InTheBite

Bayliss Boatworks, Endeavor 60

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The 60′ Edeavor: the first Bayliss.

By Dave Ferrell

Although he’s spent his entire life on the water as either a mate, charter boat captain, private boat captain or even commercial fisherman, John Bayliss has only been a boat builder since 2002. On April 15th of that year, Bayliss and a small crew of boat builders started work on what would become the first Bayliss, a 60-footer to be aptly-named Endeavor.

Bayliss jumped into the boat-building business in a time of upheaval just after September 11th, 2001.

“Nobody knew what was going to happen. I’d been working on a private boat for a longtime friend and after the attacks with all the uncertainty, I came to the conclusion that I needed to get out and do my own thing. I’d already done the charter fishing, working for a boat factory, working for another factory…so I decided to put a couple of feelers out to see if anybody wanted to build a boat,” says Bayliss.

Mike Atkinson met up with Bayliss at Pirate’s Cove Marina and after a beer or two and some specifications scribbled out on a napkin, they came to an agreement and Bayliss Boatworks was born.

The Bayliss crew from the original build in 2003.

“When we first started talking about the boat it was going to be a 60-footer with a pair of six-cylinder engines. It was a simple, straightforward fishing boat…really nice but nothing crazy,” says Bayliss.

“Then along comes Charlie Barker (he owns a 92-foot Viking now) and he becomes a partner in the boat with Mike. Barker asks me if I think we can put V12s in the boat, so I ask Robert Ullberg if it would take them and he says sure. Soon the boat became a three-stateroom, three-head boat with a washer and dryer and a mezzanine, which were just coming out at the time.

It went from a boat that was being built to fish on the East Coast, to one that was meant to travel and fish in places like Costa Rica. In fact, that boat is now named the Uno Mas and is still doing an incredible job catching fish down in Los Sueños for Brooks Smith. We are still very proud that she’s the first one.

“That boat became a classic example of how the owner and crew can kind of drive, or push the boat builder in a different direction. I was just going to build a really durable fish catching boat, but it became a yacht on the very first one. And that really helped us a lot, since before we started on that first one we had three other guys under contract as well, and they wanted a nicer boat, too.

The Bayliss team from 2017.

Those first two guys somehow saw something and they wanted to push us a little further. Luckily, for us, our next guy was better, and the next guy after that was better still. They all pushed us to bigger and better things. We’ve built 25 boats now and we’ve never built the same one twice.”

Although Endeavor grew beyond all of Bayliss’ expectations, its unique look was intentional from the beginning.

“When I started the company, I wanted this boat to pull into a marina and have people say, is that boat a Carolina build or a Florida build? We wanted to combine the best aspects of those looks,” says Bayliss. “That was a very different boat for around here at the time. That boat has very little flare and we designed it that way on purpose. That look caused me a lot of sleepless nights. When we had the boat on the jig upside in the shop I had prominent boat builders telling me that I couldn’t build the boat the way it was…that is was a mistake and I was messing up. I went back to Ullberg again and told him what the guys were saying and he pointed out that the boat was exactly what we had on the computer in 3-D and that I should just shut the door and build it. And that’s what we did. I’m glad I had friends like him to keep me pressing on. Too much self-doubt can lead to a not-so-good boat…and then you become a one and done. Our first one turned out to be a really good one.”

For more information on Bayliss Boatworks, please e-mail info@inthebite.com or fill out the form below and our InTheBite concierge service will be happy to assist you.

Ritchie Howell Custom Carolina Yachts – TFB

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The Sea Fix, a Ritchie boat splashed in 2019, exemplifies Howell’s modern creations—the heritage of which can be traced to a conversation between two North Carolina charter captains. Photo courtesy Pepper Ailor

There seems to be no end to the boat building talent in Wanchese, North Carolina. Ritchie Howell stands as a fine example of a man that has mastered the fine art of crafting custom, sportfishing machines. Like many others in this area, he learned about boats by using them every day as a hook and line commercial tuna fisherman.

