granted, for that starting price, you could repower one with new CATS, paint the entire boat, and redo the entire interior and still be in it for $250k-300k

Hi Bayside, I am new to this site. I am looking at a nicely maintained and sharp looking 50 Bertram. I was wondering if that 50K a year figure on maintenance for your BEAUTY plus fixed costs held up for you. Just looking to make sure I am budgeting properly to be able to enjoy the hell out of this thing if I end up buying it!

50k a year seems about right to keep and maintain a 5o SF.

you can do it for less, but it will eventually catch up with you

Hi Big Whit...Welcome to YF! Just one question...does your wife have a younger sister?

No, to the OP I'd be looking at Vikings and Hatteras...if you can get into one of the 2000+ Hatteras 54's they are a great riding boat.....

The percentages are very much more on your side when looking at used SF if you do look at Viking and Hatteras. While neither one is perfect and you can find some older very abused boats and some engines in need of rebuilds, the odds still are just a great deal more in your favor with them.

To the OP (Original Poster)(for the benefit of BigWhit) Although it's a bit out of your price range, take a look at Mikelson's. They are a semi-displacement hull designed by Tom Fexas (God rest his soul) lot's of freeboard, very beamy, huge amounts of storage below the Salon and very fuel efficient. Both Owners of the Company own 50's and they routinely run from San Diego to Cabo on one tank of gas. They make a 43 as well. The flybridge is huge for this size boat, and they have adopted a K.I.S.S. principle when it comes to systems. You can check the brokerage listings and sometimes find a 43 or 50 that won't break the bank. The lines are classic which some people feel dates the boat. One of the things I like, that your wife and dogs will appreciate are the stairs up to the flybridge. Anyway worth a look.

Disclaimer: I am not, nor have I ever been associated with Mikelson Yachts, I am a non paid spokesman.