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Older Hatt vs Older Sea Ray vs Newer Silverton

Discussion in 'General Yachting Discussion' started by Chesapeake, Feb 1, 2019.

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  1. Chesapeake, Feb 1, 2019
    #1
    Chesapeake

    Chesapeake Member

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    This should be fun!
    Ok - Ready -
    Want your Pros and Cons on
    1988 48' Hatteras - Totally re-done - like a new boat - but original engines. Just 1000 hours on 8V92 (Thirsty suckers) $195k. Love this boat but the engines are soooo thirsty. Listing says oil analysis is perfect.

    2002 48' Sea Ray Sedan Bridge - Totally Redone - soft goods, A/Cs etc. Repowered under Cat warranty - 850 hours. (3196) $290k. I hate the Balsa cored hull and I know of the issues. But - Wifey loves the lay out.

    2007 45' Silverton - Seems to have been upgraded as needed. Volvo Engines -D9's. 400 hours. $285k

    GO!
  2. MBevins, Feb 1, 2019
    #2
    MBevins

    MBevins Senior Member

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    Buy a lot of fuel for a $100K
  3. bayoubud, Feb 1, 2019
    #3
    bayoubud

    bayoubud Senior Member

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    Good luck if you pick the balsa cored Searay.
  4. Capt J, Feb 1, 2019
    #4
    Capt J

    Capt J Senior Member

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    Take a look at a 50' Post SF. Probably the best choice for your price range. For less than the price of the Searay, you can get an early 2000's one. They're a very good riding boat, with 820 Mans, they cruise at 27 knots at around 55 GPH.
  5. YachtForums, Feb 2, 2019
    #5
    YachtForums

    YachtForums Administrator

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    I had a 48' SB. No balsa. Foam cored hull. It was a decently built boat. The price point on the older sedan bridges is excellent right now. Timeless design and the market is flush.

    The 88' Hatt is 14 years older. So are the finicky bits.
  6. Pascal, Feb 2, 2019
    #6
    Pascal

    Pascal Senior Member

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    Yes the hatt is 14 years older all but the finicky bits are much better quality starting with fiberglass fuel tanks that will never rot thru like on so many Slvertons for instance. Or the heavy duty copper plumbing...

    The most important question is how will you use the boat? Light cruising in fairly sheltered waters? If so the hatt is an overkill. If you plan to run offshore quite a bit then the Silverton may not be your best choice.

    While DDs are a little more thirsty than 4 cycles, the reason the Hatt burns more is its weight and hull shape. If you could sea trial all three heading into 4 footers, you ll see the difference weight and entry shake makes
  7. PacBlue, Feb 2, 2019
    #7
    PacBlue

    PacBlue Senior Member

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    The Hatteras will nickle and dime you to death, much more so than the other two. Comparative fuel costs will be through the roof. It will be a needy mistress not to mention the wet ride for that hull.
    They didn’t get it right for the 48 model, it was better at 50 but the operating costs go up as well.
    Post 50 , Sea Ray 48 SB, Silverton 45/48/50 are good choices, the Silverton has a great Donald Blount hull design and integrated staircase to the fly bridge. The SR is a proven concept as noted before and have a great following.
  8. Chesapeake, Feb 2, 2019
    #8
    Chesapeake

    Chesapeake Member

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    Great Comments -
    We are looking for a 3 room 2 Head SedanBridge / Convertible. We are in the Chesapeake now - long term plan is for trips down coast into Florida - but most traveling will be up and down the bay.
    We have a Regal 38' Bridge now with the Yanmar diesels. Great boat for the bay. We like to entertain a lot so with a few couples on the boat for a weekend it gets tight quick. We are in no rush and causally look every off season for the next forever boat. I can't go any bigger than the 48 models. I like the 45' Silverton. Wife likes the Sea Ray. The Hatt was the late entry. I would LOVE to do the POST as I cut my teeth in boating on a 42 Post. Great boat!
    Interesting information - Is the 48' Sea Ray Sedan Bridge 'NOT' Balsa wood cored in the Hull?
    I am open to other options for a 3 Room / 2 Head Sedan Bridge / Convertible. No longer than 48'. If I don't get the 3rd room, I want a pull out salon sofa. Thanks in advance everyone for the input. Keep it coming.
  9. PacBlue, Feb 2, 2019
    #9
    PacBlue

    PacBlue Senior Member

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    Are you limited to 48’ overall or a 48 plus bow pulpit and swimstep? In other words, what is the overall size limit on your slip?
  10. Chesapeake, Feb 2, 2019
    #10
    Chesapeake

    Chesapeake Member

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    Great question - I can sneak in with 48' boat, that is really 50' with platform. I would put 48' on my paper work. ;) Anything more is really pushing it.
  11. alvareza, Feb 2, 2019
    #11
    alvareza

    alvareza Senior Member

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    You might consider an Ocean Yacht 46 from ‘04 - ‘08.
  12. Capt Ralph, Feb 2, 2019
    #12
    Capt Ralph

    Capt Ralph Senior Member

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    Unless the mgr comes out with a tape measure.
    Marinas charge LOA.
    Interesting thought, the Hatt is 48 stem to stern plus the pilpit and swim platform. LOA could be near 53 feet.
    No worries on the SR, they measure tip to tip for larger sales size numbers.
  13. YachtForums, Feb 2, 2019
    #13
    YachtForums

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  14. ranger58sb, Feb 3, 2019
    #14
    ranger58sb

    ranger58sb Senior member

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    I'm not aware of any huge brand-specific fuel tank problem. Most of the tanks in recent years are welded aluminum by presumably reputable companies like Florida Marine Tanks... probably similar to tanks in any of the other production-line boats.

