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In ice
hockey, a hat trick is achieved when a player scores three goals in a
single game. With its new 6300 Raised Pilothouse, Hatteras Yachts has
scored a hat trick of its own, achieving a host of design goals in a yacht
that marks the dawn of a new era for the venerable North Carolina builder.
Goal
number one was a fresh, contemporary exterior style, and the new 6300
clearly scored in that arena. Gone are the linear styling elements that
defined Hatteras under the stewardship of the late Jack Hargrave. Straight
edges and sharp angles have given way to a softer, gentler, curvaceous
profile making the 6300 look streamlined and ready for action. Sporting
a swept-back deckhouse and a rakish arch atop her flying bridge, the yacht
I was about to test looked like no other Hatteras I’d ever seen.
Goal
number two was a spacious, open interior layout with accommodations that
rival those of a larger yacht. That was a key point for Steve Bostic,
the owner of our test boat, Sassy Lady. Recently retired, Bostic and his
wife had spent 18 months planning for a complete change in lifestyle that
would entail cruising for several months during the year. They initially
felt they would need a yacht in the 70- to 80-foot size range, but after
seeing the 6300 at the Miami International Boat Show last February, they
decided she would be their best choice because of her open main-deck floor
plan and three roomy staterooms below.
Equally
important to Bostic was Hatteras’ third goal, a comfortable cruise
speed of more than 30 mph and a top end in excess of 35 mph. Our sea trial
confirmed the hat trick, as our radar gun flashed a two-way average of
35.7 mph at full throttle and two-way average cruise speed of 31.7 mph
with the twin 1,400-hp Caterpillars purring at 2000 rpm. And my use of
the word purring is intentional. With the 6300 at normal cruising speeds,
I measured sound levels in the saloon and lower helm area in the low-
to mid-70 dB-As, dropping to just 65 dB-A (the level of normal conversation)
at 1000 rpm.
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