HammerCat 35 Sea Trial. Fort Lauderdale Boat Show

One of the many ReelBoating adventures at the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show this year was a sea trial aboard The HammerCat 35. At the helm was Peter Wiersema, Founding Partner at Hammer Yachts & Brokerage. The HammerCat 35 is the first model build by Hammer Yachts.

The trial began as we shuttled 15 boat show attendees to a drop-off location off-site. A very friendly gesture on Peter’s part considering the heavy road traffic in the area that day. As the photos show, there was more than enough comfortable space for everyone. Have a great day folks!

Throttling out Port Everglades you could feel the thrust of power from the more than adequate twin Mercury 350’s. One would think a boat of this size would beg for more power, but with the unique hull design and lightweight carbon fiber top 700HP was plenty.

Seas in Fort Lauderdale were about 2’ that day so we didn’t really get to test any slop. We did manage to plow through some heavier boat wakes and the boat performed well. One thing I particularly noticed was how dry I managed to stay. This was a concern I had with all my camera gear onboard. Taking photos over the gunwales I didn’t even feel a mist of sea spray.

I found Peter to be extremely knowledgeable of boat design in general, and more than willing to discuss the HammerCat bow to stern.

Peter shares some information below.

The HammerCat 35 is the ultimate modern center console power-catamaran, which can be configured as a sport fisher, family boat, dive boat or super yacht tender.

We designed the HammerCat 35 specifically for the modern boater. Sometimes you want to go fishing, sometimes you want to go diving and you surely want to bring your friends and family. We did not want to build yet another center-console-sport-fish-vessel, our focus was entirely on the experienced boater who will appreciate the HammerCat’s exceptional design and build features.

Fuel and operating cost make boating expensive: our hull design and construction technique are unique which results in exceptional fuel economy and range.

Other power catamarans use a “quad engine” set up on their similar sized models and they weight up to 14,000 Lbs. The HammerCat 35 is build out of epoxy with vacuum fused e-glass, resulting in the “wet weight” of the HammerCat 35 at 8,500 Lbs. This means that we can use half the horsepower compared to our competition and still get the same performance, yet ensuring the strength and durability by using epoxy.

With twin 350 HP engines, and 400 Gallons of fuel the range is >600m at 25 mph+. If needed, the HammerCat 35 can plane on one 350HP engine. Should you be way offshore, and one engine fails, you can come back at a decent speed. Top speed with twin 350’s is >50 mph. Bigger engines will give more top end speed.

The HammerCat 35 is unsinkable: 43 cubic feet of XPS foam ensures that the HammerCat 35 will remain afloat if you hit a container / underwater object.

The hardtop of the HammerCat 35 measures 10’ x 12’ and weights just 150 Lbs., so there is no weight high up which can influence the ride in offshore conditions. The hardtop is much larger & wider than on most other center consoles so you and your crew are protected from the sun / elements.

The HammerCat is built for longevity using construction techniques normally only seen on offshore racing yachts.

Epoxy has three to five times the flexural strength of polyester/ vinylester resins making the HammerCat stronger, more durable, lighter and thus more agile, seaworthy, fuel-efficient and more fun to drive. Epoxy resin is 25 percent stronger than the polyester resin used in most boatbuilding, with higher elongation properties for greater durability.

The construction methods and materials employed by Hammer Yachts create stronger, yet lighter hulls that require less horsepower than the competitors and enjoy far better fuel efficiency getting up to twice the miles per gallon of similar boats at speeds of 25-50 mph.

The HammerCat 35 has classic timeless lines with her Carolina bow, flared hull and great curves.