“I fished alongside Paul Spencer and we would always push each other to make the day. We would joke around about quitting all this one day and building boats,” says Howell. “One day, Paul said, ‘I’m going to do it. I’ve got a contract on my boat; I’m going to sell it and put up a boat shop and build a boat.’ So that’s what we did, we built him a boat.”

“We got about three-quarters of the way through the build and the boat sold. That was the Biopsy. Well, since I had put some money into the jig and the building with Paul, the next boat was mine…so we started my boat. I was still charter fishing at the time and my motor blew up. So, I sold that boat rather quickly. That was the Anticipation.”

“After that Paul was all-in and wanted to big,” says Howell. “But I wasn’t ready for that yet. To build one or two at a time was one thing, but I wasn’t ready for 15 at time. Paul offered to buy my piece of the jig and the building and I agreed. He bought me out and we went our separate ways.” But of course, that wasn’t the end of the story.

“I had a trip one day in the Fall, and as I backed into my slip, I saw Paul sitting there in his truck,” says Howell. “As soon as my people hopped off, Paul hopped on. He said ‘I’ve got about five people ready to build a boat right now. I know you have the money to put up a building because I just bought you out. You need to put up a building and do this. You know what you are going to get if you stay here charter fishing…you are going to starve to death.’ He was right. He really talked me into doing my own thing. That’s when I put up the building.”

With a building going up, but no boat on the horizon, Howell continued fishing and on one tournament trip up to New Jersey, he got lucky.

“On the ferry ride home, I met a guy who said he always wanted a Carolina boat, and we just started to talking,” says Howell. “I told him how I just started building a boat shop without a boat to build… and that’s how it all went down. Crazy, right?” “We started in 2000 and the boat was originally called the TFB, a 65-footer,” says Howell. “I’ve got a list of all the things those letters could possibly stand for…but I think I’ll just leave it up to everybody’s imagination. Most of them you probably couldn’t put into a magazine article anyway.”

“I remember on that first one I would lose sleep at night, worry about what was coming down the pike and what we had to do. I used to sweat it big time,” says Howell. “Not anymore…I sleep like a baby. I like to look at the plans and figure out how we are going to attack certain aspects of the build. I’m much more relaxed about it than I used to be.”

Ritchie Howell’s boats are a reflection of his life spent on the water.

With his 32nd boat, a 61-footer, about to come out of the shed, Howell says that there are pretty dramatic differences between hull number 1 and the boats he puts out today. “Our shape has actually changed drastically. It’s pretty much night and day from what we build now compared to back then…there’s nothing remotely similar between the two. Now, everything is computer generated and engineered to the nines. Our first one was a hand-drawn…we cut it by hand.

“That’s a great way to learn about boat building, but you can’t compete with a computer. We have lofted our own boats in the past, if we didn’t have time to get a jig cut or somebody was looking for a bargain basement deal, but you have to use a computer-generated jig now. What we do is a lot more exacting than it used to be. I used to think, ‘If someone would just give me a million dollars, oh man the boat I could build!’ Nowadays a million doesn’t even scratch the surface…it’s just way it’s gotten to be.”

“When I think, and look back at the first boat, I want to look at it with a critical eye…and see how I’d want to change it. If I had to do it over again today it would be a different animal! Those old boats are beautiful with their classic lines and all that stuff, but you have to be a bit more progressive nowadays.”

When asked about what makes Ritchie Howell boats stand out from the crowd, Howell says that,

“I know it sounds weird, but I’m more of a boutique boat builder. I’m not trying to build a bunch of boats at one time. I just want to build one or two boats. The biggest difference here is, if someone calls and wants to know if their oil change pump is installed, I know. I don’t have to call a foreman or whatever. There is a one-on-one relationship with the people I’m building the boat for.” “I also believe that for the quality of product we put out, we are very value-based. I’m not saying I’m cheap, because I’m not…Nothing in this business is cheap. But you do get a lot of bang for your buck here. We don’t have a real fancy facility but it’s really all you need for boatbuilding. I also don’t have a lot of the overhead that other guys have.”

