In addition to celebrating its 45th anniversary, North Carolina’s Albermarle Boats is adding a new model to its line of sportfishermen. The 45 Carolinian Fish Around Express, measures 45 feet LOA with a beam of 13 feet, 6 inches and rides on a Carolina-style hull. It’s slated to launch in 2025.
“The fisharound layout on the new 45 is like nothing Albemarle has built before,” says Burch Perry, the company’s general manager. “It’s a super fishy design with 360-degree access around the boat, yet it still provides excellent weather protection and accommodations belowdecks. It’s also our largest outboard boat to date.”
With a draft of 2 feet, 2 inches, the 45’s hull will be vacuum-infused with vinylester resin and foam core. Designed by Steve Matthews, the hull has distinctive Carolina flare, tumblehome and a soft, broken sheer with 22 degrees of deadrise at the transom. The company says it’s designed to slice through head seas, land softly in the troughs and keep the enclosure dry.
“We see the 45 as bridging the fairly large gap between our 41- and 53-foot models,” says Perry. “In recent years we’ve had many requests for a mid-40-foot model, with many customers asking specifically for a larger outboard boat because of draft issues. The 45’s design screams serious sportfishing, but the cool thing about this boat is that she will have a surprisingly spacious and well-appointed interior.”
Below decks, the main cabin has an aft lounge that can be converted to a queen berth and a dinette forward that also converts to a sleeping space. A partial galley has a cook top and there’s a head with a separate stall shower.
That interior doesn’t rob the boat of cockpit space. There, fishing features include a 130-gallon fish box, a 70-gallon transom live well, fresh- and raw-water washdowns, rod holders and tackle storage. If desired, owners can order a tower for the flybridge.
Triple 600-hp Mercury outboards come standard with the boat and will be controlled by a joystick piloting system. With those motors, the boat should cruise between 30 and 34 knots, with a range of about 400 nautical miles. Top speed will be near 48 knots. Electric trim tabs and bow thrusters will be standard. Albemarle says pricing and more details will be released at a future date.
This article was originally published in the June 2024 issue.
