Reviews
& Articles 45 Express
Angling Achievement - The Cabo 45 Express is one cool sportsfisher -- from one
hot place
Sea
By Duncan McIntosh, Jr.
One of the year's finest new sportfisher to be introduced at this year's
Miami Boat Show came out of Interstate 15 leading to Las Vegas.
Adelanto doesn't look like you typical boat building Mecca. It's almost
as close to Death Valley as it is to the Pacific Ocean - a fact that
has not deterred Cat Harbor Boats from producing some of the finest and
most fishable boats to hit our seas.
Company founders Henry Mohrschladt and Michael Howarth are part of a
growing fraternity of closet sailors. In the mid-1980s, they were busy
cranking out sailboats under the Pacific Seacraft banner.
In 1988, they were recognized by Fortune magazine as produces of one
of the 100 best-made products in America. And the attention to quality
the duo brought to their boats in the 1980s is still very evident today
in the line of 31 to 45 foot Cabo sportfishers.
It usually takes a builder a few tries before all of the details of a
new model fall into line. Whether it be the joinerwork, the mounting
of hardware, the matching of woodgrains or the installation of machinery
and electronics, hull number six or number 16 always looks much better
than hull number one. That wasn't the case with the new Cabo.
I have never before looked into a hull number one in which all of the
workmanship and finish achieved such near perfection.
Custom Look, Production Price
The 45 Express has the look and feel of a custom boat. With lines and
bow flare reflecting the custom yards of the Carolinas and New Jersey,
it is obvious that the Cabo 45 is built for the punishing seas.
The modified-V hull has a distinctively flared bow for dry running. Its
deep forefoot reduces pounding and its wide beam increases stability
and gives the boat a spacious interior.
A number of powerplant options are available, including Caterpillar,
MAN and Detroit Diesels from 550 to 800 hp. The boat I ran was equipped
with twin 660 hp Caterpillar 3196s, which produced 33 knots of speed
at 2,300 rpm.
The helm station is located at the centerline and is equipped with a
custom-built command chair, which provides excellent visibility ahead
and extraordinary comfort.
Belowdecks, the new 45 is comfortable and practical, with all of the
amenities owners, guests and crew could want.
For the fishing enthusiast, the Cabo 45 is all business. The fishing
cockpit is huge, with 26 cubic feet of fishbox capacity, a 4 cubic foot
bait freezer, a highly sophisticated live bait system, a rigging station,
tackle storage galore and enclosed storage for a whopping 24 rods and
reels.
The Cabo 45 isn't cheap. But as one of the old clichés my grandfather
passed on to me says, "You get what you pay for." A new 45
is priced slightly less than what you would pay for a new Jersey-style
sportfisher that's a couple of feet smaller.
While the Cabos are being built in a smaller California desert town,
where some 125 employees are busy filling orders for boats shipped to
points all over the world, one Caterpillar executive offered me this
insight: There are only four other boat builders in the world that are
buying more Cats for marine use than Cat Harbor Boats.
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