I’ve spent the last two days at the Palm Beach International Boat Show in Palm Beach, Florida, and have had the chance to see a dozen or more brand new family cruisers that are being introduced to the U.S. market for the first time. This morning we’ll take a moment to highlight one that comes from one of America’s most venerated builders.
The new Hinchley Picnic Boat 45 is a big handsome day cruiser and sometime weekender with a speedboat’s brisk performance. The design was drawn by Micheal Peters and contains all of Hickley’s Downeast DNA but with a difference.
Note the sweeping sheer, the harmony of the cabin top lines with the sheer, the curved bow shape, the curvaceous side windows the salon and the tumblehome at the transom. All Hinckley Picnic Boat hallmarks.
But this is not a bigger clone of the classic Picnic Boats. Last year, the Maine builder brought out the Picnic Boat 39 which was the first in the line to have a forward lounge with wrap-around seating and a table large enough for al fresco meals. This effectively creates three distinct social areas in the boat that have proven appealing to families with children and those who entertain friends and clients afloat.
The 45 takes the forward cockpit concept a step farther due mainly to the expanded size in the larger hull. Access is via an ingenious sliding door next to the helm. The forward space itself is large enough to seat up to six adults.
The salon has the twin helm seats to starboard and the large galley and dinette behind it. Given the 45’s 15-foot beam, the salon will feel spacious and full of natural light, particularly when the large overhead sunroof is opened.
The cockpit has three possible layouts, one with the L-shaped dinette aft and a large sunbed across from it, or you can change the sunbed for a smaller L-shaped lounge or an outdoor wet bar.
One of the design’s more ingenious innovations is the swim platform and its articulated steps. The platform is split horizontally, and the aft section can be deployed down into the water. The convenient transom-wide steps make for easy access –particularly for older folks– to and from the water.
Even better, the steps can be deployed upward above the platform’s fixed level thereby creating a three step ladder to a floating or fixed dock. I’ve never seen this new feature and when you look at it, you might, as I did, have a forehead slapping moment. Why didn’t anyone think of this before.
The 45 is driven by twin Volvo D 11’s rated at 725-horsepower each power Hamilton Jet Drives. The boat will have a top speed of 40 knots and a comfortable cruising speed of 34 knots. Several years ago, Hinckley developed their own proprietary joystick docking and maneuvering function which makes docking a Picnic Boat child’s play. This is a key feature in the 45.
The 45 is essentially a day boat for family excursions with the intent of creating a classic and elegant platform for enduring memories of fun and relaxation on the water. It does have a cabin with a center line double and a head with a large shower. So, a couple could easily spend the night aboard anchored in some idyllic cove.
It is always news when Hinckley, which has been building iconic American yachts for nearly a century, brings out a new design so the crowd at PBIBS and now the world will definitely sit up and take notice.
