64 Hatteras 2005

Source: Power & Motoryacht Magazine

First impressions are often the standard by which we measure things. While we may change our minds, it’s usually our gut reaction that endures. The initial reaction I had upon stepping through the transom door of the Hatteras 64 Motor Yacht on to the teak aft deck and into the saloon was that this was a boat that would impress me for a long time to come.

The 64 is a revamped version of Hatteras’ 6300 Raised Pilothouse, which has been in production since 2001, and features an all-new interior layout. In the saloon Hatteras designers have fashioned an open and airy space that’s ideal for extended cruising and feels more like a condo living room. This is due to a number of factors, but especially the beamy hull. At 18’3″ wide, the full-beam saloon, which also has headroom sufficient for the Chicago Bulls, encompasses 190 square feet. It includes a large, C-shape settee to starboard and a pair of handsome club chairs to port. They flank a high-gloss cherry cabinet (the whole boat’s finished in high-gloss, grain-matched cherry) that houses the A.C. and D.C. distribution panels and a stereo system that’d make any audiophile  proud.

Recessed lighting in the headliner creates a subdued feel when dimmed, great for watching DVDs on the standard, 37-inch Sharp LCD TV. Yet when I retracted the port and starboard blinds into the fluted-wood cornices (a more space-efficient design than the 6300’s fabric valences) the saloon was aglow in natural light. Then I opened the aft sliding door, extending the saloon into the aft deck with its spacious seating and optional teak table. While the design works well, I’d like to see Hatteras try a three-panel door in addition to port and starboard roll-down windows for an even better alfresco feel.

As impressed as I was with this space, the all-new galley—three steps up from the saloon—struck me as a real winner and a marked improvement from the 6300’s, which shared space with the saloon. My test boat’s galley was notable not only for the optional bullnose granite gracing the C-shape countertop and port-side dinette, and the appliances by Sub-Zero, Kitchen-Aid, and Kenmore, but also for the stowage both above and below that’ll easily accommodate more than a week’s worth of groceries for four, a nod to those who’ll use the 64 for more than a weekend at a stretch. The galley-up configuration also provides the chef with a bird’s-eye view of the saloon, great for entertaining guests, staying in the conversation, and keeping an eye on the kids. Like the saloon, the galley is bright—thanks to side windows and a three-panel windshield—and airy, with nearly seven-foot headroom.

Although the galley-up configuration means it shares space with the lower helm, the helm’s effectiveness doesn’t suffer. Centered on the three-panel windshield and complete with a Stidd helm seat, it not only offers good sightlines forward and to port and starboard, but also remains its own defined space, which impedes neither the galley nor the dinette to port. To assist in docking, the 64 has an optional CCTV camera mounted on the back of the flying bridge that allows the helmsman to see the stern on the 12-inch plotters on both the upper and lower helms. In addition, you may also opt to dock from the standard, pop-up control station to port on the aft deck.

Generous living space is also the theme of the 64’s accommodations area. My test boat featured the standard, three-stateroom layout, with all staterooms serviced by en suite heads with showers. (An optional layout adds a fourth stateroom to starboard, reducing the size of the master en suite head.) The spacious forepeak VIP, with 6’6″ headroom, felt like a master, and the master stateroom—full beam with 6’9″ headroom and located amidships below the galley—is equipped for royalty. The master’s walkaround king is flanked by copious stowage, including his-and-her cedar-lined closets that measure 28.5″x30″x77″ and a pair of six-drawer dressers that’ll swallow a few weeks’ worth of clothing. Hatteras even managed to fit a tub into the master head, complete with more optional bullnose granite counters, a teak-and-holly sole, and custom wallpaper.

Boat Specifications: 64 Hatteras 2005

Boat Type: Cruiser

Base Price: not available

Standard Power: 2/ 1,000-hp Caterpillar C18 diesel inboards

Optional Power: Twin MTU and Caterpillar diesels to 1,550 hp each

Length Overall (LOA): 64’10”

Beam: 18’3″

Draft: 4’8″

Weight: 103,824 lbs.

Fuel Capacity: 1,515 gal.

Water Capacity: 265 gal.

Standard Equipment: high-gloss cherry interior; Maxwell windlass; 1,100-lb. Nautical Structures hydraulic davit; Denon DVM-1815 DVD/CD player, AVR-1905 surround sound receiver; Audio Control Model 200 amp; Polk Audio speakers; Sharp Aquos LCD TVs: 37″ in saloon, 20″ in master, 15″ in galley; 2/Pompanette helm chairs on flying bridge; 4-burner Kitchen-Aid cooktop; 2/Sub-Zero drawer-style refrigerator/freezers; Sharp Carousel microwave/convection oven; Kenmore Elite dishwasher; Whirlpool washer/dryer; U-Line ‘fridge/freezer; 86,000-Btu Crusair four-zone reverse-cycle A/C; 16-hp American Bow Thruster bow thruster; oil-change system; 21.5-kW Onan genset w/ enclosure; central vac; dripless shaft logs

Test Engines: 2/1,400-hp Caterpillar 3412 E diesel inboards

Transmissions / Ratio: ZF 2250/3.52:1

Props: 40×68 7-blade Nibral Michigan Wheel

Steering: SeaStar hydraulic w/ power assist

Controls: Caterpillar electronic

Optional Equipment On Test Boat: Furuno NavNet system w/ 2/12” MU120C color monitors, 1954CBB w/ 6” plotter, 1920C Black Box; 2/lcom M602 VHF; Simrad AP25 autopilot; 2/Raymarine ST60 TriData display; Sea Tel 1898S satellite TV system; Stidd helm chair; Elbex EXC8207M color CCTV camera; Sub-Zero freezer; teak table on aft deck; granite countertops