Classic Cool: Is the Updated Hinckley Picnic Boat 39 The Ultimate Summer Cruiser?

When you think of legacy Northeastern U.S. leisure boat building, you invariably land on two names: Boston Whaler and Hinckley.

And for good reason: The Hinckley shipyard started life in 1928 in Maine (it is now headquartered on Rhode Island’s Narragansett Bay), and became an instant coastal hit with its reliable commercial fishing and leisure vessels.

Over the decades, the shipyard’s fame has grown from local to global, and the firm currently produces a robust line, from larger-scale power yachts to smaller sport boats.

All that being said, today, we want to focus on the joyful, dark-hulled, all-purpose Picnic Boat that puts Hinckley firmly on the nautical map.

Introduced last summer, the Hinckley Picnic Boat 39 docks in at (surprise, surprise) 39 feet; however, that three feet of expansion allows for a lot more luxurious comfort compared to the 1990s-era, 36-foot original.

First on the list of the Picnic Boat 39’s features is a redesign that accommodates a curving, lounge-style seating area up front, making this the first of three distinct entertainment areas on board. The word “pleasure” from the term “pleasure boat” takes on new meaning when passengers can view the waves in comfort from the bow.
 

Moreover, a smart sliding window mechanism makes it snap to enter the foredeck area for friends and family, and for the captain, too, to ease docking and mooring activities.

Speaking of the skipper, once-daunting maneuvering chores are consolidated and made simple by the cutting-edge Hinckley-created JetStick 4 control system.

The touch of a button taps the auxiliary jet motors to drop a “virtual anchor” to maintain position in even the most churning waters. Ditto on a floating G-Lock system to maintain a static position to watch the start of a regatta (or view a breaching whale or two).
 

Fly-by-wire steering, directly lifted from advanced mil-spec aviation systems, provides delicate precision-control to your wheel. Moreover, a new Dockhold feature maintains docking position, so you can scramble fore and aft to fix lines without floating away from the dock.

The powerful twin Hamilton HJX27 jet engines make all this easy maneuvering possible.

Of course, the Picnic Boat 39 features state-of-the-art Dual Guard “SCRIMP” Carbon E-glass composite construction and a vinyl resin E-glass deck, which not only provides for the Picnic Boat line’s signature hull and deck durability but also for light operational weight (cruising displacement clocks in at about 21,000 pounds).

Those same advanced materials form the large wheelhouse/cabin cover, which includes its own spacious protected seating area behind the wheel (entertainment area #2). Plus, with a 12-foot, 11-inch beam, the windowed area is comfortably wide, as well. As spacious below-deck sleeping cabin is provided, as well.
 

Lastly, an even larger open aft-deck lounge provides the third seating/entertainment area.

Recent technical innovations aside, what makes the new Hinckley Picnic Boat 39 a star in any summer harbor are the things the vessel has always been noted for: speed and flexibility.

Twin Volvo Penta D6-480 hp diesel engines can bring the vessel up to 36 knots (approx. 42 mph) and provide plenty of torque to pull skiers and floatables. Meanwhile, a respectable 300-gallon gas tank means you’ll have an extended trip range to explore whatever coastal waters you find yourself enjoying.
 

When you spot the perfect beach to pull over at and explore, the diesel engines only draw about 2 feet of water, and by using the jets, that draft can be cut to virtually 0 feet. That means you can pull up close to your destination and wade to shore (or cruise free without worrying about shallow underwater obstacles).

Pricing is based on a variety of custom options, but at the high end, the Picnic Boat 39 could run you around $2.6 million. To find out more so you can get ready for a summer on the water, visit the Hinckley website.