    -Chris
  15. Boatingnut, Feb 3, 2019
    #15
    Boatingnut

    Boatingnut New Member

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    You will have to check with Sea Ray, but I think the 480 was a cored bottom until 2004. The 2004 model was solid bottom. Everything from that era will likely have some wood in the hull sides and decking. The 2004 came with Cummins and a few had the Man's.
  16. Pascal, Feb 3, 2019
    #16
    Pascal

    Pascal Senior Member

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    Unfortunately it s not vague comments but plenty of cases. Yes, properly installed alum tanks will last a long time but we all know builders take shortcuts

    As to hurricane damage, obviously any boat will take a beating and eventually sustain damage but anyone involved with boats in hurricane country knows damage varies greatly depending on construction. Lighter built hulls will quickly crack when banging against a piling or any other boats. I ve seen it dozens of time in the wake of Irma, Wilma, Katrina and others. Stronger hulls will rub and glass will be ground away but the laminate will not burst.

    During Irma last year, my boat took out a piling on the port side and the cap rail ended up being ground up open over about 15’. three portholes (bronze) were pushed in and found on the floor. Aft ER bulkhead was loose and also ground away from the rubbing against the hull.

    From inside I could push the unsupported hull side in and out. But guess what? The hull didn’t fail, didn’t crack and didn’t get a single stress crack.

    I ve seen neighbors boats being pulled out of the water in the weeks following, Sea rays, Chris crafts, Silvertons etc. Every time the hull failed, there were no evidence of repeated grinding before failure.

    Now in all fairness, these being extreme circumstances means it s not very relevant to the decision process as you re not going to pick a boat based on hurricane survival years down the line. But contrarily to what you suggested there is a difference in hurricane damage

    DD6ABEBE-E836-4497-BB15-38962B6CD756.jpeg The
    Last edited: Feb 3, 2019
  17. Capt J, Feb 3, 2019
    #17
    Capt J

    Capt J Senior Member

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    I've seen aluminum fuel tanks fail from having a little teeny bit of water in them over a long period of time also. So it really didn't matter how the tank was coated on the outside. Let's face it, most fuel tanks are located in the engine room with lots of salt air being ingested into the engine room when underway and the engines sucking air. If they're not installed there, they're in the center bilge a few inches above the bilge water. Or they eventually split a weld. Sure some "may" last a lifetime, but that is usually not the case.
  18. Chesapeake, Feb 3, 2019
    #18
    Chesapeake

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    Clearly you have a tank for a boat Pascal!

    My Regal 3880 has aluminum tanks....that failed....but they didn't fail due to the tank. They failed due to how they were installed. ( Like what CaptJ just posted - exact scenario happened to my boat) They were put in a tank well that was totally seal up. Add moisture, salt air, no air movement and presto - you have corrosion. The tanks where FMT at .125 thickness non-coated aluminum. In concert with Regal Marine, who has actually been great with this saga, I am replacing the tanks with 3/16 aluminum, epoxy coated at factory. This is beyond my OP but I want to state this because - well, we have boats. Boats break. Boats cost money. We all have our respective threshold for pain for these fun failures. I have no delusion that buying another boat will be worry free. But if I can mitigate some things that are inherent on a particular boat, that is prudent decision making. For example, Sea Ray is known for delamination due to wet balsa coring. Silverton is known for a strong, solid glass hull. BUT - someone mentioned that the 48' Sedan was not balsa cored hull? This is great helpful information. The hatteras I'm looking at - Someone said that boat will nickel and dime me to death. How so? Because it is older and systems in the boat will fail? That's not a Hatteras thing, it is a factor of an older boat with an older A/C unit or older Radar, etc.... So - are there things inherent with Hatteras I should know about? One last caveat - We are looking to make this purchase as the boat that we continue to raise our kids on and our (Lord willing) eventual grandkids on - a true forever boat. My wife and I goals are to use this boat to travel the coast somewhat and enjoy Charleston and other destination similar. So - a boat, like Pascal's, that is a tank is more desired - but also has some 'fluff' for my wife to enjoy.

    I read these forums 99% more than I post for education. I love the folks on this site - very educated (and opinionated - lolololol) so this is great to be in one of these conversations instead of just reading. :p:):p

    So - back to the OP - and thought process behind it. We are casually looking for that 3 SR / 2 Head boat in the mid/high-40' range. Budget is no more than a list price of $325k. ( hope to negotiate that down of course) Once we find the make/model boat that we can agree on, I can search for just that boat and look accordingly. That's what we did on the Regal 3880. Wife and I found that we wanted this boat and then we looked for just that boat and negotiated accordingly.

    I so appreciate your feedback, and thank you to PacBlue for keeping us on track. ;):);)
  19. bayoubud, Feb 3, 2019
    #19
    bayoubud

    bayoubud Senior Member

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    The intended use does not require a battlewagon for offshore use and no boat is hurricane proof. It would be good to look at boats without any wood in the fiberglass construction, 4 cycle diesel, and fiberglass tanks, which would limit the choice a lot. Of the three boats mentioned the Silverton would be my pick, mainly being a later model with newer everything.
  20. Pascal, Feb 3, 2019
    #20
    Pascal

    Pascal Senior Member

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    Older Hatteras have balsa cored decks which often get soft because people have drilled holes in them. Not a structural issue though.
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