Somewhere off the coast of the Carolinas, in the remnants of Tropical Storm Arthur, Peter Wiersema — who spends his summers in Falmouth — was running his boat solo at 30 knots.
Alone. In a tropical storm. Burning through fuel at a rate that would make most of us wince, on day two of a 3.5-day, 1,000-plus mile run from Fort Lauderdale back home to Falmouth.
Peter’s actual route on the chartplotter — 3.5 days, Fort Lauderdale to Cape Cod, running the HammerCat 35HH the whole way.
How I Got Connected With Peter
Peter first emailed me back in the dead of winter. He’d started Hammer Yachts in 2019, building center-console power-cats, and had just launched something new: a walk-around cuddy version of the HammerCat 35, built for exactly the kind of cold, ugly mornings we all know too well up here. He mentioned he’d be keeping his boat in Quissett Harbor for the summer.
Quissett Harbor — arguably the most picturesque little harbor on all of Cape Cod, and where Peter keeps the HammerCat for the summer.
Coffee at the Daily Brew in Falmouth
Then, this July, Peter’s name popped back into my inbox. He’d just wrapped that run up the coast — Fort Lauderdale to Falmouth, overnight stops in Beaufort, SC, Beaufort, NC, and Lewes, DE, averaging 30 knots the whole way. He wanted to grab coffee.
We met on July 20th at the Daily Brew in Falmouth, and I quickly understood who I was dealing with. Peter can talk about that boat for hours. The engineering, the hull design, the way it handles a chop, why a cuddy makes sense for New England.
The Daily Brew Coffee House & Lounge’s new North Falmouth location, where Peter and I sat down on July 20th. The Hickeys moved the Brew here from Cataumet earlier this year, into the former Silver Lounge and Uncle Bill’s Country Store space. (Read more at capenews.net: Daily Brew Gets Brewing In New Location )
Honestly, it reminded me of half the conversations I have with you guys. Ask anyone from MFCC about fishing and you’ll find the same thing: someone who could talk for days about something the rest of the world considers pretty niche. Peter’s just as locked in on his boat as we are on fish.
Peter and me aboard the HammerCat 35HH.
Looking For Your Input
Here’s the thing — this HammerCat is a unique boat, and Peter’s been incredibly open about putting it to use for the MFCC community this summer. We’ve kicked around a few different ideas for how to do that, and honestly, we’d rather hear from you than just guess.
Which of these sounds most interesting to you?
Idea #1) An open house day in Falmouth — come down, meet other folks from MFCC, step aboard the boat, check it out dockside
Idea #2) Ride-alongs — get out on the water for a spin on the HammerCat
Idea #3) An MFCC fishing trip with Peter and me aboard the boat — later this summer, details TBD
Drop a comment below and let us know which one you’d want to see happen. We’re still in the early idea stage, and your input actually matters here — it’ll help shape what we do next.
Where Peter Is Right Now
As I’m writing this, Peter just left Falmouth again, running the HammerCat up to Provincetown and then making a straight offshore shot to Rockland, Maine, for the boat show there August 7–9. If you’re up that way, the HammerCat 35HH cuddy will be on display — worth a look in person if you can swing it.
Another solo run, another few hundred miles. This guy doesn’t sit still.
The HammerCat 35HH cruising through Woods Hole.
Curious what she looks like up close? I shot a full walkthrough of the boat — worth a watch: HammerCat 35HH Walkthrough (https://youtube.com/shorts/vDmwFMNslHE)
More soon!
— Ryan
Ryan,
I would love to join a trip on the this Cat when ya hit a tuna spot like the Canyon or any other
Roger that! We are going to host a giveaway here on MFCC for spots onboard the trip. The trip will happen late Sept/early Oct. I will post more about it soon. Thanks for the interest!
I think I saw that Hammercat go by Ballston Beach in Truro today August 12th about 12:30-1:00PM.
Could have been Geoff! I know Peter was in Maine over the weekend, so he would have been bringing the boat back to Falmouth this week. Perhaps he chose to the “scenic route” along the Outer Cape as opposed to cutting through the canal.
#3, would love to join a fishing trip
Sounds great Peter. A fishing trip giveaway is in the works. More coming soon!
Ryan, I vote for #3 An MFCC fishing trip with Peter and me aboard the boat — later this summer, details TBD.
LOL, sounds good Juan! We are going to organize a fishing trip giveaway for late September. More details on how it will work coming soon. Thank you!
Honestly… I absolutely love the notion of more cats in the northeast, central east coast fisheries. I spent 5 days in a row fishing on an all aluminum cat this summer, about an hour off the coast of Old Harbor, Kodiak AK… two out of the five days were “not ideal” for off coast fishing but we went out anyway to hunt for big halis… I think Captain Wes’ turn of phrase was “So fellas… you want to hunt for the bigguns or would you prefer keeping your lunch down and staying inshore?” I wasn’t close to chucking; the boat handled everything beautifully albeit better when situated bow-into-oncoming. And having the ability to close the back door and turn on the heater made a world of difference for the trip. We’d just drink coffee and shoot the shit instead of white-knuckling the rail behind the center console. Off coast we had to slow to just below 20 knots in the nasty stuff, coming and going but once back in the coves we’d cruise at a still efficient 28-30.
I’m game for an offshore trip. Glad to see cats getting into the convo. Here are a couple pics of the general type of cat I fished from. These are standard fare for the PacNW.
Hey Chris, that Captain Wes line is fantastic — “hunt for the bigguns or keep your lunch down” LOL! I can certainly understand why these choose catamarans with cuddy’s in Alaska. It’s also why they are gaining popularity in the northeast. Being able to keep warm during the “shoulder seasons” was always a big benefit of my little 21’ boat too. Having the enclosure and cabin is great for the colder days. Thanks for the comment and the pics!
Nice … any are great ideas, but #3 MFCC fishing trip seems the best
Sounds great Jeff. I’ve spoken with Peter and we are going to aim at doing a fishing trip giveaway for late September.
Peter and Ryan,
Sweet boat. Clearly “blue water” capable. He’s got the Rocket Launcher Table. Let’s throw some outriggers on there and take it to the canyons!!! (All normal safety questions to be answered, of course). I’d bring the gear and gas money.
I haven’t spend much (barely any) time on a Cat. I’d be curious how she ran in Buzzards Bay chop.
Mike
Thanks for the comment Mike. She is most certainly blue water ready. Peter has outriggers here in Falmouth, so it’s just a matter of putting them on. I actually took a ride with Peter in Buzzards Bay and I was shocked by how stable of a platform the boat is. I have spent nearly all my boating time on a regular boat monohull and the difference was noticeable. We are talking about doing a fishing trip giveaway for late September. I’m not sure if we can swing a canyons trip but most certainly inshore, perhaps south of the Vineyard or East of Chatham if the tunas are around and the weather permits. More details coming soon. Thank you!