Hinckley Yachts, founded in 1928, manufactures, services and sells luxury sail and powerboats. The company is based in
Maine
Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and north ...
, United States. The company has developed yacht technologies including JetStick and Dual Guard composite material, and was an early developer of the fiberglass hull. Currently, Hinckley operates service yards in seven locations along the east coast of the United States, making it one of the most integrated boating concerns in the United States. Hinckley’s present yacht line includes boats ranging in size from 29 to 55 feet. All of Hinckley’s yachts are built to order with customization of the interior and exterior cosmetics as required by the purchaser.
History
![Hinckley Daysailor 42 by D Ramey Logan](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e4/Hinckley_Daysailor_42_by_D_Ramey_Logan.jpg)
Hinckley was founded in 1928 by Benjamin B. Hinckley after he purchased a small boatyard in Southwest Harbor, ME. In 1932 Benjamin’s son, Henry R. Hinckley, an engineering graduate from Cornell, took control of the company. A 36-foot “fisherman motorboat” dubbed “Ruthyeolyn” built in 1933 was Hinckley’s first boat.
Five years later, in 1938, Hinckley came out with its first sailing vessel, a 28-foot
Sparkman & Stephens
Sparkman & Stephens is a naval architecture and yacht brokerage firm with offices in Newport, Rhode Island and Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, USA. The firm performs design and engineering of new and existing vessels for pleasure, commercial, and milita ...
sloop. Hinckley would go on to produce 20 of these sloops, making them the company’s first mass production line. Straying away from boatbuilding, Hinckley opened Manset Marine Supply Company in 1940 for which he designed many fittings for fuel tanks, stanchions, deck plates, and the like that are still utilized today.
At the start of
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, Hinckley turned to manufacturing war-designed boats. At the end of the war Hinckley’s contributions totaled nearly 40% of all war boats built in Maine, for which the company was awarded two Army-Navy “E’s” for excellence in 1942 and 1943. Hinckley’s production of pleasure boats began soon after the war.
In 1945 the Sou’wester sailboat was created. 62 original Sou’Westers were built, making it the largest fleet of single design cruising boats of its time.
During the 1950s, Hinckley began experimenting with the use of fiberglass to construct his yachts’ hulls by building small runabouts. His first fiberglass sailboat, the Bermuda 40, was launched in 1960. The last Hinckley-built wooden boat was the 1960 “Osprey.” Throughout the 1960s the company provided navigation systems along with
auto-pilot
An autopilot is a system used to control the path of an aircraft, marine craft or spacecraft without requiring constant manual control by a human operator. Autopilots do not replace human operators. Instead, the autopilot assists the operator' ...
and electric-powered furling
mainsail
A mainsail is a sail rigged on the main mast of a sailing vessel.
* On a square rigged vessel, it is the lowest and largest sail on the main mast.
* On a fore-and-aft rigged vessel, it is the sail rigged aft of the main mast. The sail's foot ...
s.
In 1979 Henry Hinckley sold the company to Richard Tucker. Tucker hired William Moyer to run the company where he oversaw the development of the Sou’wester 42. Due to the recession of the early 80’s, the luxury sail boat market fell on hard times and Tucker made the decision to sell the company. In 1982, Henry’s son Bob bought the company back with the help of his business partner Shepard McKenney. The two released Hinckley’s first fiberglass powerboat christened “Talaria” in 1989. The last of the Bermuda 40’s was produced in 1991, bringing the total number of B40’s produced to 203 over its 32-year lifespan.
Hinckley became the first American boat company to use SCRIMP technology (a method of making composite material with nearly no
volatile organic compound
Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are organic compounds that have a high vapour pressure at room temperature. High vapor pressure correlates with a low boiling point, which relates to the number of the sample's molecules in the surrounding air, a ...
emissions) in its yachts, for which Hinckley was awarded the
United States Environmental Protection Agency
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is an independent executive agency of the United States federal government tasked with environmental protection matters. President Richard Nixon proposed the establishment of EPA on July 9, 1970; it be ...
’s Environmental Merit Award in 1994. Also in 1994, the company first used its jet propulsion technology.
