It's been more than a decade since Hatteras Yachts launched its GT line, lending new style to the North Carolina builder's long-respected ability to construct fishing battlewagons.
Today, the GT range includes open and flybridge models from 45 to 70 feet length overall, with the GT59 being the newest addition to the fleet.
Like her siblings, the GT59 is built to suit serious anglers, with 156 square feet of dance floor where owners can mount a leaning post/rocket launcher combination stand, or an offset fighting chair for chasing Hemingway-worthy marlin. Adding to her fishy nature, there’s an in-transom livewell and a tackle center in the cockpit’s forward starboard corner, under the flybridge ladder and insulated in-deck fish boxes. Teak adds a rich look not only in the cockpit, but also in the coaming boards, and air conditioning vents in the back of the mezzanine seats make watching the trolling action feel, well, ultra cool.
Inside, the Hatteras GT59 has a single-level salon and galley. An L-shaped settee with a coffee table is to port and along the after bulkhead. To starboard is an entertainment unit with a built-in flat-screen TV. The layout allows room for an island galley with four fixed stools, a four-burner Miele electric cooktop, a Franke stainless-steel sink, an in-cabinet Sharp microwave, and four fridge/freezer drawers. High-gloss teak is used throughout the space, which also has a wood-grain vinyl sole and light-tone Silestone countertops—inviting and easy on maintenance.
Belowdecks, Hatteras offers three layouts. The standard one has an en suite master stateroom to port (with 6-foot-5-inch headroom), a forward VIP with a queen berth and a head that also serves as the day head, and a starboard guest stateroom with upper-lower berths. In one optional layout, the forward VIP changes to 60-40 split berths. The third layout adds a day head abaft the starboard guest stateroom, swapping out the space from the standard utility room.
In all the layouts, there is a stand-up rod locker in the companionway. Door frames to the staterooms have rounded headers, adding to the high-end ambience that runs throughout the guest spaces.
Truly hardcore anglers may consider what’s dubbed the optional Hatteras Integrated Tackle Storage space. It converts the standard utility space into a tackle center with custom cabinets and lockers for rods, reels and supplies. In this space on the GT59 that I was aboard, I counted 27 rods (sans reels) in one locker alone. In-counter stowage holds larger reels such as Penn Internationals.
The engine room is designed for owner-operators, and it has one feature in particular that surprised me. When entering via a hatch in the mezzanine seating, I needed to step over the lower bulwark—and at first, I thought this setup was awkward. Soon, I realized that having the bulwark there likely eliminates seawater from entering the engine room, especially when backing down. I have seen decks get absolutely flooded with the amount of water that can wash over the transom, so this is a good idea.
Headroom in the engine room is just over 5 feet, and I felt like I would have had plenty of room to move around and complete regular maintenance on the optional 1,900 hp Caterpillar C32A diesel engines (1,600 or 1,800 hp diesels are also available). A 1,200-gallon-per-day watermaker and a second 21.5-kW Onan generator can be added to the standard engine-room machinery. An optional Seakeeper 16 gyrostabilizer should keep the ride comfy.
But much of the GT59’s fun, of course, is to be had topsides. There are two helm setups: one on the flybridge and one in the tuna tower. The flybridge layout has a high-gloss teak pod with single-lever controls on centerline, twin helm seats and 360-degree visibility. The helm’s dash can house three Garmin multifunction displays, in varying sizes. Covered cabinets conceal the trim tabs controller, bow thruster joystick, Optimus rudder angle display and more. Overhead is a drop-down console with the Cat engine display monitor, autopilot, VHF radio and speed log.
Performance? Check. Fishability? Check. Luxury appointments? Check. In the GT59, Hatteras Yachts has built a sport-fisherman with solid speed, admirable range and myriad angling amenities. About the only thing left to do is to fill the fish boxes.
Hatteras Yachts says construction time for the GT59 is about eight months. The hull is built of solid fiberglass below the waterline, with a stringer system that is laid in during hull production. Divinycell sandwiched foam coring is used above the waterline. A sharp entry and variable-degree deadrise hull form allow for lift and fuel efficiency. Hull tunnels mean flatter shaft angles and allow for the yacht’s 4-foot-9-inch draft.
A pair of optional 1,900 hp Caterpillar C32A diesels propelled my test GT59 to 40.1 knots at 2,300 rpm. The engines burned 204 gallons per hour at the yacht’s top hop. Dialed back to 1,800 rpm, she cruised at 29.8 knots while consuming 124 gph. At that speed, the GT59’s range is 379 nautical miles with a 10 percent fuel reserve. Dropping back to 21.8 knots and 1,500 rpm, range extended to 415 nautical miles with a fuel burn of 83 gph.
Take the next step: hatterasyachts.com
