Offshore cruiserr

In true McCurdy & Rhodes style, the overhangs are almost exaggerated.

feminine lines. While we are reviewing this boat, keep in mind that these boats are semicustom and that you can have yours with or without mustard. Hinckley's designers have done a beautiful job of integrating the pilothouse into the sweet lines of the deck.

The original 59-foot design was prepared by McCurdy & Rhodes. The new, raised-saloon model is the work of Hinckley's own talented design team. In true McCurdy & Rhodes style, the overhangs are almost exaggerated. Using a displacement of 63,000 pounds, we get a D/L of 326. The keel is a fin with centerboard that gives a board-up draft of 6 feet, 6 inches.

Hinckley sent me two layouts for this boat. I am sure the company's designers would be happy to draw up one specifically for you. The two I have are identical except in their treatments of the forward stateroom. One layout has a centerline double all the way forward and the other has a Pullman-style double with the head forward. The advantage of the centerline double is that your mate doesn't have to crawl over you in the middle of the night when going to check the backstay tension.

When on look at these interiors keep in mind that this boat was designed to feature a semi-enclosed pilothouse. The problem with this, from a design standpoint, is that the volume given over to the pilothouse is a direct subtraction from the main saloon. What you get, in effect, is a boat with two saloons. Note the clever way the quarter berth is tucked under the raised pilothouse sole. Raising the sole in this way makes for a very nice engine space, with plenty of room for large wing tanks outboard. Note the nav station to starboard and forward in the pilothouse.

The 61 is drawn with in-the-mast main furling. The doublespreader rig shows staysail stay and runners in addition to fore and aft lower shrouds. The runners should not normally be required to keep the stick straight. The SA/D of this design is 15.29.

Hull construction of the Hinckley features a layup that uses the SCRIMP process and vinylester resin. The core is balsa core sandwiched between layers of E-glass and Kevlar-hybrid fabric. The result is a hull with excellent durability and strength. Hinckley's impeccable surface finish is a result of using a thin layer of chopped mat with low-shrink vinylester resin to prevent any print-through that would show in a dark hull color. The auxiliary is a 154-horsepower Yanmar with 344 gallons of fuel. There is water tankage for 250 gallons. Note how auxiliary engines are getting bigger.

I think this design's classic American style makes a nice contrast to the Swan's Euro look. The electric look of the Swan's deck is replaced in the Hinckley by very harmonious and predictable lines. Where the Swan plays a major seventh chord, the Hinckley plays a comforting major chord.