Just Launched: Godspeed

Godspeed enjoys a beautiful sunset cruise. Photo courtesy Hunt Yachts. Particulars: It was a real, live Big Day on the Portsmouth, Rhode Island, waterfront as Hunt Yachts christened its largest boat yet, the spanking new Hunt 52 Express. The new 52 is a joint project between Hunt Yachts and Global Yacht Builders of Taiwan. The boat is built "over there" and comes to Hunt’s facility in Portsmouth for final finish work. One of the Hunt builders told me that each 52 embodies some 25,000 man-hours of work, which shows up clearly in the boat’s complex systems, exquisite woodwork and intricate detailing. First, a few particulars on Hull #1, Godspeed: Twin stairways climb off the broad stern platform, leading up over the transom to a cockpit separated from the main salon by curved sliding glass doors. Underneath the cockpit is a large “dinghy garage” that holds a custom 12-foot Hunt-designed deep-vee tender behind a motorized lift door. Deck height runs level from cockpit thru the saloon, with stairs dropping into a galley-down layout with lots of headroom under the main windshields. The master stateroom features an island queen berth with drawers and cubbies under. The master head has tiled floor and a tubular sliding glass shower enclosure that evokes images (for a certain demographic, anyway) of a “Star Trek” transporter. A multipurpose space opposite the galley serves as office, guest cabin, and storage center. Since the 52 is a semi-custom boat, Hunt offers alternative layouts: depending on power options, you can have a third stateroom with queen berth, and/or galley-up layout that opens additional space below. Power options include twin 705-hp C12 Cats or twin 1001-hp C18 Cats driving props or waterjets, or twin 662-hp Volvo diesels with the IPS pod drives. The new 52 incorporates longstanding Hunt virtues—easy speed, a smooth ride in rough seas, impeccable finish—and also moves the bar to a whole new level.

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