Hinckley Picnic Boat 39

Forward Thinking

Last week, an email came in from the folks at Hinckley Yachts who told us they had big news, but we’d have to keep it a secret ‘til July 24. Well, that day has arrived, so here it is: Just in time for the 30^th anniversary of its iconic Picnic Boat 39, Hinckley is unveiling its first ever 39 with a forward seating area. And man, now with three separate socializing areas, this Picnic looks to be a model of swooping, curved-surface beauty, and shallow-water capability.

According to Hinckley’s General Manager Scott Bryant, development for this boat started a couple of years ago. It was the result of simply talking to customers and watching how they used, and wanted to use, their boats. A substantial number of customers, he said, want to “spend more time on the water during the day and less time spending the night, so to speak. So we felt like we needed to evolve the picnic boat to meet those needs.”

Still, he said, some owners would surely want to overnight on the boat, or at least have a belowdecks area for changing, showering, or taking a nap. So the challenge would come in designing a forward-lounge boat that still had enough room belowdecks for a comfortable forward cabin, all while retaining the lines and proportions of a classic Picnic Boat. Rather than solely rely on computer visualization, Bryant and company decided to build a full-sized, exceedingly accurate plywood mock-up of the boat—keeping it locked off in their Maine factory. With it, they could experiment with all manner of galley, seating, and cabin configurations. “When people get on boats, they all gravitate towards that one corner or that seat that’s facing forward,” said Bryant. “Everybody knows, subconsciously, which is the best seat in the house. So on this boat, we wanted to make sure that every seat felt like the best seat in the house.”

“We tested a whole bunch of cushion densities and foam densities,” Bryant continued. “We tested all of the seats, both sitting and lying down, and feet stretched out with four people on board, eight people on board, with ten people on board, making sure that those person-to-person distances are optimized for communication, and having a great time. That’s really what this boat is all about: creating a really fabulous platform where people can create these really great memories on the water.”

The first thing that jumps out at us on this boat is, of course, the forward lounge. Hinckley waited decades to unveil such a feature, but at first blush, it looks like they got it right. The lounge is accessed via an unobtrusive sliding door and window mechanism in the cockpit. The door swings completely out of the way while the window simply becomes part of the larger forward windshield. The U-shaped lounge space looks to be a smartly upholstered and engineered space for five, maybe six lucky passengers. We’re seeing deep enough seating to keep guests in the boat and low-profile grab rails for when things get a little sporty. If it gets more than a little sporty, Bryant said that there are a pair of mammoth drains, expertly hidden at the lounges’ lowest reaches should quickly shed any water that makes it over the bow.

Maintaining a full sized, climate-controlled forward cabin was accomplished by putting the forward lounge mostly above the double-sized bed that hydraulically hinges upwards with a huge storage area underneath. This allows for a full sized head with shower and plenty of headroom for changing astern of the berth. “It’s cozy, it’s functional and it’s beautiful,” said Bryant.

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Inside the cockpit with all that varnished cherry, the 39 looks, well, like a Hinckley. To starboard is a full-function U-shaped galley that allows the chef/captain/bartender to serve and brace themselves against tippy seas. Floors are cool and grippy faux teak while the curved wooden helm station is flat-out gorgeous, with a mix of twin screens and a line of old school-looking gauges that mirror the digital display. The throttles and monitor for the JetStick 4 Hamilton Waterjet propulsion system are well-situated to starboard. The JetStick/Waterjet setup also includes heading and dock-hold functionality. With no protruding propellors, this 21,000 pound yacht draws a mere two feet two inches and because there’s no running gear protruding beneath her hull to create appendage drag, very efficient high cruise speeds are possible with the twin 480-horsepower Volvo D6 configuration. Top speed should be 36 knots, with a 34-knot cruise. Recently, we covered Hinckley’s new SilentJet diesel electric hybrid system. If you want a 39S with that drive, you’ll have to wait a bit longer as the system is currently only offered on the Hinckley 40S.

Astern, the 39 Picnic will offer a pair of lounges and a generous swim platform that runs the entire length of her 12’11” beam. “You can get right into that secluded beach, and back right up,” said Bryant. “Skinny waters nobody else is going to dream of going into—the kids can literally step right off with the engines running.”

Hullform-wise, Bryant said you won’t notice much difference between the 39 Picnic and other Hinckleys in this size range. Deadrise was increased from 19 to 22 degrees to give a little bit more rough water performance from a carbon-epoxy hull tough enough for Hinckley to offer a lifetime warranty. All in all, we’re seeing a lot to like. Bryant says Hinckley has already sold four of these boats with hull number one still to be completed. Needless to say, we’re looking forward to sea trialing her.