For more information on Ritchie Howell Custom Carolina Yachts, please e-mail info@inthebite.com or fill out the form below and our InTheBite concierge service will be happy to assist you.

Feels Like the First Time – Contender 25

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The Contender 31 Classic. It was boats like this one that put Contender on the map.

If you were alive and, in any way, involved in boating during the mid-80s, then you were a witness to one of the biggest boating booms of all time. Contender Boats fueled that growth like no other. After graduating from the University of Florida, Miami native Joe Neber, took a summer job at Sea-Vee “that turned into a career.”

“I was planning on going to law school but ended up working for Don McGee for the summer,” he says.

An unexpected buyout ended his time at Sea-Vee, but Neber had already been bitten by the boat builder’s bug. He started buying fiberglass hulls from Whitewater and rigging them out for resale.

“We did a lot of custom rigging, five or six boats, until they stopped selling me fiberglass parts because we were hurting their business. That’s when I decided to start Contender Boats…I was 22 years old at the time,” says Neber.

A short time later, in June of 1984, the first Contender, a Classic 25, rolled out of the building.

“Although it’s been a progression, the boat that really took us to the dance was the Classic 25. As the first Contender, it’s really an iconic boat. At the time, it was very high tech. We were some of the first to use biaxial and tri-axial fiberglass and used a lot of foam coring. We were stepping up the game and people started seeing some of the advantages of these new materials,” says Neber. “The 25 was great for us. We sold over 1,100 of them over a real long production run. The next one that came along after that was the 35 express. I built that boat because I needed that boat. We built about 600 of those. It could go fast and get me to the Bahamas and back. But the big one that really made a difference was the 31 Classic, which was actually 32’6” with the bracket.”

“Back in the day when we were building the 25, we were bolting on transom brackets to a square transom. We were still building a lot of straight-shaft inboards at the time. Before Yamahas came out, the bar for outboard reliability was really low. People who were going to the Bahamas preferred straight shaft inboards for the reliability. But by the late 80s and mid-90s the Yamahas weren’t breaking. We transitioned to the transom brackets with the 35 Express and the 31 and we never looked back at the inboard market too much,” says Neber.

From a summer job at Sea Vee, Joe Neber has transformed his passion for center consoles into one of
the most iconic brands on the market.

With both the 25 and 31 selling really well, an oil crisis and a recession in the late 2000s tipped Neber’s hand and forced him to get creative once again.

“In 2007 and 2008, we had oil at $165 a barrel and people stopped buying boats. We were actually looking at going back to inboard diesels!” says Neber. “We needed a new product, so we began transitioning into the step hulls business to give our customers an option between the deep-v and the step. But you have to know, I was the anti-step guy when I was the deep-V hull guy! I had a product that was burning 20 percent more fuel than a stepped hull. I had to change something. We went through a lot of research and development, making three dimensional drawings until we got it to the point where we liked the designs and built them. I hardly ever build deep-V now.”

“We knew what we liked in our V-hull and what we wanted in the stepped hull,” says Neber. “Nobody was building a step hull that had a balance of performance…it didn’t exist. If it ran good in a head sea, it was scary in a following sea. Nobody had it right. Our goal was to build safe, balanced stepped hulls that ran in all sea conditions. Our first hull, the 35 Step, hit it right on the money. It worked perfectly. We worked with naval architect John Cosker on the step hulls. He’s a brilliant guy who has built super-fast racing boats. We told him what we liked and what we didn’t like and he came up with the 35…and it was amazing.”

Contender went on to make 32-foot, a 39-foot and a 30-foot stepped hull.

“Our stepped hulls are the finest performing offshore boats available today,” says Neber. “Their fuel economy, seakeeping ability, soft ride, and safety in a following sea are incredible. There’s nobody out there that can run with us…there’s nothing that goes to sea like a Contender. Good seakeeping is a driving force. It comes from the hardcore fishing stuff we are doing. Our goal wasn’t speed; even if we weren’t the fastest in the fleet, once it got rough, we’d still be out front. Our biggest competitor is our prior-built product.”

