Hinckley fever, and other ramblings ...

[Scout 30]

It's not the davits, it's the really ugly dinghy. Put a beautiful wooden row boat back there & it'll look just fine.

[jtsailjt]

Originally Posted by ddavis4464

Hi John,

A lot of guys want to marry Britney Spears, but if they did they would soon tire of the high maintenance, and low livability. Same goes for a boat. Most people stop cruising because they get tired of living in the nineteenth century. With little electricity, or noisey generators, little space, showers you can standup in, on and on...the First Mates finally give up.
For a fun safe coastal boat something between 40 and 46 feet, beamy and sallow draft. Sailing ability is irrelevant, despite what the media has indoctranated everyone to believe. Heavy anchoring gear is what is important. In twenty-five years of cruising I'll bet I've only sailed a hand full of times when traveling. You motor down the ditch or up the river.
Lots of solar and wind power will run the freezers and frig without a hot, loud generator, with all of it's maintenance. In the last five years I have never use the gen set aboard Sea Imp except to keep it functional...once a year or so.
A real recliner, and settee big enough to lay down and read on are, oh, valuable when you are hanging for a week on the hook waiting for the storm to pass by. Think "bed" with an 8" mattress, not a berth and you'll be on the right track. 300 gallons of water should last you a month or more, and the same in fuel lets you fill up once a season at the best spot.
Anyway, John, that is the conclusion I have come too.
Danny L. Davis
"Read more, be more"

"In twenty-five years of cruising I'll bet I've only sailed a hand full of times when traveling. You motor down the ditch or up the river."

That sounds like a pretty dreary existence to me, spending 25 years motoring up and down the ditch or river. I don't begrudge you that if it's what you prefer, but it's not the experience most cruisers, including the OP, are looking for or would be satisfied with.

I do agree that great anchoring gear and an upgraded mattress is important, but disagree on almost all else. I have lots of solar and a wind gen and I still use my genset almost daily, especially when living on the hook because it's how I make hot water for showers. Plus, there's lots of days when the solar and wind power doesn't provide enough amp-hours so I need the genset to make some more of them. If you're only buying 300 gallons of fuel a year and you don't use your genset, how do you make hot water for showers unless your "cruising" consists of going from one marina to the next where plug-in electricity is available?

[Jon Eisberg]

Originally Posted by Scout 30

It's not the davits, it's the really ugly dinghy. Put a beautiful wooden row boat back there & it'll look just fine.

That may be true, although I can't recall ever seeing a wooden tender on davits on a Hinckley of that size, either :-) Not to say it hasn't been done, of course...

However, not too many out there consider a wooden rowboat to be the ideal tender for world cruising on a 40+ footer these days... And, since he specified his davits would be "heavy duty ones", and freely confesses to being a big believer in "overkill", I'm guessing he might have more of an SUV-style tender in mind, as opposed to an elegant little rowboat...

On the other hand, he could always go with a tender built by Hinckley, as well... But for that, once again he's gonna need a bigger boat :-)

[PortClydeMe]

Originally Posted by Jon Eisberg

That may be true, although I can't recall ever seeing a wooden tender on davits on a Hinckley of that size, either :-) Not to say it hasn't been done, of course...

However, not too many out there consider a wooden rowboat to be the ideal tender for world cruising on a 40+ footer these days... And, since he specified his davits would be "heavy duty ones", and freely confesses to being a big believer in "overkill", I'm guessing he might have more of an SUV-style tender in mind, as opposed to an elegant little rowboat...

On the other hand, he could always go with a tender built by Hinckley, as well... But for that, once again he's gonna need a bigger boat :-)

Haha!

Jon, it may be true that your path and mine may never cross, yet you continue to bring a smile to my face.

In an ideal world, that WOULD be the perfect tender. Or even better, a classic Chris Craft inboard runabout. But, hard to hang one of those off Hinckley davits. When I was growing up in Maine, the summer boy's school on the opposite side of our lake had a 16-foot (?) '50s Chris Craft runabout, and I'll never forget what a sweet sound that exhaust made whenever they were at our dock. "Burble, burble, burble..." My father's 16-foot Boston Whaler with the 55 Johnson paled in comparison, even though it was the Eastport model with the mahogany console.

[PortClydeMe]

Originally Posted by Scout 30

It's not the davits, it's the really ugly dinghy. Put a beautiful wooden row boat back there & it'll look just fine.

You bet! Something like this vintage "Old Town" tender from Maine. Slap on a 5.5 hp Johnson, and you're good to go. Or, row if you wish.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NWI_0vrDh0s

Nice to watch master craftsmen from the great Northeast. Here's how to caulk a boat - love his accent!:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jM6R81SiKgA

And how to varnish a deck box from a 65' Alden:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pI7DjFy32DA

[DFletcher2]

The Hinckley Company has four sailboats in production right now, their most in the last 10 years. Two of them are the new Tripp Bermuda 50 design, thoroughly modern. This new Bermuda 50 is pretty interesting.

