The Basics
Mahalo is a 2018 Hampton Endurance 658 motor yacht:
- Semi displacement hull
- Twin 1,000 hp CAT engines, two Northern Lights generators (25kw & 20kw)
- Three staterooms, three heads
- Builder: Hampton Yacht Group
- Fuel: 1,750 gallons
- Water: 400 gallons
- Major electronics: Garmin
- Construction timeframe - August 2017-April 2018, Plan to take possession in June 2018
Youtube videos on the Hampton Endurance
You'll have to click once again to see on Youtube...
What's in a name?
Mahalo of course is Hawaiian for "thank you." It's also a beautiful sounding word, especially when spoken by Hawaiian people. We chose Mahalo for the name of our boat because we are thankful for the good life we have. And because it reminds us of beautiful life in Hawaii.
Why did we choose the Hampton Endurance?
If you read our "who we are" page you know we have been around boats for a long time. Suffice to say we have been on every possible boat from 45 to 70 feet. Other popular boats in this class are Nordhavn, Krogen, Selene, Fleming, Outer Reef, Northern Marine, Marlow. American Tug and Nordic Tug are also popular here in the Pacific Northwest but are smaller.
Every boat is a compromise. Some boats have specific missions which dictate the design choices. For example Nordhavn's are built to cross oceans. So by necessity they are full displacement hulls, which limits their speed to under 10 knots. There is a boat for every price point. Here are some of the key factors for us in choosing the Hampton Endurance:
Hull Form. We strictly plan to boat in Washington, British Columbia and Alaska. With that in mind, we opted for a semi-displacement hull for more speed when we want it.
Size. We want to be able to boat for three or four months at a time up in Alaska. While we would have rather had say a 50 foot boat, for our tastes, and wanting to have family/friends join us, a larger boat is preferable. Hampton plans a 60' version of our boat, but it isn't available now. So we ended up with the 65 footer.
Safety. Boats can have many cramped spaces, and steep stairs or ladders. The number of people that fall on boats is unreal. I have done it myself, while washing a friends boat, descending stairs with wet feet. In 2016, a Bainbridge Island boater died as a result of a fall on his boat. The Hampton Endurance is the most "human sized" boat we have ever been on. There are no ladders. All of the stairs are comparable to ones in a home. You really don't have to bend or contort to get anywhere on the boat. Every boater wants a stand up engine room. Ours has 6'8" of headroom! The boat is also fully compliant with ABYC regulations, which means it is built to a high level of safety. So this became a major part of our decision.
The Company. Most boats in this class are built in China. Without going into all the details, Hampton is unique in terms of ownership and how they operate. The family that owns Hampton has been building boats for over 50 years. This is an advantage for Hampton owners. And the people they have in the US operation are the most professional of anyone we have met in the marine industry. We spoke with four other owners and they have been very happy with the company and their boat. This is comparatively rare in this business.
Many boat buyers choose to buy used, because boats have had all their initial "shakedown" issues dealt with. We would have considered buying used if any were available, but alas none were. Ours is hull #12, so you can see not many had even been built by the time we made our decision.
Building our own meant we could customize various areas, which Hampton was very happy to do.
In the end there are probably several boats we would have been happy with, the Hampton Endurance ticked more boxes than any other.
Every boat is a compromise. Some boats have specific missions which dictate the design choices. For example Nordhavn's are built to cross oceans. So by necessity they are full displacement hulls, which limits their speed to under 10 knots. There is a boat for every price point. Here are some of the key factors for us in choosing the Hampton Endurance:
Hull Form. We strictly plan to boat in Washington, British Columbia and Alaska. With that in mind, we opted for a semi-displacement hull for more speed when we want it.
Size. We want to be able to boat for three or four months at a time up in Alaska. While we would have rather had say a 50 foot boat, for our tastes, and wanting to have family/friends join us, a larger boat is preferable. Hampton plans a 60' version of our boat, but it isn't available now. So we ended up with the 65 footer.
Safety. Boats can have many cramped spaces, and steep stairs or ladders. The number of people that fall on boats is unreal. I have done it myself, while washing a friends boat, descending stairs with wet feet. In 2016, a Bainbridge Island boater died as a result of a fall on his boat. The Hampton Endurance is the most "human sized" boat we have ever been on. There are no ladders. All of the stairs are comparable to ones in a home. You really don't have to bend or contort to get anywhere on the boat. Every boater wants a stand up engine room. Ours has 6'8" of headroom! The boat is also fully compliant with ABYC regulations, which means it is built to a high level of safety. So this became a major part of our decision.
The Company. Most boats in this class are built in China. Without going into all the details, Hampton is unique in terms of ownership and how they operate. The family that owns Hampton has been building boats for over 50 years. This is an advantage for Hampton owners. And the people they have in the US operation are the most professional of anyone we have met in the marine industry. We spoke with four other owners and they have been very happy with the company and their boat. This is comparatively rare in this business.
Many boat buyers choose to buy used, because boats have had all their initial "shakedown" issues dealt with. We would have considered buying used if any were available, but alas none were. Ours is hull #12, so you can see not many had even been built by the time we made our decision.
Building our own meant we could customize various areas, which Hampton was very happy to do.
In the end there are probably several boats we would have been happy with, the Hampton Endurance ticked more boxes than any other.
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