Boat test for the 2007 Hatteras 60GT Convertible including boat specifications, photo galleries, boat videos, boat layout diagrams, boat test numbers, boat test results, and boat speed graphs. Also includes pricing, engine test reviews, ratings, standard features, and gear for the 2007 Hatteras 60GT Convertible.

The twin-engine Embraer turboprop I was aboard slid and skipped along the flag-stiffening breeze like a boat that was being beaten by breaking seas. The approach to the Bahamas' Marsh Harbour—and the end of this interesting voyage across from West Palm Beach, Florida—was in sight, but it wouldn't be my last tangle with this blowhard of a wind. However, the next time we'd meet, the vehicle under my feet would push back with a vengeance.

I made my way to the dock at Abaco Beach Resort and took in a sad sight. The east-northeasterly blow was so bad that the Bertram, Hatteras, Viking, and custom-built battlewagons all lined up to fish day two of the Big Four billfish tournament were huddled in their slips. This was no weekend-warrior event, either; these were all top-gun teams representing the biggest and baddest. And it was Hatteras' newly designed, resin-infused 60GT Convertible battlewagon that I was here to see.

I've never been one to back off if bad weather arrives on test day, and neither is this builder. Hatteras marketing director David Ritchie, Capt. Dave Fields, and I decided that if we couldn't fish, we might as well see how our test boat, which was designed for the hardcore fisherman, handled equally hardcore conditions. This was going to get fun.

As we exited the marina, the wind was puffing 30 to 35 knots, causing the protected waters to kick up into four to five feet of steep, nasty, go-back-to-the-dock-and-watch-TV chop. The three of us just smiled as Fields called out that he was going to run the 60 for a bit to get to some deeper water for our speed trials. Twenty-three, 30.3, and then 37 mph, the 60 sped along as the optional twin 1,800-bhp Caterpillar C32 ACERT diesels hummed happily inside her hull until she reached a 2000-rpm cruise speed of 41.7 mph. Based on a full 1,800-gallon complement of fuel, this vessel can make a 582-mile run at this speed while consuming 116 gph. I was truly dropjawed, which wasn't the best idea, as the equally forceful wind managed to fastball spray over the expansive flared bow and right up into my face. (This 60 had a completely open bridge; may I suggest you get yours with a full enclosure?) Ritchie and Fields had a good chuckle at my salty-faced expense, but it was refreshing. Even more refreshing was when Fields put the Caterpillar single-lever controls to the pins and the 39x64 five-blade Veem wheels ate up the choppy white water, propelling the 60 to an average hair-straightening top hop of 48.6 mph—the fastest Hatteras ever. Of course, this will cost you 190 gph. However, her large fuel capacity enables a 414-mile range at this speed. Even more important, this high-freeboard behemoth moved along in utter defiance of the elements she was facing. There was no bang, slam, or even a stutter—ever.

The 60's easy-riding, solid-fiberglass bottom is similar to the successful convex, variable-deadrise hull of the builder's popular 54 Convertible, which debuted four years ago and features a sharp entry, about 20 degrees of deadrise amidships, and a flat, two-degree aft section. But according to Bruce Angel, Hatteras' vice president of product development and engineering, the 60's hull bottom also takes advantage of the lightweight build that the resin-infusion process offers. This system, which Hatteras recently added to its manufacturing process, involves the fiberglass being held in position on the mold's surface via a vacuum, all of which is in a sealed plastic bag. Resin is introduced into this closed system in a controlled manner. The result is a low-emission, clean lay-up. It also maximizes the glass-to-resin ratio and minimizes the voids and inconsistency that can be found in a hand-laid hull. By example, the glass-to-resin ratio on the 60's hull was around 60:40, where as it would be the other way around if the hull had been hand-laid, according to Angel.

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