Ok, I admit it: I loved the bridge or the skylounge or whatever you call it. First, it’s very large and has room enough for a pair of big Pompanette helm chairs (the skipper gets the powered one) behind the fiberglass instrument pod. Our test 620 had a pair of Raymarine 120 displays, digital Caterpillar monitors, a panel for the Wesmar three- term gyro stabilizers and jog sticks for the Side-Power bow and stern thrusters. In front of the companion seat is a huge chart locker for those of us who love our paper charts. Just aft is an L-shape settee opposite a wet bar console with fridge/freezer, sink and 30-inch TV.
Here’s what I really liked: While the bridge has tempered-glass forward windows, the remaining space is surrounded by a Strataglass enclosure that unzips easily when you want a breeze. The rest of the time, this is a climate-controlled skylounge with two 18,000 Btu and one 9,000 Btu (there’s that redundancy again!) a/c units and doors to the boat deck. That deck, by the way, has a 1,000-pound UMT power davit, and there is easily room for a 12- foot tender — and, on our test boat, a pair of electric motorcycles for the owners’ shore excursions.
Power is a pair of 873-horsepower Caterpillar C18s, which is an increase from the standard 715-horsepower Cummins QSM11s, and you can go all the way to 1,015-horsepower Cats if you choose. Our test boat had twin Kohler gensets of 23 kW and 15.5 kW (redundancy!), plus a Charles Industries isoboost transformer and separate Charles 50- and 30-amp chargers for the house and generator batteries. Access is excellent, and the lazarette is large enough to have its own workbench.
Under way, the Hampton 620 was solid and comfortable, even in the very lumpy seas on our test day. Full throttle gave us more than 21 knots, but more important, we loped along at better than 12 knots at 50 percent load while sipping just 15 gallons per hour.
It’s easy to see quality in perfect joints in the woodwork (which the Hampton 620 has in spades), but unseen touches — like backing the AC/DC panels with 400-degree fire-resistant surfaces in case of a short — speak to an even more substantial quality. You may not see all these, but you’ll sleep better knowing they are there.
The real beauty of this yacht is in the details.
LOA: 63’10”
Beam: 17’3”
Draft: 5’1”
Displ.: 90,000 lb.
Fuel: 1,200 gal.
Water: 300 gal.
Test Power: 2 x 873 hp Caterpillar C18 diesels
Standard Power: 2 x 715 hp Cummins QSM11 diesels
Price as Tested: $2,188,800
Hampton Yachts, 888-221-1320; www.hamptonyachts.com
View a complete gallery of the Hampton 620.
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