Boats like the Deep Impact 36 don’t come along very often; in fact, seeing one on the water is like seeing a Ferrari roll down the highway. The unusual swiftness catches your eye first—the Deep Impact hits top-end speeds of about 80 mph. The boat’s lines draw your attention next, with luscious curves reminiscent of the styling found on a 458 Italia. But it’s not until you make a close-up inspection of this boat, poking and prodding where no one was ever expected to look, that you discover just how intense the Deep Impact is—it may look and act like a Ferrari, but it’s built like a Hummer.


The Deep Impact 36 is capable of speeds up to about 80 mph.


As you probably know, most boats depend on a grid-like system of stringers and bulkheads to give the hull bottom rigidity and strength. And in most cases, this works just fine. But if you’re going to slap 1,400 horsepower onto the transom, you need to do better than “just fine.” That’s why the Deep Impact has some unique construction tweaks. Side-stringers, for example. These foam-cored stringers run fore and aft along the hullsides, where few other boats have any structural support. The main stringer grid, meanwhile, is built far taller than most and actually reaches the underside of the deck, allowing the deck and stringers to be bonded for mutual support. All the glass is vacuum-bagged, there’s a layer of Kevlar in the hull and deck, every piece of deck hardware right down to the hatch hinges get backed up with aluminum plates, and all of the resin used to build the boat is retarded vinylester, which is more flexible than either regular vinylester or polyester resin, in order to prevent stress cracking.


Your catch will stay cool in the self-draining insulated compartments.


These construction methods, combined with the multi-step, 24-degree deadrise hull, result in a boat that feels like a brick underfoot, even when you’re punching through four-footers. Granted, the boat I tested was rigged with triple 250-hp engines and barely crept along at 65.8-mph. But at this speed most boats would shudder and groan, while the Deep Impact charged through the waves without so much as a squeak. Don’t take my word for it—sea trial one for yourself, and don’t even think about backing off on the throttles as you approach large waves; you’ll be shocked at how solid the boat is.


Like other cream-of-the-crop vehicles, these boats are designed to keep you comfortable as you wow the world. Seat cushions envelope you, and the standard leaning post and transom seating can be upgraded to wrap-around bolsters. A six-foot bow sunpad, transom shower, and console head compartment are all part of the mix. But my favorite option is the mister system, which can be integrated into the powder-coated T-top and is fed by a 2.5-gallon dedicated freshwater tank that has the capacity to keep you and your passengers cool through two full days of offshore fishing.


Despite the extreme level of attention paid to hot looks, hotter performance, and cool comfort, the Deep Impact 36 doesn’t lose sight of its mission: catching fish. The model is available in two configurations: the 360 FS, with forward seating, and the 360 TE, with an open bow. (Versions designed more for cruising are also available, for you non-fishing wimps: the 360C cabin boat, and the 360L picnic-style boat.)


Deep Impact will customize as you like, even matching engines to hull color.


Both fishing versions have gobs of stowage for your catch, in eight self-draining insulated compartments. They also have a half-dozen rocket launchers on the T-top, gunwale-mounted rodholders, and a tackle/rigging station built into the leaning post. Since it’s considered more of a hard-core fisher, the TE version also comes with standard goodies like 15’ Grand Slam outriggers, a transom livewell and rodholders, and electric downrigger/reel pre-wiring. Any of these items can be integrated into the FS model as well, if you choose them. Other optional features include underwater LED lighting, remote spotlights, and forward gunwale rodholders.


This brings us to the one issue about this boat that could prove confusing: price. Most of the 360s to leave the factory are customized to one degree or another, either with the options mentioned above or with details that a buyer requests. Deep Impact aims to please, and is more than willing to make a boat just the way you like it. They’ll even custom-paint the engines to match your choice in hull color. As a result, the price of the boat can vary quite a bit. Rigged with triples and little else, you could get a Deep Impact 36 for around a quarter mil—which, incidentally, is just about how much that Ferrari 458 Italia will cost you. Outfitted with maximum power and rigged to the teeth with all of the options and then some, you could easily add a hundred grand to the price tag—which, incidentally, is enough to get you a pair of Hummer Alphas. Then again, why even bother thinking about those boring old land vehicles? The Deep Impact gives you the best attributes of each, plus something that no automobile can give you: the ability to wow the world with intensity, at sea.


For more information, visit the Deep Impact Boats website.


Written by: Lenny Rudow
With over two decades of experience in marine journalism, Lenny Rudow has contributed to publications including YachtWorld, boats.com, Boating Magazine, Marlin Magazine, Boating World, Saltwater Sportsman, Texas Fish & Game, and many others. Lenny is a graduate of the Westlawn School of Yacht Design, and he has won numerous BWI and OWAA writing awards.