For more  information from our marketing partner Contender Boats please fill out the form below and our InTheBite concierge service will be happy to assist you.

V-37 Walkthrough

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Join Valhalla Boatworks’ Justin Healey on the V-37 for an in-depth walk-through showcasing the high-performance luxury center console’s vast array of features and options. Along the way, Justin points out examples of her build quality, attention to detail and high-level engineering.

V-37 Walk-through from Valhalla Boatworks on Vimeo.

For more  information on Valhalla Boats please submit the form below and our InTheBite concierge service will be happy to assist you.

Spencer Yachts – Biopsy, Anticipation

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Spencer hull number one during the build.

By Dave Ferrell

I’ve been lucky enough to poke my head into some pretty famous boat sheds over the years. Every time I do, I come away with a greater respect for the art of boat building and the men who create these incredible fishing machines. You’ve got to have more than just a little bit of confidence to take a man’s money and build him an ocean-going condominium that can withstand all the challenges and forces that come with going to sea. These vessels have to perform at the highest levels and still look good doing it; ugly boats don’t sell no matter how well they ride!

With one of the biggest and most revered names in sportfishing, it’s hard to believe that Spencer Yachts has only been building boats for 21 years. In a place known for building some of the best custom sportfishing yachts in the world, Paul Spencer built not only an incredible legacy in a very short period of time…but some truly remarkable sportfishing boats along the way. Like a lot of the custom builders in North Carolina, Spencer’s trip to the boat shed started with a life at sea, running a charter boat.

“The reason I set out to build a boat was that I was a charter boat captain that needed a new boat…and I couldn’t afford one,” says Spencer. “There was a guy in our area, Capt. Buddy Cannady, who would build a boat, use it for a year or two, and then sell it. I thought, ‘Wow, that’s the way to do it!’ That was my plan. So, I sold my old charter boat that I’d had for ten years that my father-in-law built and got started. I had a few ideas, and I hired Mike Lohr, a guy that could draft, and we sat down and drew the boat together. I built that boat as if it was going to be mine…with intention of selling it somewhere down the road.”

That first Spencer boat, the Biopsy, has remained an active charter boat for the last 21 years.

“We changed some things…it didn’t have the traditional look. We mingled some styles and didn’t give the boat as much flare as a Buddy Davis,” says Spencer. “I only ran it for a summer before someone wanted to buy it. It performed really well, so I sold it.”

Spencer’s plan seemed to be working perfectly. After seeing the Biopsy, the Springs family from South Carolina asked Spencer to build another one. That boat, Spencer hull number 2, turned out to be the Anticipation.

An aerial view of the Spencer Yachts facility today. Through this yard pass some of the finest sportfishers in the world.

“I actually ran that boat for a couple of summers and we just had phenomenal luck on it. We took it to Ocean City, Maryland and won the White Marlin Open, we won the Pirate’s Cove tournament, we just had some phenomenal success on that boat,” says Spencer. “In the middle of the success with that boat, someone asked me to build another one. By the third year I had too many people wanting me to build them a boat…so I couldn’t charter fish anymore. I had slid into the boat building business.”

“Those first two boats were extremely influential in everything we did,” says Spencer. “We changed things, even on the first one, that made it look different and ride different. We just thought it performed really well. Biopsy wasn’t super appointed…it was kind of just plain and simple. The second one was more involved and by the third and fourth they were really sportfish yachts…they weren’t just boats.”

Those first two boats were jig boats built out of Okume plywood and cold molded, which at that time was a relatively new way to go about building a sportfisher. “A lot of people were still doing frame and plank then, and we used some composite materials that other people weren’t using in some places in the boat. In each boat, we used more and more (composites) to be more efficient in terms of weight. By the third boat we knew we could use cored material instead of plywood for decks, bulkheads and stuff like that.”

“We did change some things in the bottoms on those two boats,” says Spencer. “We added some different things that changed the shape of the bottom and we thought they made the boat ride well. We always keep our boats sharp up forward. I grew up where we had to go 40 to 50 miles each way every day, so we incorporated that into our boats. It’s a sacrifice; you lose a little room…but you gave up some of that room in the bow to make a great ride. If you need more room, make the boat longer not fatter…I’ve always leaned this way.”

