{"id":6027,"date":"2016-08-20T17:31:28","date_gmt":"2016-08-20T17:31:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.sailpandora.com\/?p=6027"},"modified":"2016-08-20T17:31:28","modified_gmt":"2016-08-20T17:31:28","slug":"a-visit-to-hinckley-yachts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sailpandora.com\/?p=6027","title":{"rendered":"A visit to Hinckley Yachts"},"content":{"rendered":"

During\u00a0my recent cruise in Maine I was fortunate to go with members of The Corinthians on a tour of the Hinckley boat building company<\/a> a “marque” long seen as defining the ultimate in fine boat building.<\/p>\n

It was interesting that our guide, the director of sales, told us “we don’t do tours”. \u00a0I expect that this comment was designed to telegraph that “we don’t do tours unless we think that someone in your group might buy\u00a0a Hinckley”. \u00a0The Corinthians are a pretty well heeled group and I\u00a0expect that’s why they decided to make an exception, just this once…<\/p>\n

The factory, more of a large, shop, gave us a good first hand understanding for the kind of quality that sets Hinckley apart from other production boat manufacturers.<\/p>\n

The front of the building is certainly more understated than the products that they produce.\u00a0\"8-4-16aThere is an amazing amount of hand labor that goes into one of their boats. \u00a0 Each little piece of fiberglass is hand cut and put into place.\u00a0\"8-4-16aInterestingly, they don’t steam bend any materials, even the most complex curves. \u00a0This was our guide explaining the way that they form\u00a0the most demanding shapes using very thin veneer type “flitches” with glue between each “slice” and then they clamp the glued up part into a special form and left there until the epoxy sets. \u00a0Don’t try this at home. \u00a0 Well, you could actually. \u00a0The concept is simple, but like much in life, complicated to do when you get right down to it.\u00a0\"8-4-16aMany of the most complex assemblies are cut out on a computer controlled milling machine. \u00a0This is a remarkable piece of work, the dashboard to go into a Picnic Boat<\/a>.
\n\"8-4-16aAnd, speaking of Picnic Boats, and they coined the name, even Martha Stewart has one. \u00a0Reportedly, this is a shot of her cockpit. \u00a0\"marthaHer boat is a lovely tasteful light green. \u00a0Would you expect anything less from the “queen of style”? \u00a0Personally, I was hoping for a more “stylish” photo from Martha herself. \u00a0I snagged this from a 2010 post on a blog that she keeps. \u00a0I wonder if she employs someone to write her blog. \u00a0\u00a0\"marthaAnyway, I digress. \u00a0 Back to how they make these beautiful boats. \u00a0Where was I? \u00a0Oh yeah, about making parts with a computer controlled milling machine. \u00a0As I was saying, even parts with very complicated compound curves are possible. \u00a0It would take days to carve something like this out by hand. \u00a0 And they can make a shape like this out of most any material, granite, plastic and metal along with wood.\u00a0\"8-4-16aThese are port hole trim pieces. \u00a0There is no way that an owner would be capable of maintaining a boat with this much wood unless they never used the boat and kept it under cover all of the time. \u00a0Even then, I doubt that anyone would be willing to take the time to keep it just so.
\n\"8-4-16aEven keeping the cabin sole in this sort of perfect condition would be tough.
\n\"8-4-16aI don’t know how many coats of varnish they use. \u00a0Our guide described the number of coats of varnish needed as “enough”. \u00a0These doors clearly don’t have enough quite yet. \"8-4-16aNotice the sign on this boat under construction.. “no shoes on board”. \u00a0 \u00a0For some reason, even when I ask, most guests aboard Pandora seem to forget that street shoes are for streets. \u00a0To me, boat shoes don’t belong on Pandora if they have been worn on shore. \u00a0 Perhaps Pandora just doesn’t look yachty enough. \u00a0 This one clearly does or at least the Hinckley folks think so. \u00a0I expect part of it is that if things get messed up they have to fix it themselves. \u00a0Perhaps I should hand a vacuum cleaner to anyone that tries to come aboard with shoes.\u00a0\"8-4-16aEach job has to begin somewhere. \u00a0The interior panels are composite materials to keep weight low. \u00a0Pandora’s interior is constructed in the very same way. \u00a0It makes a very sturdy, light but very expensive boat.
\n\"8-4-16aThen all of the interior is put together and finished prior to the deck being put on. \u00a0That makes sense as it makes moving things around much easier than having to cram everything in through the cabin door or through a hatch. \u00a0 \u00a0They also make sure that there is a way to get every piece of equipment out of the boat for repair down the road. \u00a0I recall trying to get an old water heater out of my Tartan 37 and having to cut the tank up to get it through the aft hatch. \u00a0Ditto for fixing a leaky water tank. \u00a0I had to cut the bunk open with a saw. \u00a0Not a very elegant process on a “yacht”.
\n\"8-4-16aThey swear by the water jet propulsion system. \u00a0It’s a hallmark of Hinckley. \u00a0 Certainly in Maine, with all those lobster pot buoys, it’s good to avoid the exposed propeller. \u00a0Their “jet” propulsion is made by Hamilton Standard. \u00a0I can only imagine what these cost.
\n\"8-4-16aCurious how one of these pumps work? \u00a0 Hamilton Standard, the author of this video, is happy to share. \u00a0 The entire video may be more than you want to know? \u00a0It’s probably better for inquiring minds, like mine.\u00a0