Yacht designer Doug Zurn and his team over the last 30 years have designed some of the most iconic power boats, express cruisers and motor yachts on the market. One of their key partnership is with the venerable builder Hinckley Yachts of Portsmouth, Rhode Island which announced recently that they are introducing the new Zurn-designed Hinckely 41.
The new boat follows on the successful launch in 2025 of the Hinckley 39, the company’s first family day boat and weekender with a forward cockpit. The 39 was an immediate hit and Hinckley took 25 orders before the first boat was launched.
The new 41 follows in the 39’s wake and will have a lot of that design’s DNA, including the forward cockpit. But, the 41 is a completely new design born from a close collaboration between builder and designer. Here’s how Zurn describes the process:
“We meet with the customer, whether it’s a builder’s new-model team or an individual client, and we have a conversation where we listen intently to what they’re saying. Once that vision for the model is discussed, we’re able to translate it to a design that will resonate on performance, looks, handling characteristics, strength, and efficiency. Then, we revisit it with the client and move forward.”
The new 41 has Hinckley timeless Picnic Boat look and exudes all the quality and pedigree the nearly 100-year-old builder is famous for. The new boat is also going to have stunning performance.
Powered by three Mercury Verado V10 outboards, Hinckley is confident the new boat will have a top end speed of 55 knots at wide-open-throttle. Plus, with the optional engine upgrade, they say speeds over 60 knots are in the cards. By analogy, this is kind of like driving a Bentley 150 miles per hour!
The Zurn hull has 22-degrees of deadrise so the boat will slice through the water like a hot knife through butter and provide those aboard with the softest and safest possible ride.
The 41 is surely a speedster but it is at its essence a family boat to be used for family outings and occasional evenings with friends or clients. With three distinct social spaces –the cockpits aft and forward plus to salon– groups of 10 or more will be comfortable and families will have distinct areas for oldies and kids.
In the end, the 41 will be a Hinckley which makes it a boat that can and will be passed down through generations. Cruising Odyssey will offer a full report when hull number one is launched.