A quick look at any of Spencer’s builds, including the first two, reveals a true passion for the art of boat building. “It was extremely rewarding to see that finished product when they were done…and it’s still that way today. I love boats. It ain’t all about going out and making money. You’ve got to have that passion. If you don’t, you’re probably not going to be as creative as you should be,” says Spencer. “There’s always a way to make them a little better. I’m always looking for a way to tweak it little bit…how can we make it just a tiny bit better.”

FULL TIME – 77′ of Performance by Paul Mann

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Photo courtesy Paul Mann

Delivered to South Florida, the FULL TIME is one of the latest offerings from Paul Mann. When tested for its final performance numbers, the boat (with tower attached and with 16 crew aboard) went 45 kt (52 MPH) WOT.

Even at 1250 RPMs tests showed over 18 kt. She’s equipped with state-of-the-art 16-cylinder Tier 3 MTU Series 2000 M96 engines. These brawny built for long-distance power plants not only generate up to 2600 HP per engine, but also have a power-to-weight ratio that contributes to fuel efficiency.

Photo courtesy Paul Mann

FULL TIME’s fit and finish matches her performance numbers. This four-stateroom luxury sportfish yacht features three full heads plus a day head, galley and salon with custom teak joinery, including select areas of solid teak flooring. As you move throughout the spacious layout from the living quarters to the master suite and each stateroom, luxury and conveniences are abundant.

Photo courtesy Paul Mann

The exterior teak package consists of a solid teak transom, drip molding, toe-rail, cockpit deck, back bulkhead, and mezzanine. In addition, the fly-bridge has all the richness of wraparound seating with teak caps, rod storage, (2) built-in custom freezers and the comforts of a/c, along with a custom teak Palm Beach-style helm pod.

Photo courtesy Paul Mann

Perhaps the Best 31 Bertram Refit Ever: What Do You Think?

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By Capt. Jeff Waxman

Owner: Dr. Pasquale Petrera, MD

Boatyard: Worton Creek Marina – Chestertown, Maryland

Docked: Indian River North Shore Marina – Indian River, Delaware

Everyone, everywhere in our world knows the 31’ Bertram. Most of us have an opinion (usually a very strong one) about this iconic boat. The universal opinions stem from the boat’s impact. The 31 Bertram began the deep v revolution, in many ways paving the way for offshore fishing to gain popularity. Many of the several thousand built are still in use today, around the globe, still catching more than their share.

And many, probably most, have been modified, repowered, and renovated. The forms of resplash are as varied as the ports the 31s call home – from adding outboards to slicing off half of the topsides; if you can think of it, likely it’s been done.

With the variety of Bertram 31 modifications out there, comes the inevitable debate – who has done it best? There are many contenders for the throne, but there is something about one 31’ in particular, delivered new in 1971… the Priceless owned by Dr. Pasquale Pertrera and fished out of Indian River, Delaware. She is a Bahia Mar version of the 31, produced in the early days of the Express boats popular today.

My parameters for evaluating a refit lie at the intersection of three pieces of the puzzle: 1) Vision and good taste. 2) Execution (by the boatyard). 3) Funds (more than a little). We all know the Bertram story and have all seen some of the worst and some of the best renovations. Here are some key points on the Priceless: Thrust, Power, and Fuel Consumption: She is powered by twin 315 HP Yanmar diesels that provide the push to cruise 27 knots at 3150; with 34 Knots at 3800 WOT.

Priceless is equipped with oversized shafts swinging 18×19 wheels. The result is efficient performance. On a typical canyon run (65-70 miles each way), with a full day of trolling she burns 110-120 gallons. Fishability and Comfort: The cockpit is non slip (Dr. Pertrera is considering adding teak Sea Dek). It is equipped with a Pompanette Fighting Chair with striking rod holders center mounted. To accommodate all of the tackle necessary for canyon trips and trolling, the Priceless has 12 rod holders on gunwales and on transom, plus two additional rows of six rocket launchers on marlin tower.

