Hinckley Bermuda 40 History, Specs and Used Values

The boat show deal that launched the Bermuda 40

At the 1959 New York Boat Show, a group from the Knickerbocker Yacht Club approached Hinckley with a proposal: build a fiberglass yacht based on Bill Tripp's Block Island 40 and they would guarantee the first ten sales. Hinckley, then known for wooden boats in Southwest Harbor, Maine, agreed. Hull number 1, Huntress, launched in time for the 1960 Bermuda Race.

The Hinckley Bermuda 40 stayed in production until 1991, when hull number 203 left the shed. That 32-year run is among the longest of any fiberglass auxiliary sailboat, and it happened because buyers kept asking for the same boat. The B-40 became the yardstick for East Coast yachting style and the reason Hinckley's name still means quality to American sailors.

Custom, Mark II and Mark III explained

Buyers will see three versions in listings. The original Custom, built from 1959, displaced about 19,000 pounds with 6,500 pounds of lead ballast on a waterline of about 27 feet 10 inches, and was rigged as a masthead yawl. The Mark II of about 1968 got an airfoil centerboard in place of the flat plate and a slightly taller mainmast, adding roughly 20 square feet of sail.

The Mark III, introduced in 1972 in response to the IOR, made bigger changes. The mainmast went up about 4 feet 3 inches and moved aft almost 2 feet, giving a higher-aspect mainsail and a larger foretriangle, and about 1,000 pounds went into the keel to carry it, which put the boat lower on her marks and added about a foot of waterline. A sloop rig became an option. Mark III decks were cored, first with balsa and later with vacuum-bagged 3/4 inch PVC foam, and the last hulls used a Kevlar and E-glass hybrid laminate.

Which to buy? For a sailor who wants the purest classic, a well-kept Custom is lovely and cheaper. For practical cruising, a Mark III with a modern repower is the best combination of sailing performance, construction and comfort.

• Custom (1959): about 19,000 lb, yawl rig, solid glass deck
• Mark II (around 1968): airfoil centerboard, slightly taller mast
• Mark III (1972): taller mast moved aft, about 1,000 lb more ballast, sloop option
• Late hulls: foam-cored decks and Kevlar hybrid laminate

Four feet of draft, then eight and a half

The bronze centerboard is the feature that made the Bermuda 40 so useful. With the board raised the boat draws about 4 feet 1 inch to 4 feet 3 inches depending on the source, enough to explore Maine's coves, Buzzards Bay or the Bahamas. Lowered, draft reaches about 8 feet 7 inches and the boat tracks and points far better.

Hinckley operated the cast bronze board with a worm gear rather than a simple wire pennant, with an override that lets the board kick up in a grounding. It is reliable but requires periodic service, and the long keel still makes the boat difficult to back down under power.

Tender at first, then steady, and often wet

By modern standards the Bermuda 40 is sedate. It heels quickly to 15 or 20 degrees before firming up, a function of its narrow waterline and a ballast ratio of about one third. Once it settles, the motion is smooth and the helm is light. Owners say weather helm can be nearly eliminated with good sail trim, and the yawl's mizzen makes balancing the boat easier still.

Upwind performance is moderate. The boat does not tack as briskly as a fin-keel design and loses speed through the tack. Off the wind it comes alive, and its PHRF rating of around 163 reflects that profile. The long overhangs and low freeboard make it a wet boat in a seaway, which is why one well-known review called it everybody's wet dream boat. Under power, an aging original diesel loses some of its ability to punch through a head sea and strong current.

Hinckley construction and the wooden boat inside

Inside the solid fiberglass hull is a hand-fitted wooden interior, with bulkheads tabbed to both hull and deck. The hull-to-deck joint is a half-inch thick, six-inch wide inward flange, laminated and through-bolted, and Hinckley crews reportedly spent about two days fitting each deck to its hull before bonding them.

Hinckley made most of its own hardware, including stanchions, stainless castings, masts and steering pedestals. Ballast is external lead on stainless steel bolts, deck hardware is screwed into tapped holes over backing plates to limit leaks, and the cutaway forefoot is designed to minimize grounding damage. Owners describe the boats as bulletproof and over-engineered, and the survey record largely agrees.

Below decks, small by design

The trade-off of wide side decks and narrow beam is interior volume. The B-40 sleeps six, with a V-berth forward, a head to port, a saloon with a centerline drop-leaf table, extension settees and pilot berths outboard, an L-shaped galley to port at the companionway with a three-burner propane stove, and a navigation station opposite that uses the icebox top as its chart table. Some later Mark IIIs have dinettes, dedicated nav stations or a Pullman double forward.

Owners accept the compact interior as part of the deal. A modern 34-footer has more room below. What the B-40 offers instead is a seaworthy, well-ventilated layout with secure berths and handholds, and finish quality that still embarrasses many new yachts.

The Monel tank under the engine and other big jobs

The single most expensive surprise on a Bermuda 40 is the fuel tank. The 48-gallon Monel tank sits beneath the engine, so replacing it usually means pulling the engine. Monel lasts a long time, but by now many tanks are original, and a leak can turn a modest repower into a major project. Water capacity is about 110 gallons.

Until the early 1990s boats got Westerbeke diesels of 35 to 46 hp, commonly the 4-107, and the last boats a 51 hp Yanmar 4JH2. Most surviving boats have been repowered or need to be. The engine space is cramped, service is from the front, and the shaft and stuffing box are hard to reach. When comparing listings, a recent repower that included the fuel tank is worth a lot of money.

Why Bermuda 40 values never collapsed

The B-40 was always expensive for a 40-footer. Today used Bermuda 40s generally ask between about $60,000 and $260,000, a range that reflects condition and refit history more than year. Hinckley-maintained boats with full records sit at the top. Annual costs typically run $10,000 to $25,000 because of brightwork, a 40-foot slip and the higher labor rates of yards that know these boats.

Hinckley still runs a service and brokerage network, and many B-40s have spent their lives in Hinckley yards. That support, along with the boat's beauty and reputation, is why values have held so well. These boats rarely sell cheaply, and good ones often change hands between people who already know each other.