At Racice in the Czech Republic a fortnight ago, they were fifth again in their heat, won the semi in the quickest time, 1:49.786, before tumbling to last in the final.
Along the way, Hatton has also shown an aptitude for the marathon K1 5000m discipline, finishing second in Hungary and fourth in Racice. She treats it as a time trial, "a fun event" which is a good chance to show how much her training is paying off.
Inconsistency has bugged the young pair, but Hatton is encouraged by developments, considering they had spent little time together in the boat before flying to Europe.
"Because we haven't been in the boat too long there are ups and downs but when we click it's like 'okay that's exciting, we do have a lot of potential'," the 23-year-old said.
"The more time in the boat the more consistent we will become. At the moment our sessions are getting better and better. When we get tired we still hold it together."
Hatton got to the Olympics with a late qualification. She finished seventh in the B final - equal to 15th overall, and in a time just 3s slower than the A final bronze medal winner - and reckons she justified her selection.
"The biggest learning experience was preparing for it. I definitely improved and stepped up when it came to my semi. It was like I have earned my spot now. I changed my attitude towards training because it became a bit more focused and it was like, this is what the big girls do; I'm in the game now."
The Queenstown-born, North Shore-based Hatton - a year younger than North Shore's Dodwell - has been part of the elite setup since 2009. She sits in the front seat and is happy working with Dodwell. They are using their best performances as a gauge to their progress.
The world championships are coming up in Duisberg, Germany, in August. After this weekend, the New Zealand crew return home for several weeks, followed by a training block on the Gold Coast.
Hatton reckons good performances now are invaluable ahead of the worlds, so the athletes can get an appreciation for what lies ahead when all the heavy hitters - who haven't attended the three world cups - all converge on Duisberg.
Self-belief is rising, a knowledge of what they can achieve together. They've got goals they prefer to keep private for now.
"We don't want to talk things up and have people expecting too much. We don't want to be going to the world champs just to participate. We want to be competitive and be in the mix," Hatton said.
She has been travelling with Carrington for years now and appreciates the importance of having a bona fide champion in the group, especially with a young men's K4 1000m group coming along.
"I've been in the team with her the whole time she's been in, so for me it's just a normal tour.
"But it's really beneficial for the younger paddlers. The young guys ask a lot of questions and it gives them a lot of insight into her training and her attitude as well."
