Any opinion/knowlege on/about Hinckley 49'

[Michael Klautky]

... hello there - looking at the possibility of purchasing this ketch rigged vessel built in 1978. Would be moving two home-schooled kids and wife on board for live-aboard and cruising. Does anyone know anything more about the overall performance and safety of this Hinckley design? My wife likes a relatively stable platform, and though I am not looking for a speed demon (just sold our 42' custom built Bruce Roberts Spray), I'd like to average at least 6-7 knots under the right conditions without the engine on! Any thoughts on what I should watch out for with this vessel would be appreciated.

[Pblais]

Well I think the waterline on those are generally pretty long near 40 ft so general speed should not be a problem with a decent sail plan. On paper it should be nice and well built with lots of details. The worst problems will be that 1978 is 30 years ago and some things may have problems to deal with. I would go over all electrical in detail as well as rigging. In the late 70's electrical standards were being born and so even well made may show signs of need and not reflect the power needs of more modern boats. Folks today expect more electricity than they used to. If the boat was updated over time there may be worts to unfix as I like to say.

The survey on this boat will tell most of the issues but the fundamentals should be great. You just need to prove them all. You can't win any ugly boat contests with this one. They still carry a hefty price tag, so weigh the alternatives closely. Perhaps a down market with cash to spend might get a little bit more off the price.

[camaraderie]

Have you actually been on the boat? Layout is pretty chopped up with the two cockpits but as always...it is a solid hull and you just need to pay attention to the things Paul mentioned in terms of whether others have done the upgrades or you will need to. I would also have the engine and tranny checked out by a separate diesel guy from your surveyor as I've seen quite a few older Hinckleys (including this model) with engine issues. She is certainly a safe boat with decent sailing performance and the centerboard mechanism is robust so you can get into some places other 49 footers can't and under the bridges of the US ICW if that is a consideration with the ketch rig. Obviously, the ketch rig keeps the size of the individual sails more manageable for a couple as well.

[Victory49]

my wife and I own one and run a charter operation with her.

Pros:
The boat has been everything we expected. Solid, bulletproof, can handle any weather, easy to man with short crew, and comfortable. I love the draft, the layout, and particularly the spacious engine room. I like the sensible underbody which will hopefully forgive the inevitable grounding when it happens.

I think the boats are beautiful, but that is subjective. Chapman's piloting had one on their cover a few years back, so apparently they thought they were beautiful too.

Cons: They are slow. SA/Displacement is low, so it takes a lot of wind to get moving. For many people, this is frusterating. Not for me. If I wanted to go fast, I would fly.

Now in 25-30 knots of wind, they can really move. With current, we have been running up over 10 knots on occasion. With a lot of lighter built boats, you wouldn't want to put that much sail up in those conditions.

Systems will be old and will likely require updating.

The 2 cockpit layout is great for chartering, but maybe not the best for global cruising. A lot of space is used up by that aft cockpit. But it is nice for escaping from the kids for a while.