Hatteras 70 Motor Yacht Specs, Sea Trial and Buyer's Guide

Which Hatteras 70 are you looking at

Type hatteras 70 into a listings site and you will see three very different boats. The first is the vintage Hatteras 70 Motor Yacht and its cockpit sibling, built in the Detroit Diesel era and now 30 to 40 years old. The second is the modern Hatteras 70 Motor Yacht that debuted at the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show in November 2015. The third is the Hatteras GT70, a 41-knot convertible sportfisherman tested by Power and Motoryacht in 2015 that shares nothing but the length number.

This guide focuses on the modern 70 Motor Yacht, with a full section on the vintage boats, because they are what most buyers in this size range actually compare. If you came here for the GT70, the short answer is at the bottom of the page.

New Bern's midsize motor yacht for the 2010s

Hatteras was founded by Willis Slane, whose 41-foot Knit Wits of 1959 was billed as the first fiberglass boat over 40 feet. The company grew from High Point to New Bern, North Carolina, where it still builds. Its ownership has changed hands several times: Brunswick bought it from Genmar in 2001 for about $80 million, sold the Hatteras and Cabo brands to Versa Capital Management in 2013, and White River Marine Group, controlled by Bass Pro founder Johnny Morris, acquired Hatteras in May 2021.

The modern 70 Motor Yacht was a Versa-era project. Yachting described it in October 2015 as the newest midrange model in a motor yacht line running from 60 to 100 feet. It won a Robb Report Best of the Best award, and in February 2017 Hatteras launched an enclosed-bridge version at Yachts Miami Beach that added an air-conditioned wheelhouse and lounge on the upper deck to stretch the cruising season.

Despite the name, the boat measures 74 feet 6 inches overall on a 21-foot beam, with a 4-foot 6-inch draft and a displacement of 155,000 pounds. That shallow draft is a real asset in the Bahamas and on the Intracoastal.

Infused construction and a tank built into the hull

Hatteras built the 70 with vacuum-assisted resin infusion throughout, a solid fiberglass hull bottom and an integral fuel tank below the waterline. Putting 2,000 gallons of fuel low and centered in the hull keeps the center of gravity down, which helps the ride and the roll period. The exterior is finished in Alexseal topcoat, the linear polyester and polyurethane system more common on custom yachts than production boats.

This is a very different approach from the vintage Hatteras motor yachts, which used balsa-cored decks and superstructures and separate fuel tanks. Surveyor David Pascoe has written that Hatteras core failures were rare but that older Hatteras hulls were prone to blistering, which is one reason the modern solid bottom matters for long-term value.

Four staterooms, a crew cabin and two galley plans

Below decks, reached by a spiral staircase from the galley, the 70 has four staterooms: a full-beam master with a king berth aft of the stair landing, a forward VIP with a queen berth, a twin-berth guest cabin to port and a double to starboard, served by three heads. Crew quarters and a large utility area sit aft behind a watertight transom door, which is where a captain and mate live on a crewed boat or where an owner-operator keeps tools, spares and dive gear.

On the main deck, buyers chose between an L-shaped galley with a centerline island and an optional bistro layout, and between an open saloon and a formal dining space. A bow lounge with seating and a table gives a sheltered outdoor area forward, and a wraparound windshield sits just beneath the level of the flybridge, giving the main deck a panoramic outlook.

The open flybridge is a Mediterranean-style entertaining deck, while the enclosed-bridge model replaces it with a climate-controlled wheelhouse and lounge. For Northeast and Pacific Northwest owners, the enclosed version is the one to find.

• Full-beam master amidships
• Forward VIP with queen berth
• Two guest cabins and three guest heads
• Crew cabin aft with utility space
• Open flybridge or enclosed bridge versions

Sea trial, 27.8 knots on MTU power

Standard engines were twin 1,600 hp Caterpillar C32As, with 1,800 hp and 1,900 hp C32A ratings optional. Power and Motoryacht's test boat ran twin 1,800 hp MTU 12V-2000s and reached 27.8 knots at 2,455 rpm, burning 176 gph. With 1,600 gallons of fuel, 250 gallons of water, nine people and 500 pounds of gear aboard, that is a strong figure for a 155,000-pound motor yacht.

The useful numbers sit lower in the curve. At 1,900 rpm the boat made 19.8 knots on 100 gph for a range of 356 nautical miles. At 1,600 rpm it ran 14.9 knots on 62 gph, and at 1,000 rpm it loafed along at 9.2 knots on just 20 gph, stretching range to 828 nautical miles. Sound levels at the helm ranged from 67 dB(A) at 1,000 rpm to 81 dB(A) wide open.

Our reading: this is a boat that cruises comfortably at 18 to 20 knots for short hops, and at 9 to 10 knots when you want to cover the 800-mile range between fuel stops. The C32A boats will be a little slower than the MTU test boat at the top but cheaper to service through Caterpillar's broad US dealer network.

Stabilizers, electronics and the options that hold value

The test boat's price of $5.78 million included a long options list. The two big ones were stabilization: a Seakeeper gyro at $235,000 or an ABT TRACStar zero-speed fin system at $63,319. On the used market, a 70 without some form of stabilization is noticeably harder to sell, and zero-speed fins are the more common choice on boats of this weight.

Electronics on the test boat were a Garmin suite with three 15-inch multifunction displays, and an ABT bow thruster with joystick control was fitted. Expect electronics on 2016 and 2017 boats to be due for a refresh, which is a $50,000 to $150,000 job depending on scope.

Vintage Hatteras 70s and the 12V-92 era

Most Hatteras 70 listings are older motor yachts and cockpit motor yachts from the 1980s and 1990s. Brokers interviewed by Power and Motoryacht said these boats can carry 25 people on deck and offer several stateroom arrangements, with crew quarters forward that include bunks, an en suite head and hanging lockers. Many have had hydraulic swim platforms added.

The engines are usually Detroit Diesel 12V-92s, which brokers describe as dependable long-running motors, but maintenance records are everything. The weak spot brokers flag first is the framed aluminum windows, where salt, aluminum and stainless screws combine into corrosion and leaks that are very costly to fix. If a boat has sat in the water for 15 to 20 years, check the bottom for blisters and ask whether a barrier coat has been applied.

Prices reflect the age and the work. In 2015 brokers said a usable, in-service 70-footer could be bought for about $399,000 and most traded under $600,000. Budget heavily for windows, paint, systems and electronics; a full refit can approach the purchase price.

Running costs for a 70-foot Hatteras

A modern 70 Motor Yacht typically costs $250,000 to $450,000 a year to run with a captain and mate, covering crew, insurance, an 80-foot slip, two Caterpillar or MTU services, stabilizer and generator maintenance, bottom paint and a yard period. Fuel at a 20-knot cruise is about 100 gph, so most owners run longer legs at 9 to 12 knots, where consumption falls to 20 to 40 gph.

Vintage boats cost less to insure and berth but more to keep running, because their systems are older and parts for Detroit two-strokes are increasingly specialized. Hatteras was quiet for several years after White River Marine Group bought it in 2021, then announced its return in 2024 with three new sportfish models, the Bimini Run 48, Cat Cay 66 and Chub Cay 77, which bodes well for parts and support.