The engine boxes are covered with blue/white striped cushions with four inches of heavy-duty foam, extra insulation added. Helm and passenger seating is a custom arrangement – they seat two each complete with footrests and storage. The seat backs flip both ways in order to watch forward or astern. She boasts full electronic instrumentation at helm and on tower.

The original windshield was removed and replaced by an EZ2CY three quarter enclosure with various openings for ventilation. Further modifications include a custom hardtop with several handholds, LED overhead lighting extended to ends of engine boxes and a custom safety raft mount on top below the marlin tower floor. The tower is anchored by stanchions of three-foot custom aluminum tubing and provides seating for two.

Dock Appeal: The boot stripe and house stripe blue were changed and painted in flag blue Awlgrip. The hull is polar white gel coat. The cabin is redone, she’s air conditioned, complete with a new head and enclosure. The refrigerator has been replaced and all new cushions complete with overhead rod racks. The deep step from cockpit to cabin is covered by custom starboard that provides a flat floor across entire cockpit.

She has controls top and bottom electronic, tachs digital. Four centerline automatic bilge pumps keep everything dry. All that said, Priceless is greater than the sum of her parts. She looks salty, runs true, is exceptionally comfortable…and catches fish! And, the way she has been designed with marlin tower location balance and engine weight set a bit deeper in the hull, this Bertram is not as wet as most…not dry, but much better than most 31s. Finest 31’ renovation around? You decide…I think so!

If you have any notable resplashes that you’d like to see in the magazine, send us a note and some pictures: info@inthebite.com – ITB

When Bayliss Boatworks Delivered the 62-foot GameChanger

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Photo courtesy Bayliss Boatworks

The result of 18 months and some 38,000-man hours, the GameChanger was the second installment in Bayliss’ GameBoat line. Fishing is the goal of the GameBoat line, with tackle accessibility, storage and ease of washdown included in the design.

The GameChanger incorporates extensive faux teak – including the transom, drip molding, toe rail, helm pod and salon door. The flybridge features a peninsula-style layout: the console is oriented to the port side, with seating to the starboard. Two teaser reels are nested above in the hardtop. The faux teak helm pod is a standout on the console, matching well with the two helm chairs. Ample storage is found in the console, forward brow, and starboard seating; a freshwater washdown connection can be accessed forward of the starboard bench seat.

Photo courtesy Bayliss Boatworks

GameChanger’s cockpit is oriented with her Bayliss Boatworks Delivers 62-foot GameChanger Harrison 41 – A Modern Sportfisher That Tips It Hat to The Classics crew’s needs in mind. The off-center salon door shifts the configuration of the cockpit mezzanine, allowing for a large ice bin, and elongated seating in the upper mezzanine areas. The lower mezzanine level lids open to reveal custom-built stainless bait boxes and storage. In the engine room companionway, there lies ample and tailored storage for heavy dredge tackle.

Photo courtesy Bayliss Boatworks

Custom pocket gaff storage is located in GameChanger’s starboard tackle center. GameChanger’s interior sets herself apart in our GameBoat line. Her owners utilized Bayliss Boat-works’ V.C. layout, where the upper and lower
level layout is completely customizable. The lower level is a three-stateroom/two-head layout, including the quintessential GameBoat tackle room. Beneath the forward master, the carpet lifts to reveal covert storage in the machine tunnel – a strong feature intended for additional provisioning on longer fishing trips.

Photo courtesy Bayliss Boatworks

Starboard of the last companionway step sits the entrance to the tackle room: two bait freezers are oriented between cabinets customized for tackle, dredge reels, and rods. Mechanically, GameChanger is equipped with a pair of MTU M96L 12V engines, each with 1920 horsepower. Her stabilization comes from one Seakeeper 16. Fully loaded, her top speed is 44 knots at 2450 rpm and 192 gallons per hour. Her cruise is an easy 37 knots with a full load, at 2,000 rpm and 142 gallons per hour.

