Hatteras Yachts – Still Defining the Industry
The Hatteras
legend began on the barrier islands of the North Carolina shore where the frigid
waters of the Labrador Current encounter the tropical Gulf Stream. The outcome is
Diamond Shoals – home to some of the most turbulent and untamed waters in the Atlantic
and some of the best sportfishing in the world.
Here in 1959 at Cape Hatteras, where nor'easters
can blow almost as fiercely as hurricanes, Willis Slane envisioned building a boat
that could conquer the waters of Diamond Shoals and surmount the Hatteras weather.
It would not be an ordinary boat – no traditional wooden fishing boat could do this.
This new boat would have to be rugged and robust to take the pounding of Hatteras
waters. But most importantly, it would have to be a great sportfishing boat – big
enough to handle a group of avid fishermen and comfortable enough for family back
at the dock.
Breaking with all tradition, Slane chose a
new material – fiberglass – to build this noteworthy yacht that launched an industry.
Hatteras produced its first sportfishing yacht
on March 22, 1960, in the town of High Point, North Carolina. Christened the
Knit Wits, she was a 41-foot twin cabin sportfisherman with a 14-foot beam and
a pair of 275-hp Lincoln V-8s. The response was enthusiastic and the Hatteras legend
was born. In a testament to the ruggedness that has become synonymous with Hatteras
Yachts, the Knit Wits is still in service today after a fishing career that
includes service in the Gulf of Mexico and Pi?as Bay, Panama.
Within two years, Hatteras premiered the 41
Double Cabin, the first fiberglass motor yacht and the precursor of its cruising
yacht line. Additional sportfishing models quickly followed.
The market soon demanded bigger boats, and
so the Hatteras sportfishing fleet expanded – first to 50-foot boats and now up
to 90-foot convertibles. Hatteras also began designing and producing a line of cruising
yachts that now ranges from 63 to 100 feet in length.
In 1967 Hatteras added a second manufacturing
facility in the coastal town of New Bern, North Carolina. Thirty years later, the
original facility was closed and all manufacturing was consolidated at the 95-acre
waterfront site in New Bern, where operations remain today.
However, some things at Hatteras have not changed.
Hatteras yachts continue to set the standard for ruggedness and high performance
in all waters. Hatteras builds all its boats with a solid fiberglass hull bottom,
and only Hatteras warrants its hull for five years – a testament to the ruggedness
of its boats.
This commitment to superior craftsmanship began
with the Knit Wits and continues today. Whether the choice is a sportfishing
convertible or a motor yacht, both deliver the "renowned Hatteras ride" in comfort
and style.
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