Why we chose a vintage Hatteras motor yacht

We were sipping our coffee while sitting in our swing chairs and listening to the jungle wake up. The howler monkeys had a lot to say that morning, I'm not sure why I remember that detail. Funny the things that we store away in our mind. After my second or third sip, I looked at John and said, "Let's buy a boat, let's just do it!" Bless John for taking my flights of fancy in stride.

We had been talking about what was next after our Costa Rica adventures and becoming full-time cruisers was a lifestyle that intrigued us both. John has years of sailing experience under his belt, but my boating experience was from childhood and meager, at best. Taking boating courses, attending educational workshops at boat shows, and getting our Captain licenses were all things on our radar. We knew that we wanted to explore this path, we just weren't quite ready to take the leap yet, but we figured there was no harm in seeing what was out there.

Y'all, let me tell you, we went down the rabbit hole, in a hurry.

We spent hours pouring over online marketplaces, we watched YouTube videos, we followed cruisers on social media, and we opened dialogue with several brokers. At this point, we didn't even know what we were looking for. As I mentioned, John was an avid sailor, I was/am not the biggest fan of sailing, so I knew that I needed to bring him over to the "dark side" of power boats. (He will probably never admit it, but it didn't take too much convincing...shhhhh).

Once he was "converted", so to speak, we hit our next impasse. He wanted to look at trawlers and I liked the sleek look of the Euro-style boats. We both had some non-negotiables. My must haves were a nice-sized galley, full-size washer and dryer, ample closet or drawer space in the master stateroom, and stairs (not a ladder) to the flybridge to make it easy for our pups. John needed a minimum 6'6" ceiling height throughout the boat and a stand-up engine room (he's 6'4" so this was a definite deal breaker for him).

After months of searching and countless hours of research, we called a broker out of Ft. Lauderdale, scheduled an appointment to look at several options, and emailed him our Excel spreadsheet that we created to track and compare our favorite listings. My advice now, and always will be: find a reputable, experienced broker, they are worth their weight in gold! Our broker, (also named Johnny) was wonderful. We were transparent and told him that we needed a representative and an advocate, and he understood the assignment.

The first boat we toured was the number one on my list. It was a 65-foot Euro model that looked amazing in the photos of the listing, but once we stepped on board...ahh...not so much. Our broker knew that I wasn't going to like it, but instead of "telling" me what I was or wasn't going to like, he allowed me to experience it for myself. That first day of touring boats was telling, and it was a turning point for me. It moved me off of the Euro styling, and closer to the trawlers that John favored. Over the next few days, we looked at Grand Banks, Hamptons, Flemings and while they were all lovely, for one reason or another, they just weren't the right fit for us.

Enter the Hatteras. Specifically, the "vintage" Hatteras. This brand checked off ALL of our boxes. Spacious interiors, high ceilings, huge galleys, stand-up engine rooms, and as much storage as a house! They are not the sexy euro style, and they are certainly not going to win any races or beauty contests, but they are tough as nails, built to last, and didn't force us to skimp on the creature comforts. As we intend to cruise long-term in the future, creature comforts were a priority.

After we had it narrowed down it was just a matter of time until we found "the right one" so we left Florida and came back home to Costa Rica with a definite direction in mind.

The thing about being in the market for a boat is that it basically takes over your every waking thought. We spent the next six months searching for older Hatteras yachts for sale from California to Florida, the Pacific Northwest, and even a few on the Eastern seaboard. We both enrolled in school to obtain our captain licenses. We were almost swayed by a gorgeous Cheoy Lee expedition trawler, but she sold about a week before we found her.

On a random weeknight evening, John was browsing videos on YouTube and a video by our (now) friend, Captain Butch, popped up and we watched it, not so much because we thought "this could be it", but because we spent many of our evenings scouring YouTube watching sale videos. (If you know, you know). As the video continued to play, we each got quieter and more focused. We watched it again, then again. Then we looked at each other and said "this could be it".

Trying not to get our hopes up, we called our broker the next morning and gave him the information. We knew there was a good chance she was already sold since she had been on the market for about a month, but we would just have to wait and see what our broker would say. He called us back later that day, it was indeed still available and looked like she would check off most of our boxes. Cue the butterflies.

It was one thing to speak hypothetically about diving headfirst into the boating lifestyle, and quite another thing to actually take the leap. We comforted ourselves by saying to each other that just because we were going to go look her over did not mean that we had to buy her. We were not going to be those "emotional buyers" we were going to be logical and businesslike and move forward slowly and carefully.

About a week later, we were in Madeira Beach, Florida, onboard "Hoosier Daddy". (We knew a name change was a must) Let me tell you, I knew she was the one. I just felt it in my gut, even while standing on the dock. Something just clicked. Throughout the tour, we found little details that we both fell in love with. 10 minutes into the tour we were no longer logical, businesslike, or moving forward slowly. We wanted her, and she had to be ours.

The pre-purchase haul out in St. Petersburg

Our big girl! She weighs 50 tons and measures 18 feet wide and almost 70 feet long,

The next month was a flurry of activity, but every day we pushed forward closer to our goal of boat ownership. We just celebrated our one-year boat-versary and we couldn't be happier with our girl. She's got some quirks and sometimes needs some special handling (like any other middle-aged woman does) but she's ours, she keeps us safe during tough passages, she's earned our trust and we couldn't possibly love her more than we already do.

Our advice to those considering this lifestyle? Do it, just go for it. Exploring the world from the water adds a new dynamic to travel and we don't have a single regret.

Until next time, Cheers!

-John & Benita