[DFletcher2]

Yes, I like Morris also. But Hinckley is building four sailboats right now, two are the brand new Bermuda 50 Tripp design. There is some great design and craftsmanship in that company today.

[gonesail]

not sure if anyone mentioned but have you looked at the Caliber 40 LRC? this boat has huge fuel and water tanks. freezer and chart table area would be average size. but it's not a Hinckley.

[DFletcher2]

Thanks, PortClydeMe, for an entertaining thread.
The Hinckley Sou'wester 59 makes a mighty fine cruiser and would have the beam and length that you need. You will need a $400-$500K budget and plan for first year costs of about $100K (I can tell you the details of this if you are interested) to personalize it and renew/update. This is if you buy a good old one. Why a Sou’wester 59? Hinckley quality. Center cockpit gives a dry sail and a nice aft cabin. Walk in and sit down engine room (I love this when I want to contemplate/service my Perkins 6.354.4M, Velvet Drive transmission, my Sea Recovery 39GPH water maker, my AC/heating systems, or other systems there). I don’t like smelly old boats so all blackwater plumbing, holding tank and both heads were replaced (Raritam Sea Elegance electroflush – great investment according to crew). I wanted stall showers both fore and aft. I wanted Hinckley joinery and materials like solid teak and holly sole, solid teak and mahogany and quality materials on every interior surface, no visible white fiberglass below deck. A big forepeak, not for a vee-berth but for sails, ground tackle, spare running rigging, spare anchors. I like the big nav station with all my DC power distribution and needed electronics. Aft of that is a wet locker for your wet jackets and bib overalls as you come off watch. Nice old touch. Aft of that is a beautiful full sized chart table. As she is a big girl, plenty of room under the saloon sole for a new Westerbeke 3-cyl. Diesel genset, new hot water heater (15 gal.), new holding tank (70 gal.), 450 gal. fresh water in two tanks and 300 gal. diesel in two tanks. That amount of fuel gives you about 800 nm range at an easy seven knots. My top-loading freezer and refrigerator (new compressors and lines) are nicely sized but you may want more. Main saloon is wide open , nice for having friends over. The saloon table (solid teak) seats seven comfortably. My electronics and autohelm are newer Raymarine with duplicate chart plotters /MFDs. Hood Sto-way furling main and a Hood Sea-furler jib, electric primary winches and electric windlass make her easy for two to sail her. Elegant aft cabin with dual berths on each side, nice midship cabins with over/under berths. Fiberglass decks, I thought that I was so smart but still a great deal of teak brightwork above deck. Nice clear, wide side decks for working crew, a nice broad stern deck and a large fore-triangle with a movable forestay for a staysail or storm staysail. Partial keel with centerboard (6.5 ft. up, 12/5 ft. down) for island hopping and for heavy weather adjustments. Skeg-hung rudder protects it and keeps it nicely balanced. Sounds like a fine list for cruising. Yet, if you buy her for those reasons, like me, you are a bit off the mark.

In SEP-OCT2015 I had the pleasure of sailing the Mary Sunshine around Martha’s Vineyard, Nantucket, Block Is. and Newport for about 350 nm. I had observed that her sister ship, Orca, won her competitive class in the 2009 Marion-Bermuda race, a 27 year old, old-school Hinckley. That intrigued me. As I sailed the Mary Sunshine I could see she was stiff and weatherly, pointing very well on a beat into 20 knot winds and four foot seas, a nice fresh breeze. No reefing here with 69,000 lbs displacement and a working jib. 8-8.3 knots, no pounding, beautiful sea kindly motion with seas two points off the bow. She wanted to do that for days on end. Kind to and protective of her crew. So, I could see where the Orca got her speed through far heavier weather and with a strong crew to win that race, though a 27 year old boat at that time, with all that gear that you and I like aboard her. I did not appreciate that when I bought my SW59. But now every time I step aboard her it makes me smile with anticipation. Heritage, classic lines, beautiful craftsmanship and outstanding materials used in her are great when docked at the Newport Yachting Center talking to new friends. The gear that you and I talk about make for a comfortable yacht. But the real reason to love these Hinckleys is for what a joy they are to sail, in nearly all weathers and seas.

This summer we head to Maine and Canada, then to the Caribbean in November to winter there. Then on to the Mediterranean. Take a look at my album on my Cruisers Forum page. It will give you a good view of these big old Hinckleys. Another option for you to consider. Have fun and best wishes in your search.

