There was a time when, among the boating crowd, the phrase “a Hinckley” conjured up visions of elegant sailing yachts with graceful sheerlines, long overhangs, powerful rigs and plenty of varnish.
Over the past several years, though, Hinckley has become better known for its powerboats. Ranging in line from 29 to 55 feet, the company’s semi-custom, waterjet-powered Picnic Boats, runabouts and cruisers have become the a leading choice for an affluent audience. Some of those Jetboat buyers are new boaters, but many of them are experienced, older yachtsmen — often owners of a Hinckley sailboat — ready for the convenience of powerboating but with the same quality they have enjoyed.
The Jetboat isn’t going away. On a visit to the Hinckley plant in Trenton last week, Sales Director Eric Roos said the company, founded in 1928, now has more employees — some 250 or so in Maine — than it has ever had and that 2014 was “the best year for new boat sales in the company’s history.”
While Jetboats represented the vast majority of those sales, last year Hinckley got back into the sailboat business, and in a big way. Four sailboats are currently under construction at the Trenton plant — the first time in years that Hinckley has had that many sailboats to build, let alone to build at the same time. Read More