The company again fell under new ownership in 1997 when it was purchased by The Bain, Willard Companies for approximately $20 million.
William Bain, Ralph Willard, and Alexander Spaulding took over operations. Under the new ownership, Hinckley began to market power boats equipped with
jet drives. The company also developed more advanced fiberglass construction techniques dubbed "Dual Guard", which aimed to create a stronger
hull.
In 2001 Bain, Willard Companies sold a 51% controlling interest in The Hinckley Company to
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. As part of the Boston metropolitan area, the cities population of the 2020 U.S. census was 118,403, making it the fourth most populous city in the state, behind Boston, ...
based Monitor Clipper Partners for $40 million in debt and equity.
Company overview
Hinckley currently conducts operations in twelve U.S. locations. Due to economic forces the company reduced its workforce in mid-2008 to 305 at the end of August 2009.
By May 2017, The Hinckley Company employed 685 workers in its boatyards, boat building and corporate facilities in the U.S. Hinckley acquired Hunt Yachts in August 2014 and Morris Yachts the following year. The acquisitions added two boat building facilities and one additional yacht yard which are all continuing operations.
Current yachts
Hinckley’s current line of yachts includes seven powerboats ranging in length from 29 to 55 feet and two sailing vessels from 42 to 50 feet (each boat’s length is represented by the number preceded by its name). The powerboats are made up of three Talaria models, which are offered with or without flybridges so some may consider this six models; two Picnic Boats; three runabouts and one center console. The Talaria fleet was first built in 1989.
The present line includes: Center Console 29; Runabout 29, Runabout 34, Runabout 38, Picnic Boat 34, Picnic Boat 37, Talaria 43 FB/MY, Talaria 48 FB/MY and Talaria 55 FB/MY
The Runabout 38 includes a “hydraulically operated convertible top” and is “all about curves, shadows, highlights, and reflections”. The Talaria 43 was lauded by the press and appeared on the covers of Powerand Motoryacht magazine and Yachting magazine in October 2014 following its introduction that year.
The Bermuda 40
The
Bermuda 40
The Bermuda 40 is an American sailboat that was designed by William Tripp, Jr. in 1958 as a racer-cruiser and first built in 1959.Sherwood, Richard M.: ''A Field Guide to Sailboats of North America, Second Edition'', pages 352-353. Houghton M ...
, designed by William H. Tripp, Jr., was introduced in 1959 as Hinckley’s first fiberglass boat.
According to Jack Horner of spinsheet.com “the B-40 was to become the bellwether for future production and established Hinckley as the premier North American Yacht builder of exceptional quality sailing yachts”. The last B40 was built in 1991, ending its 32nd year of production with the 203rd rendition of the trendsetting yacht.
The Picnic Boat
In 1994 Hinckley put forth the first Picnic Boat. "Many explanations for the phenomenal success of the Picnic Boat have been proffered, but all eventually come down to aesthetics. The sinuous shape perfectly manages to express the two worlds from which this boat sprang--yachts and lobster boats-- and its proportions are inherently pleasing to the nautical eye."
The Picnic Boat style was created by Hinckley and is a registered trademark of the company. Originally designed with jet propulsion, the Picnic Boat led to the development of the JetStick.
Research and development
Hinckley introduced the JetStick, Dual Guard composite material, and the use of fiberglass. The first experiments with fiberglass began during the 1950s and concluded with the creation of the B40 in 1959.
Despite much criticism such as the comparison of fiberglass to “frozen snot,” Hinckley used the material in boatbuilding . Hinckley created Dual Guard technology in 1999, a composite composed of an aramid and
carbon fiber
Carbon fiber-reinforced polymers (American English), carbon-fibre-reinforced polymers (Commonwealth English), carbon-fiber-reinforced plastics, carbon-fiber reinforced-thermoplastic (CFRP, CRP, CFRTP), also known as carbon fiber, carbon compo ...
, aimed at creating a stronger and more efficient hull.
