Hinckley Picnic Boat, From the 1994 Original to Today's 37 and 40

How the Hinckley Picnic Boat started a category

In 1994 Hinckley, a Southwest Harbor, Maine, builder founded in 1928 and known almost entirely for sailboats, put out a small power boat meant for one simple job: running a couple across Frenchman Bay to a picnic on an island beach. The Hinckley Picnic Boat was 36 feet long, drew just 18 inches with its Hamilton waterjet, and wore a sheer line that blended the working Maine lobster boat with the varnished launches of the old summer colonies. The lines came from designer Bruce King, the third naval architect that Hinckley chief executive Shep McKenney approached, and two King underbodies were tank-tested at the Webb Institute before the boat was built.

It was a hit from the first season. The boat looked right in every harbor from Nantucket to Palm Beach, it was easy to drive and it carried the Hinckley name, which already meant something to the people who could afford one. The style was so widely copied that Hinckley registered Picnic Boat as a trademark. Three decades later the term picnic boat is used generically for any small Downeast day cruiser, which is the clearest sign of how completely the original defined the type.

Why Hinckley chose a waterjet, and what that means to an owner

The waterjet is the Picnic Boat's defining technical choice, although McKenney later called it something of an afterthought. Standard power on the first boats was a single Yanmar diesel with a dual-prop outdrive, and the Hamilton jet was the shallow-draft option that buyers quickly made the norm. A jet draws water through an intake grate in the bottom of the hull and fires it out of a steerable nozzle at the transom. There is no propeller, shaft or rudder under the boat. The benefits for a Maine or Florida owner are large. Draft stays around 2 feet, so the boat can slide into gunkholes, over ledges and up to beaches. There is nothing to wrap a lobster pot warp around, nothing to bend on a sandbar and no propeller near swimmers.

Jets have costs too. They are less efficient than propellers at low and medium speeds, so a jet boat burns more fuel idling around a harbor than a comparable prop boat. Early single-jet Picnic Boats could be awkward at very low speed because the nozzle steers only when water is flowing. Weed and eelgrass can clog the intake, and owners learn to use the cleanout port. On balance most owners consider the trade worth it, and Hinckley has never abandoned jets on the Picnic Boat.

• Draft around 2 feet on all generations
• No exposed propellers, shafts or rudders
• Less efficient than props at slow speed
• Intake grate needs periodic clearing of weed and debris

JetStick, the joystick that changed docking

Hinckley's answer to jet handling was the JetStick, developed with Control Engineering Inc. and first used in 1998. It integrates the jet nozzles, reversing buckets and bow thruster through a single joystick, so the boat can be walked sideways or spun in place. It was one of the first joystick systems on any recreational boat, years before pod drives made joysticks common, and it is one reason older Picnic Boats remain easy for older owners to handle.

The current Picnic Boat 37 carries JetStick 4, which adds virtual anchoring to hold position, fly-by-wire dynamic steering, a Dockhold feature that keeps the boat pinned to a dock while the skipper steps off the helm, and an improved heading and position hold. When looking at an older boat, ask which JetStick generation it carries. Upgrading controls on older hulls is a common refit and has a noticeable effect on value.

Classic, EP, MKIII 37, 40 and beyond, a generation guide

Brokers group Picnic Boats into generations. The original or Classic 36 of 1994 carried a single Yanmar six-cylinder diesel and a single Hamilton jet, and Yachting's first test recorded a 25-knot cruise and a 29-knot top speed. In 2001 Hinckley extended the pilothouse to create the EP (Extended Pilothouse) 36, still one engine and one jet, which by the end of its run carried a single 480 hp diesel and cruised around 24 knots. Production of the 36 stopped in October 2008, when Hinckley said it had sold 370 Picnic Boats.