[kellyp08]

Hi DFletcher2

Agree with eveything you say about the Hinckley59 The '59 was (is) a great boat. I and others used to help my old friend, Rusty Bradford (then service manager of the Hinckley Shipyard) bring ROBERTA, a Hinckley 59, from Stonington to Bermuda then on to St Thomas in the fall and back to Mt Desert, ME in the spring. For her size, ROBERTA was a great sailor on a reach and the amenities were first rate. Pounding into a head sea under power, however, was not fun. She was rounded in the bows and fin keeled and had a tendency to pound when motoring into a head-sea as we found out on a miserable trip from Stonington to Bermuda. (My boat, an older Hinckley 50 yawl, with a classic full keeled profile, would have cut through that - probably with a lot more water on deck). But both boats, the '59 and the '50, were solid and never once did I feel that the '59 was not up to the challenge and there was never-ever- any saltwater down below. And coming back from St Thomas to Maine, there were a few 200 mile days under sail with the '59 as we sat in the aft cockpit , fishing and caught Dorado for supper. Great memories - great boats! In my, admittedly jaundiced, view there are only two types of boats: Hinckley's and everything else.

[rourkeh]

PortClydeMe
I went through a similar situation when I decided to purchase a larger sailboat for cruising and live aboard.
I looked at available used boats based on my extensive requirements and narrowed the list to 3 or 4 that would work. All of them older and in need of major updating and refits to work for me. In addition they all were very expensive ($400k +).
So I found a boat with the best, sailing characteristics, layout, storage and overall space to work with and decided to purchase a 44' Cheoy Lee and gut the boat for a major refit.
I am about 80% done now and will have spent just under $200k including the purchase price. For this effort and expense I will end up with what amounts to a brand new state of the art classic looking sailboat with the best of everything available. I may have gone overboard with the customization a bit, Custom corian shower stall, corian and stainless galley, custom pole for sat tv and radar etc but I will end up with a boat that fits my needs like a glove.
This all required a HUGE amount of work and patience that I would never even consider undertaking again.
I looked at several Hinkley's in my search but the layouts and cramped space was never going to work with all the additional equipment, like a washer/dryer and big generator.
I wish you good luck in your search, but you may find as I did that building your own boat to your specs like I have done is the best most economical way to go.

[malbert73]

All is relative with cramped space referenced here. All sailboats are cramped compared to land dwelling. No reason genset and washer can't be put in quarterberth on the SW 42. Tankage could be tough but perhaps where holding tank is. Get watermaker with full spares and change 1 water tank for diesel.

That said, a hinckley 51-52 would prob be ideal for all that.

Hinckleys have advantages of overhangs and deep bilge hull forms that let you add payload easier than lighter broader boats whose transom submerges. Build quality is great and they never leak around hull deck joint, ports, hatches. And honestly if the boat really speaks to you then that counts for a lot.


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[frozenhawaiian]

here's the thing about the hinckleys in question. despite their size and what the company may say they really aren't designed or built to be long term cruisers or liveaboards can they do it? sure! but they're not true bluewater boats in my opinion. length has very little to do with it, as another poster said, there are "rich people's toys" that statement isn't far off, these are boats meant primarily for day sailing in protected waters with some weekending or maybe a 3-4 day trip in mind. now don't get me wrong I love hinckleys, hell I'm the captain of a classic hinckley that I'm basically in love with an would buy given the chance. I just don't have any illusions about what they are.

[kellyp08]

Well, FrozenHawaiian; I'm sure you have reasons for your point of view but I personally and respectively disagree. Old Henry Hinckley once said that he would never build a boat that someone couldn't take to Bermuda. I've owned Hinckley's ( a B40 and a SW50 - both yawls) for the past 32 years, have lived aboard them for a while and have been in terrible weather offshore and never had to worry that the boat was going to come apart on me. And I usually single-hand. I can't speak to the newer models with fin keels and skeg rudders; I've only had the older classic full keeled versions. Of course, routine maintenance is key - as with any boat. But as they say - you get what you pay for. Nonetheless, there are many great boats out there - but I love my Hinckleys!

[DFletcher2]

Frozen Hawaiian - I respectfully disagree, strongly. My wife and I depart 15JUN for what we plan to be 5 years aboard our Hinckley Sou'wester 59. Maine, Canada, the Caribbean for the first 12 months then over to the Mediterranean in the next year. I don't think that meets the criteria for a "plaything" or coastal day cruiser. I'd also point to Hinckley's race records and wins racing to Bermuda and back in heavy weather. Well, we picked our blue water cruiser and are mighty happy with our choice. I am happy to see the new Bermuda 50 just launching to a new generation of Hinckley owners, that is good. But just because some of us are getting a bit aged (with our boats) doesn't mean that we don't sail well beyond the horizon.
Well said, Kellyp08.