Hatteras 45EX Sportfish Test Walkthrough Video

Join us as BoatTest.com takes us on a sea trial of the Hatteras 45 Express sport fish yacht:

The following opinions are solely those of BoatTest.com and its test captain.

Hi, Capt. Steve for BoatTest.com, and today we’re going to be doing a full test and performance evaluation of the Hatteras 45 Express. It’s available in two versions – the cruiser and sport fish. We’ll be testing the sport fish today.

We tested the 45 Express with a pair of 1136 horsepower CAT C18 Acerts turning Michigan 5-blade 30 x 46.5 props. We reached our top speed of 39.1 knots with 2350 RPM and did so with a 118 gallon per hour fuel burn. Best cruise was measured to be at 1750 RPM and 29.9 knots. That speed reduced the fuel burn 72 gallons per hour, resulting in a cruise range of just under 299 nautical miles.

At the CAT recommended cruise of 80% load, we’re at 2000 RPM and 34.6 knots. That brought a 95 gallon per hour fuel burn and a 262 nautical mile range. We reached planning speed at 7.3 seconds and accelerated to 20 miles per hour in 9.3.

This is an outstanding handling boat. Testing in 3-4 foot swells showed how well she takes the seas and her reputation as a blue water boat. Her narrow entry and wide flare sent water way out to the sides and allowed us to press right through whatever we encountered.

There are 5 turns from lock to lock in the wheels, her responsiveness is properly sedate. She has a comfortable transition from wave to wave, skipping across with a gentle reentry and no pounding.

We noticed no shaking or vibrating of any components, but rather a tight build that gave us confidence to push her harder. And this made us appreciate the safety factor of a high freeboard measuring 3 feet 1 inch at the stern, increasing to 5 feet 2 inches at the bow.

Of course, the best of her handling was saved for last – docking. Those big props have a lot of torque, and it shows with the responsiveness. Just a nudge into gear had a good reaction of first pushing the boat in the desired direction and then moving her along that course. In other words, hit port reverse and the stern starts to swing to starboard.

Add a touch of opposite reverse and she’ll settle into that direction. We were able to not only steer her perfectly into the slip this way, we can also layer up alongside nice and gently, with exacting precision, all in a strong crosswind. This really is a dream boat to handle at the dock and without the added expensive bells and whistles that make it mindless do so.

So now that we’re tied up, let’s look over some of our operational features. 12-inch cleats are located throughout and here at the stern, the lines run through the stainless steel hoss holes in the cap rail. The power panel is located down below in the aft bulkhead. The generator control is located at the top and the crossover down the bottom.

As we make our way along the side decks rails to the cabin sides ease the transition and once the side rails level out, they begin at 10 inches and increase to 26 at the working end of the bow. Finally forward we’ve got a Maxwell windlass with foot controls to both sides, freshwater wash down, cleats to both sides including a cleat to secure the rode to; pulpit is fully forward the anchor runs through the pulpit.

In the center of the cockpit deck, here is a convenient feature – access to all the mechanical components. This basically houses equipment for moving water, whether live wells, through strainers or bilge pumps along with the steering hydraulics. The engine room is accessed from a hatch under the elevated center cockpit seat. Standard powers a pair of 705 horsepower CAT C12As, here we have the upgraded 1135 horsepower C18 Acert.

The first thing I noticed is an orderly layout with all wire runs neatly secured, the main battery switches around the forward bulkhead just over the battery box, all sink and shower drains lead into a single sump for discharge overboard. The 17 kW generator is located aft behind the stairs. Through holes are properly double clamped. Fuel filters are amounted to the aft end of the engines right at the ladder.

Taking a look at the helm, Hatteras went with a center-mounted console, pair of 15-inch displays are just ahead, VHF over to the left-hand side along with the stereo and Hatteras alarm display, autopilot, windshield washer, electric bow thruster, the controls for the CAT engines and the displays that are just ahead of the wheel, and notice the etched stainless steel switch panel.

In true Hatteras fashion we’ve got the high-gloss console, stainless steel wheel – I’d like to see it steering know – the Palm Beach controllers allow for easy maneuverability and clear sight lines to the cockpit.

We’ve got a lot of glass amounts including a huge single piece front windshield, doesn’t cause a problem with greenhouse effect though – it’s 90 degrees on our test day and we’ve got air conditioning both behind me and ahead of me. There are defroster vents just underneath that windshield, plus for natural air we’ve got overhead ventilation and air scooped in from the side vents.

The huge single piece windshield measures 11 feet 4 inches by feet two inches. Three separate seats allow the captain to be accompanied by a pair of observers, high-end seats are fully adjustable for height, swivel, slide and they have flip-down footrests.

Of course, we have this premium level tower with another operating station at the top. This station consists of the basic helm layout with a small Garmin display to one side and CAT engine controls to the other. We’d like to see a steering knob added to the stainless wheel.

The two emergency stops are just below. The compass is just ahead. Both the panel and the side rails are painted matte black to completely eliminate glare. The bench seat seems more suited to leaning as it’s too far aft to use while operating, definitely convenient while spotting birds working in school though.

Now while this is certainly smaller than what most come to think of it as a Hatteras, it also signals the beginning of a new direction that makes the brand available to a wider audience, all while keeping the sea-keeping qualities that made the name so well-spoken in the offshore community.

Well, that’s my full test and performance evaluation on the Hatteras 45 Express sport fish. For BoatTest.com, I’m Capt. Steve. We’ll see you on the water.