A Sistership Of Substance

Substance he Hatteras 70 Motor Yacht Enclosed Bridge is surprisingly like the builder’s 100.

- Chris Caswell

I looked all around the marina for the Hatteras 70 Motor Yacht Enclosed Bridge, but I couldn’t spot it. I saw a Hatteras 100 with a raised pilothouse, but it wasn’t until I stood next to what I thought was another 100 that I realized it was the 70. The notch in her sheerline, the twin lozenge-shaped windows in the topsides, the upswept chines forward: all were identical, just in a package 30 feet shorter.

What really threw me was the wraparound windshield that Hatteras included, in addition to the 70’s main-deck windows and flybridge windows. That wraparound had to be a raised pilothouse, I thought— but I was wrong. The clever design feature, seen from the inside, acts as a skylight that floods the country kitchen-style galley and dining area with light.

Hatteras built this particular 70 for a couple who have owned a long line of Hatteras models. They’ve had enough sun and wind on open bridges for a lifetime. The enclosed bridge gives them a mini-sky lounge in addition to all the other features of the standard 70 Motor Yacht.

To my eye, the enclosed bridge’s most striking feature is the windshield: a single piece of curved glass that stretches unbroken the full width of the house. It is so panoramic that the enclosed bridge feels open. Also in this space are Pompanette pedestal seats for the skipper and a companion, a raised platform with settee and table, and a console with pop-up TV, fridge and ice maker.