The bigger shift came with the Picnic Boat 37, shown at the 2008 Newport show as a 2009 model and sold as the MKIII. Michael Peters drew a new bottom with 19 degrees of transom deadrise in place of 15, and twin 300 hp Volvo Penta D4 diesels drove twin Hamilton 274 jets, with 370 hp Volvo D6s optional. Today's 37 measures 38 feet 8 inches overall with an 11-foot-3 beam and 19,000 pounds cruising displacement. Twin 440 hp Volvo Penta D6 diesels drive twin Hamilton HTx jets for a cruising speed Hinckley quotes in the 32 to 35 knot range and a 37-knot top end.

The Picnic Boat 40 was announced at Newport in 2017 and launched in 2018 as the flagship, at 42 feet overall, 12 feet 10 inches of beam and 25,000 pounds, powered by twin 480 hp Cummins QSB 6.7 diesels with Hamilton jets, 375 gallons of fuel and a quoted 35-knot cruise and 38-knot top speed with optional power. Hinckley also built a smaller Picnic Boat 34 for a time. The current range adds the Picnic Boat 39, introduced in 2025 with twin 480 hp Volvo D6s, and the Picnic Boat 45, announced in 2026 with twin 725 hp Volvo D11s.

Carbon, Kevlar and twelve coats of varnish

Current Picnic Boats are built with what Hinckley calls DualGuard construction, a SCRIMP-infused laminate of carbon fiber and E-glass in epoxy resin. On the 40, carbon is laid bow to stern under an outer layer of Kevlar for puncture resistance, and the original 36 was already a SCRIMP-infused Kevlar and E-glass boat. Epoxy resists osmotic blistering far better than polyester, and a tough outer skin makes the hull tolerant of the rocky ledges that are part of cruising in Maine. The result is a light, stiff hull that helps the boat reach its speeds on relatively modest power.

The finish is what owners pay for. Hinckley uses Burmese teak trim and says it puts twelve coats of varnish on the toe rails of its newest Picnic Boat. The cabin joinery, the hardware and the paint are all of a level that few production builders attempt. That finish also defines the maintenance budget, because varnish on a Picnic Boat is not optional if you care about resale.

Life aboard, a dayboat that can weekend

The Picnic Boat is laid out primarily as a dayboat. The helm sits under a hardtop with the classic raked windshield, with seating for the skipper and companion and a cockpit aft sized for lunch for four to six people. Many owners order canvas side curtains to extend the season into the cold Maine fall.

Below, the cabin has a V-berth or convertible settee forward, a small galley and an enclosed head. Two people can spend a few nights aboard comfortably, but the boat is not a long-range cruiser. Water capacity on the 37 is 40 gallons. Owners who cruise for a week tend to plan around marinas or move up to the 40 or a larger Hinckley Talaria.

What it costs to keep a Picnic Boat looking like a Picnic Boat

Budget $40,000 to $95,000 a year to own a Picnic Boat well, excluding depreciation. The range is wide because the gap between owners who keep the boat in Hinckley yard condition and owners who do not is large. Varnish, Awlgrip touch-ups, canvas, jet service and engine maintenance add up, and the company's own yards charge premium rates.

Hinckley runs a network of service yards along the East Coast from Southwest Harbor, Maine, to Florida, and many Picnic Boats rotate between Maine summers and Florida winters through those yards. Jets need periodic inspection of the impeller, wear ring and nozzle, but with proper care they are very durable.

Why Picnic Boats hold value like no other

Picnic Boats are the resale benchmark for Downeast power boats. In 2016 Yachting counted 31 Picnic Boat 36s for sale at $179,000 to $389,000, remarkable money for boats up to 22 years old, and twin-engine 37s hold value just as stubbornly. The demand is driven by a loyal buyer base, a recognizable look that never goes out of style, and a steady flow of buyers trading up from other Downeast boats.

The market rewards documented Hinckley yard maintenance, recent repowers, updated JetStick controls and fresh varnish. Boats with deferred maintenance can be costly to bring back up to standard, so a thorough survey with a jet-familiar mechanic is essential before purchase.