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Along with Bertram
and Hinckley, Hatteras has the distinction of being one of the first
three production fiberglass boat builders to start up in around
1960. Oddly enough all three survive today, although Bertram may
yet go by the wayside. The company was started in 1959 by North
Carolina knitting mill owner Willis Slane who, as word has it, just
wanted to build a good strong boat for himself for fishing the outer
banks. What followed is one of the unparalleled success stories
of the fiberglass boat building industry.
Oddly enough, of the three major startups in around
1960 - Bertram, Hinckely and Hatteras - the former are know for
producing boat hulls that almost never blister. Hatteras should
have applied for a patent on the blistering process, for they were
one of the worst offenders. Most likely this is because Hatteras
has always painted their boats and has used low quality gelcoats
that are prone to blistering, as well as lower quality resins, for
gel coat alone does not account for the problem.
For the most part, Hatteras built balsa cored boats.
In earlier years, up through about 1980, the hulls were solid glass,
and then cored hull sides appeared. Decks and house tops have always
been balsa cored. In fact, were it not for Hatteras, Baltec would
probably not be in business today. If you want to know how good
balsa is as a core material, try to find a Hatteras with a core
problem. Out of thousands of boats produced, there are only a few.
And speaking of balsa, if you've ever noticed that Hatteras yachts
are notably quieter inside than most others, that's because of the
wonderful acoustic properties of balsa.
When it comes to building good quality, consistent
and reasonably priced motor yachts, no one had been able to hold
a candle to Hatteras. Unlike Bertram, Hatteras recognized that wives
often controlled the checkbook in the family, and didn't make the
mistake of forgetting this important marketing factor like Bertram
did. Thus, when the recession of '89 struck, Hatteras was at least
poised to survive it, whereas Bertram had locked themselves into
the sport fishing market exclusively, with their ugly formica interiors,
and manly appointments. Thus, they went down with the end of the
free-spending era of the 1980's. But were it not for the parent
company's deep pockets, even Hatteras probably wouldn't have survived,
for large boat sales were almost nonexistent for three long years.
Yet Hatteras has since abandoned a major part of
the market that they had filled for so long, the medium size sport
fisherman and motor yachts of a type that was renowned for their
sea keeping abilities, having been designed by the famous designer
Jack Hargrave. Two prominent examples of which are the 45 Convertible
and 43 motor yacht. Today, the smallest boat they make is a fifty
footer priced at well over one million dollars. And with Bertram
not gaining much attention in the mid size range either, the days
when we had a few good quality, rugged offshore type boats to choose
from are over. All we are left with is an aging fleet of older Hatterai
and Bertrams. The Bertram fleet once consisted of 21, 25, 26, 28,
30, 31, 33, 35, 37, 38, 42, 43, and 46 foot models. All that's left
is are outrageously priced 36 and 39 footers which are rarely seen
on the waterfront these days.
Unfortunately, no one has rushed in to fill the
void created by the withdrawal of these two companies. Oh, sure
a few have tried, but the most recent offerings don't even come
close to duplicating these legends. So why did Hatteras abandon
this market? Or why isn't Bertram doing well with their three boats
under 50 feet? In a word, cost and lower profit margins.
To produce boats of this quality today simply costs
more than the market will bear. Plus, they probably can't compete
with the lower cost price leaders since fewer and fewer people are
willing to pay the freight for better quality. Boats have gotten
too fancy as people demand more and more amenities, more plush interiors,
more appliances, electronics and whatnot. When you add up the cost
of all this, and factor in the additional cost factor of substantially
higher quality structures and systems, it's not hard to see how
good quality boats quickly exceed the reach of most of those who
desire them.
But, there is an additional factor as well, which
is that the design of a good sea boat is not amenable to the creation
of the vast interior spaces that people want today. Boat owners
willingly sacrifice sea keeping ability for interior space. Mom
takes one look at any good sea boat and says, "But it's so
small inside! That Sea Ray was twice as big." Yeah, Mom, it
is. but you can't shove a wide flat surface against an oncoming
wave and not end up getting splattered against a bulkhead. There's
no way you're going to take a Sea Ray to sea as you would a Hatteras.
Mom doesn't want to go to sea anyway. She'd prefer to stay lashed
to the dock, close to the swimming pool and tennis courts. And that's
why we don't have any more 32, 34, 36, 37, 38, 53, 43, 45, 46, or
48 foot Hatterases anymore. People want floating condos, and the
market will always give them what they want so long as enough of
them want it. But there aren't enough people that want good sea
boats.
So, until people decide either that they're tired
of beating their brains out in floating condos, or get tired of
staying tied to the dock, or just puttering around in protected
waters, or they stop demanding the utmost in luxury, (I'm not holding
my breath) the days of the middle class Hatteras are over.
Sad, but very true.
Hatteras
36 Convertible | Hatteras
38 Convertible |
Hatteras 38 Convertible: Updated Review | Hatteras
39 Sport Express | Hatteras
45 Convertible | 52 Hatteras
Convertible | Hatteras 53 Motor Yacht
& Convertible |
Hatteras 61 Motor Yacht
| These
are "reviews", not surveys, and bear no resemblance
to our survey reports.
We do not publish the results of the surveys that we perform.
Please note that the purpose of these reviews is educational,
to help you discern the differences in quality among boats
generally. They are not offered as a means to help you evaluate
any particular boat builder. We have no other reviews than
those posted. |
Posted January 13, 1998, Updated September
04, 2000
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