Opinions on boats

[Veroelectus]

Hi all! My name's Jason. So here in the near future I'm planning on going down to texas and going full time live aboard. I'm looking to stay below 200k for the purchase price of my future home. I've poked around for boats in my price range and I've found two I really like. The 44ft defever trawlers. And the 53ft hatteras motor yachts. I like the rugged build and longe cruising range of the defever, aswell as sea worthyness of it. But I much prefer the living space of the hatteras. I was wondering what you guys think? Also it will be my wife and on living aboard while also having guest relatively frequently (at least a few people every 3-5 months.) I don't plan on doing any crazy voyages. Probably just around the gulf. The Bahamas, keys, and maybe parts of mexico and south america. Planning on staying near the coasts as much as possible. Really curious to see if anyone has experience with the hatteras and being on the sea with it. But yeah if anyone could give some insight I would greatly appreciate it! Thank you and have a good rest of y'all's day.

[mvweebles]

As a past delivery captain, I've run both boats. Both boats would be great for the Bahamas. The size of the Hatt, especially the aft deck with the wing doors plus the household furniture (vs built in on Defever) is probably what your wife loves.

Motoryachts tend to have more stuff installed on them. The engine rooms tend to be more of a maze of equipment, wiring, and plumbing that goes who knows where. One that has been restored with removal of old stuff is highly desired.

If I owned either boat, I would not sell to buy a different boat. I'd make it work. But both of these boats lack a cockpit and dinghy access is difficult. Both boats came in a cockpit version (defever 44+5 - I forget the model for Hatt. Both carry a price premium).

I wouldn't own either boat unless it was stabilized. These are both tall boats and while they are relatively seaworthy, they will roll. Both boats are frequently stabilized so I'd hold out. Would be in excess of $50k (at least) to install stabilizers where there were none.

If I didn't own a boat and wanted to buy one or the other and I planned on using the boat (vs 99.99% tied to dock), I'd go the defever 44. I prefer built in furniture as it stays out and has decent storage. The engines are sized appropriately for economical 8 kts where you'll burn around 5 gph giving an honest 1500 nm range (over 2000 nms at 7 kts). And the props are much protected much better. If you look at the attached pics, you'll see the Hatt has much smaller rudders and not much of a keel. Plus the defever 44 is pretty dang big inside, just not as big as the Hatt. The hatts extra length means extra slip fees (likely an extra $1500/year), more expensive to haul, etc

But in the end, both are damn fine boats. Hatt can get up and go 18 kts (and burn 50 gph!!!!) which is attractive to some. I would be most careful on condition, and stabilization. Even though I'd prefer the defever, if a very nice and stabilized Hatt came along, I'd jump on it.

Two closing thoughts. First, if you don't have a background in larger boats, insurance can be difficult as can finding a marina sometimes. Second, consider peeking at TrawlerForum - there are several owners of each of these boats.

For pics, Hatt has fresh black bottom. Defever has dirty bottom. You can see the difference - Hatts small rudders are designed to go fast.

Peter

[Veroelectus]

Thanks for the input! I'm starting to lean heavily towards the defever. I love the classics trawler looks and the outdoors space available. Something the hatteras lacks. Plus its a decent bit cheaper which means I can put more money into making it my home and updating it. Plus the fuel economy I'm not a fast guy. I'd love to get the defever 49 cockpit but at least as of now they are still a ways out of my price range. Might just have to wait a few years and see if the prices go down. Plus id love to have the taiwanese bridge on the 49.

[boatpoker]

Originally Posted by Veroelectus

Hi all! My name's Jason. So here in the near future I'm planning on going down to texas and going full time live aboard. I'm looking to stay below 200k for the purchase price of my future home. I've poked around for boats in my price range and I've found two I really like. The 44ft defever trawlers. And the 53ft hatteras motor yachts. I like the rugged build and longe cruising range of the defever, aswell as sea worthyness of it. But I much prefer the living space of the hatteras. I was wondering what you guys think? Also it will be my wife and on living aboard while also having guest relatively frequently (at least a few people every 3-5 months.) I don't plan on doing any crazy voyages. Probably just around the gulf. The Bahamas, keys, and maybe parts of mexico and south america. Planning on staying near the coasts as much as possible. Really curious to see if anyone has experience with the hatteras and being on the sea with it. But yeah if anyone could give some insight I would greatly appreciate it! Thank you and have a good rest of y'all's day.

I have never surveyed a 44' DeFever however I have surveyed several Hatteras 53's ... 240V, 120V, 32V, 24V and 12V along with two generators, at least five battery banks and a minimum of seven battery switches ... What a horror story for anyone but a skilled marine electrician or someone with an open cheque book.

[Veroelectus]

Geez that sounds like a nightmare!

[ranger58sb]

Originally Posted by Veroelectus

I've poked around for boats in my price range and I've found two I really like. The 44ft defever trawlers. And the 53ft hatteras motor yachts. I like the rugged build and longe cruising range of the defever, aswell as sea worthyness of it. But I much prefer the living space of the hatteras.

You will be living on the boat 100% of the time, you will be underway 1% of the time. (Figuratively speaking.) Were it me, I'd prioritize living requirements and features that satisfy those.

And then you might shop a bit more, too, using those two as your test cases. A Hatt 58 Yachtfisher (just for example) might float your boat a bit more because it has a cockpit. The 49 Defever is the 44 with a cockpit added... so maybe worth a comparison. Et cetera... (I think there's still a nice, very well kept Krogen available in Florida just now; check trawlerforum.com, a sister site.)

The older Hatts have those 5 different electrical systems (two AC, three DC) and they also have 2-stroke Detroit Diesels. Neither of those need be a showstopper; lots of folks deal with it. You just want to be aware, going in...

-Chris

[hpeer]

Well, since someone mentioned Krogan there is one for sale I know about. $169,000. Rare twin engine version.

We know the owners and have a passing knowledge of the boat. Like all boats it requires a survey to uncover problems. Yet the owner took especially good care of the boat and was constantly upgrading.

This boat has two “issues”. First it has a lot if Dragon themed, hand sculpted wood work. Love it or hate it, your choice. Second, it has a botched paint job. I have not seen it, I have heard the quality is not great. But it is very BROWN. Think UPS. I tend to love that color because it is tremendous at hiding dirt and blemishes. It was originally deployed on Pullman cars, and then UPS trucks, for that reason. Yet most people hate it. I suspect that is driving the price down.

Surely not for everyone. But for the right buyer a good value.

https://iyba.org/mls-detail?id=80508...vessel=2766317