SPECIFICATIONS

  • Start Date: May 2017
  • Delivery Date: December 2018
  • Length: 62’
  • Beam: 18’ 2”
  • Draft: 4’ 10”
  • Power: (2) MTU M96L 12V @ 1920 hp each
  • Generator: 20kw Northern Lights
  • Fuel Capacity: 1,726 gallons
  • Water Capacity: 250 gallons
  • Water Maker: FCI 1,200 gallon per day with a dockside processor
  • Interior Layout: Three stateroom, two-head,
  • Tackle/freezer room
  • Bridge Layout: Peninsula console, starboard bench seat, two helm chairs
  • Stabilization: Seakeeper 16

If you have a boat that is being splashed and would like InTheBite to feature it, please email us at digital@inthebite.com

Hatteras GT65 Carolina Make World Debut at Miami Yacht Show

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MIAMI, FL ‒ February 14, 2020 – Hatteras | Cabo Yachts, LLC, an industry leader in building luxury motor yachts and convertible sportfishing yachts for over 60 years, proudly announced the world debut of the new Hatteras GT65 Carolina at the 2020 Miami Yacht Show this February.

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The Hatteras GT65 Carolina represents the next generation of the builder’s tournament-proven GT Series sportfishing yachts, which runs from 45 to 70 feet ‒ while maintaining the line’s core DNA and 40+-knot performance. The yacht features a sleek new profile, a high-tech hull and a new level of customization available to discerning owners, whether they plan to target big game offshore or cruise long-range in luxury and comfort.

“I picked an exciting time to join the Hatteras team with the launch of this ground-breaking new yacht,” said Gary Smith, who was named CEO of Hatteras | CABO Yachts in January. “My second day in the office, I met with Chris Jessen, soon-to-be owner of the first GT65 Carolina along with his wife, Laura.

The Jessens, who have an elite tournament fishing team, were great partners with Hatteras in developing this new sportfish model. Our R&D, Engineering and Interior Design staff really stretched themselves to realize their unique vision for the boat, particularly the many custom fishing features and the striking contemporary interior.

The new GT65 Carolina also helps to move the needle on boat construction technology for the rest of the industry.”

Hatteras Yachts’ Engineering team utilized Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) to design a new hull and tunnel design for the GT65 Carolina that maximizes performance, handling and seaworthiness. The hull and stringer system are infused as a single part, an industry first, in order to reduce weight and increase strength.

The boat also has a new engine-room layout that optimizes ease of maintenance and serviceability. The tandard power package includes twin 1,622-bhp Caterpillar C-32A diesels; upgrade engine packages with twin 1,800-bhp and 1,900-bhp Cats are available. The GT65 Carolina also is purpose-designed to operate with twin Seakeeper 9 gyro stabilizers for added comfort without compromising the yacht’s 1,900-gallon fuel capacity.

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Standard salon/galley interior design for the GT65 Carolina featuring a peninsula counter

The GT65 Carolina’s four-stateroom, three-head interior makes the most of the abundant volume provided by the boat’s 65’2″ LOA (68’2″ with pulpit) and 20′ beam. The salon/galley is clean and spacious, providing ample room to feed a hungry crew and abundant storage space without obstructing views of the sea through the large windows.

Owners can configure the galley with an island or peninsula counter. Below, the yacht features the largest en-suite master stateroom in its class amidships, along with a generous forward VIP and two bunkrooms.

Ultimate fishability was the design imperative for the GT65 Carolina’s huge cockpit, which is overlooked by a full mezzanine with optional seatback air-conditioning and large built-in stainless-steel storage boxes. An ergonomic ladder leads up the flybridge, which features a “glass-cockpit” helm array and excellent sightlines all around the boat.

The first Hatteras GT65 Carolina, Fish Tank, was in the water at the Hatteras Yachts Miami Yacht Show display. Fully loaded with valuable options, it features upgrade power ‒ twin 1,900bhp CAT C-32A diesel engines ‒ along with a full tower with outriggers, 60/40 split berth in the forward stateroom, and the Hatteras Integrated Tackle Storage center.