Hinckley Pilot History

Sparkman & Stephens unveiled the design for the first Pilot class in Yachting's October 1945 issue, well before plans were purchased by Henry Hinckley in 1955. Aage Neilson, a freelance designer working with S&S at the time, drew the first Pilot class lines. The boats were constructed in wood by Fisher Boatworks in Detroit, Michigan until production was moved to Thomas Knutson Shipbuilding Co. in Huntington, Long Island, NY when Fisher shut down. The originals specs were 32'11" LOA, 24'DWL, 9'6" Beam and 4'9" Draft.

The Hinckley Company in SW Harbor, Maine, elongated the hull from 32'11" to 35' 2" when they purchased the plans from S&S, and increased the sail area from 495 sq. ft. to 529 sq. ft. The draft was also increased to 4'11" which added slightly to the displacement. The Pilot was then advertised as the "New Pilot" and "the ultimate in combining livability, seaworthiness and speed". Still constructed in wood, eight boats following these lines came off the production line, only one a yawl.

In later years, around 1962, the dimensions were again increased to 35'9"; DWL 25'0"; Beam 9'6" Draft 5'0" SA 554 sq. ft. and Displacement 13,000 lbs. The boats were now constructed in fiberglass and it was this design that became known as the Hinckley "Pilot 35" built exclusively by Henry R. Hinckley & Co. Of the 117 fiberglass Pilots built, 25 were yawls.

Several layouts were offered for the interior space. The "custom" Pilot, of which there were only 5 built, has a raised cabin top and a galley that runs the length of the starboard main cabin. Many options were offered to insure that the new owners would "love their your Pilot almost as much as the Maine men who built her on the shores of the North Atlantic Ocean".

That was end of the line for the Pilot in the United States, under the Hinckley name. It is believed that around 12 slightly shorter versions were built in Chile, sometime in the late 70's.

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