OUR DASH is a 1989 Hatteras 40 Double Cabin.

When we were looking at boats, we wanted:

• to be able to walk around the outside of the boat easily
• a queen or larger walk-around bed
• two diesel engines
• a solid brand
• an older boat that had a solid, solid construction
• a flybridge
• a usable, spacious outside deck

Our Dash has all of those. The compromise was all the stairs inside. From back to front, there’s the aft cabin with a queen bed and head with shower. Up four steps to the salon, then down four steps to the galley, second head with shower, and the V-berth. It took Wendy a couple months to remember there were four steps and not three.

Naming a boat is like naming a kid. Really, naming our kids may have been less stressful. We didn’t want something nautical or a play on words. We wanted something pronounceable that could be spelled easily in an emergency. Really, who wants to say “Mayday, Mayday, NautiGirlz needs assistance” in a moment of danger? In the end, we chose something that was meaningful to us based on a poem by Ron Tranmer. We’ve had a little chance to consider “our dash” recently. Though it’s not a traditional boat name, it reminds us to live life while we have it. We hope it reminds other people to think about their dash, too.

Stats

For the boat geeks, you can find a copy of the original brochure here. Here are some stats (we have the diesels) and our floor plan.