With no basis for comparison, calling a 45-foot-long, 28,000-pound center console powered by five Mercury Racing 500R outboard engines a “hot rod” would strain credibility. No argument there.

The new Deep Impact 449 center console is a chip off the 499 block. Photos by Jeff Helmkamp copyright Helmkamp Photos.

But having logged more than 700 miles this on the Deep Impact Custom Boats 499, from a six-day, Florida Powerboat Club June adventure in the Bahamas to running from Coconut Grove to Key West last Wednesday for the club’s Key West Powerboat Week event, is plenty of such basis. So “hot rod” is what I’m calling the 449.

Because compared to Deep Impact’s muscular 49-footer weighing in at 32,000 pounds with six 500-hp outboards on its transom, the new 449 offering does feel like a hot rod.

The 45-footer’s cabin setup has been a hit with would-be buyers.

The owner of the South Florida-based center console brand, Mark Fischer embraces that description

“It’s not that the 499 lacks in performance or anything else, but the 449 with five Mercury Racing 500Rs feels a bit more sporty than the bigger boat,” Fischer. “Compared to that, it’s a hot rod even with one less 500-hp engine. And it can accommodate six of them.

“The 449 is the only center console in its class than can do that,” he added.

New Deep Impact representative John Wittenberger, his girlfriend, Natalie Lynn, who works for Wozencraft Insurance and Finance, captain Kyle Heidecker and I ran the 45-footer from Key West to Woman Key yesterday to drop anchor for a bit with the fleet of boats in town for the Florida Powerboat Club event. With humble, 26-inch-pitch four-blade propellers on the outboards, the center console reach 78 mph. And another 500-hp outboard the boat easily runs in the low-80-mph range.

The 449 boasts the same helm station setup as the 499.

Yet top speed is just one performance metric, and not the most important one. From the Deep Impact perspective, rough-water ride quality is far more crucial.

“We not building the lightest boats to get those last few miles per hour,” Fischer explained. “We are building the strongest boats, the kind that can handle the open ocean. We are building offshore center consoles.

“I sea-trialed the 449 just once before it came to Key West this week,” he continued. “In 3-to-5-footers off Pompano Beach, the ride was perfect. And I ran it up to 75 mph.”

deepimpact449-galley

deepimpact449-bow

deepimpact449-divedoor

deepimpact449-cooler

deepimpact449-cupholders

deeimpact449-running3

deepimpact449-speakers2

deepimpact449-rearseating

deeimpact449-runningside

deepimpact449-table

deepimpact449-cockpittable

deepimpact449-featured

deepimpact449-speakers

deepimpact449-windhsield

deepimpact449-cabin

deepimpact449-insetcupholders

deeimpact449-running2

Details, details.

The waters between Key West and Woman Key were flat, so we didn’t get to put the 45-footer to the test. From the perspective of someone who’s spent a bunch of hours on 499 in gentle to brutal sea-conditions, the 449 felt lighter and looser than its larger sibling. No surprise there as it weighs two tons less.

But from the passenger space and comfort perspective, the 499 and 449 models are almost dead equal. The exception is the open-bow area, which is observably smaller in the 449. Deep Impact traded off space up front to maintain cockpit space. So while the 449 is shorter than the 499, the two models have identical cockpit space. They share the same massive helm station and hardtop. From the windshield back, they’re the same boat.

The flat waters off Key West were no match the 45-footer.

Their cabins, however are different. Deep Impact lost a marginal amount of cabin space in the smaller 449, but made even better use of it, at least gauged by public response during the recent Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show. Not only does the head-locker have its down door separating it from the main cabin, the molded shower inside the head compartment has its own privacy door.

“I cannot tell you how much people said they loved it in Fort Lauderdale,” Fischer said, then laughed. “I didn’t necessarily expect that.

“I think we’re going to have to offer that as an option in the 499,” he added.

In the space of one year, Deep Impact has added two new models and taken sales in-house, which instantly translated to lower prices. Asked what’s next, Fischer, who appears to be having the time of his life reinvigorating the brand, laughed.

“Something,” he said. “That’s all I can tell you right now.”

Based on the new Deep Impact 449 and its 50-foot sister-ship, it’s bound to be something great.