In 2016, the company launched a remote monitoring system called OnWatch. OnWatch uses a series of sensors to track numerous data points on a boat and relay them via a cellular system to servers that update a mobile Web site (it feels like an app when you add the OnWatch icon to your smartphone homescreen). Once you log in, it gives you a homescreen with an at-a-glance understanding of how your boat is doing, from technical details such as engine status, bilge, battery, and fuel-tank levels, to the state of your shore power connectivity.
The JetStick, designed by Control Engineering, Inc., was first used in 1998.
The computer-integrated design allows the skipper to control and dock the boat through the use of a joystick. To use the JetStick the driver pushes a button to engage docking mode, this in turn disengages the wheel while a computer determines the amount of bow thruster and jet needed to move the boat sideways.
Hinckley Talaria 44 Flybridge , Yachting Magazine
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Boats
*Bermuda 40
The Bermuda 40 is an American sailboat that was designed by William Tripp, Jr. in 1958 as a racer-cruiser and first built in 1959.Sherwood, Richard M.: ''A Field Guide to Sailboats of North America, Second Edition'', pages 352-353. Houghton M ...
*Hinckley 42 Competition
The Hinckley 42 Competition is an American sailboat that was designed by McCurdy & Rhodes as a racer and first built in 1982.
The Hinckley 42 Competition is a development of the Sou'wester 42/43, also a McCurdy & Rhodes design.
Production
Th ...
*Hinckley 43 (Hood)
The Hinckley 43 (Hood) is an American sailboat that was designed by Ted Hood and first built in 1976.
The design was originally marketed by the manufacturer as the Hinckley Hood 43 and later as just the Hinckley 43, but is now usually referred ...
*Hinckley 43 (Hood)-2
The Hinckley 43 (Hood) is an American sailboat that was designed by Ted Hood and first built in 1979.
The design was originally marketed by the manufacturer as the Hinckley 43, but is now usually referred to as the Hinckley 43 (Hood)-2 to diff ...
*Hinckley 43 (McCurdy & Rhodes)
The Hinckley 43 (McCurdy & Rhodes) is an American sailboat that was designed by McCurdy & Rhodes as a cruiser and first built in 1990.
The design is a development of the 1982 McCurdy & Rhodes designed Sou'wester 42/43.
The design was origina ...
*Pilot 35
The Pilot 35 is an American sailboat that was designed by Sparkman & Stephens as a racer- cruiser and first built in 1962.Sherwood, Richard M.: ''A Field Guide to Sailboats of North America, Second Edition'', pages 286-287. Houghton Mifflin C ...
*Shields (keelboat)
The Shields, also called the Shields 30 and the Shields One-Design, is an American Trailer sailer, trailerable sailboat that was designed by Olin Stephens of Sparkman & Stephens as a one design Sailing (sport), racer and first built in 1962.She ...
*Sou'wester 42/43
The Sou'wester 42/43 is an American sailboat that was designed by McCurdy & Rhodes as a cruiser and first built in 1982.
The design was developed into the racing Hinckley 42 Competition and the Hinckley 43 (McCurdy & Rhodes).
Production
Th ...
*Sou'wester 51
The Sou'wester 51 is an American sailboat that was designed by McCurdy & Rhodes as a racer- cruiser and first built in 1984.
The Sou'wester 51 design was developed into the center cockpit Sou'wester 51 CC in 1986. The 1991 Sou'wester 52 also ...
*Sou'wester 51 CC
The Sou'wester 51 CC is an American sailboat that was designed by McCurdy & Rhodes as a racer- cruiser and first built in 1986.
The Sou'wester 51 CC is a center cockpit development of the Sou'wester 51.
Production
The design was built by Hi ...
*Sou'wester 59
The Sou'wester 59 is an American sailboat that was designed by McCurdy & Rhodes as a cruiser and first built in 1982.
Production
The design was built by Hinckley Yachts in the United States, starting in 1982, but it is now out of production.
...
See also
* List of sailboat designers and manufacturers
This is a list of notable sailboat designers and manufacturers, which are described by an article in English Wikipedia. Sailboat design and manufacturing is done by a number of companies and groups.
Notable designers
Sailboat designer articles ...
References
External links
Official website
{{Hinckley Yachts
Hinckley Yachts