popularity of 48 hatt sport fish

[Red Hatt]

Does anyone know much about the 48 sport fish hatt----did they have any major problems with performance etc? How many did they make ?

[Boss Lady]

I think they were made up to 1990. The late model boats had 8v92 735 HP engines in them and cruise was 23 knots. They were heavy which hurt performance (51,000 lbs) but were generally great boats. The serious fishermen were already in much larger boats at this point in time (60 footers) so the 48 was overlooked. It is a great boat, more economical to run and has plenty of cockpit for serious fishing (Marlin/tuna). The 8v92s are good for 2000-2500 hours if taken care of, but they are pushed to produce this power level. I really like the 8v92 but have to admit that they are hand grenades with no pin at this power level. If the boat has low hours on the engines, ok, otherwise expect to rebuild them.

[Spellbound]

Not Hatteras's best effort thus the low resale value. A good sea boat that was under powered (8v92's) which as stated above hurt performance in both speed and fuel consumption. Like the 58' of that vintage the draft is way too deep. Hull was lengthened to 50', bigger engines, 3rd stateroom production continued well into the mid-late 90's. The 50' proved to be a better performing and much more popular boat than the 48'.

[Boss Lady]

The 50 with Cat engines is impossible to work on, unless you weigh about 100 lbs. Forget getting in there if the engines are hot. At least on the 48 you can work on them. 23 knot cruise is respectable especially for the time, the 48 was just considered an in-between boat. Just out of reach for those who could afford the 45/46 but it couldn't compete with the 53C for space and layout.