Port Of Egypt Sold

[captmike28]

Tru 'dat, but you do have colleagues of a similar age, , as we used the POE Peconic station a few times each summer until Dad bought a 16' boat with a 40 on her....

Hinckley is a Maine company not too far from me. When we purchased our current boat, its low freeboard had the Admiral concerned regarding "YGDGOB - Young Granddaughter Going Overboard" and she insisted the boat must be fitted out with permanent side railing. The Hinckley fabrication shop was the only one near me which was available to get custom rails made and installed within in a week, so they were engaged for that project. The price was quite competitive, shocking me as I figured a good 25% upcharge for the Hinckley name. The work was 1st rate and done on time. I have only the highest praise for that shop, but I think the fact that we lived in Ireland, and the shop head was Irish helped too...


Yes, the draft comment does need to be taken with about 5 gallons of salt water, as we have another investment consortium involved . The company has been owned by private equity firms since 1997, with Boston-based Monitor Clipper Partners holding a majority stake since 2001. The company is currently owned by a consortium of investors, but continues to manufacture yachts in Maine and operate service yards along the East Coast.

So yeah, there's a high probability that just like Orient By The Sea, RIP, the local, small boat fleet will find themselves looking for dock space as the more lucrative, big boys will start tying up. Who knows, you may get lucky, as one of our favorite rooftop bars is located on top of a building at the Hinckley marina in Camden, Maine...

Some contextual History: Hinckley's historic standard bearer used to be SAILBOATS, not stinkpots. I'd hazard a guess that there are still a bunch of them on LI and if you look at the Hinckley brokerage site, there are quite a few of them listed there. They and Swans, were the epitome of luxury sailboats up until the turn of the century. If you look at the cabin woodwork in the current top of the line Hinckley stinkpot, you'll see its sailboat genetics. In the last 20 years sailing has been eclipsed by folks who would rather not spend an entire day off enjoying a leisurely sail on the water, but want to hop on a boat, turn the key and zoom off to lunch at a waterfront watering hole, only to come back and tie up a few hours later. Regrettably Hinckley had to change it's business plan to stay competitive and keep the investors happy...

The Picnic Boat came about in 1994 and used to be referred to as the Maine Picnic Boat since Maine its the major market and dictated the use of a jet drive. Why? Well it sure wasn't because of draft since there are few, if any Maine harbors that have less than 4+feet of water in them at King low tides for the lobster fleet, but we do have TONS of lobster traps! Boating in Maine is a living slalom course around the lobster buoys: Autopilot??? Yeah, I've got your autopilot!!

Funny Roccus learns about the Hinckley Picnic Boat story: Was doing something at home in IL and heard that the Admiral was watching the Martha Stewart show, an absolute anathema to me. As I forcefully strode past the TV the Admiral asks, "Are Hinckley's good boats?" and the old Ragboater reflex kicked in on me, almost wearing out the carpet as I slammed on the brakes!!! Turns out Martha was showing her picnic boat getting made at the Hinckley shipyard in Maine. Like many extremely wealthy people, she has a house up in Bah Hahbah and it's not a complete stinking rich experience without a boat. The video showing the boat being made was quite informative and kept me rapt. And then "she" started, "Well now we have to plan our christening party" and Roccus was out of there...

Well Mazel Tov to you all, and condolences to those of you that will end up scrambling for a new docking arrangement. My LI BFF was run off LI because of crowds, taxes and Strong's making it hell for the small boater. I'm thinking those of you in the 22-28' boat range that enjoyed having a slip, will be relegated to trailering in the not too distant future. The cold, hard truth is that you're no longer in the business plans as marina evolve to chase the almighty dollar...

Thaks, Roccus, for the extra background history on Hinckley, some of which I did already know and some that is new to me. No doubt that Hinckley builds a very high-quality craft and I am also sure that during some of your earliest experiences with them they took care of your needs just l like a big yacht customer. I suspect that today they might not be so anxious to take on such a small job for them.

Yes, I can whine all I want but it won't change the trajectory of business in our country whether or not one thinks it is a positive step. It just seems that everything tied to boating is aimed at the upper end of the market while the average hard-working guy does not have many options that even come close to their budget. Look who's talking as I am docked in Safe Harbor, easily one of the most expensive yards on the North Fork today. That's also why I am still running charters at age 75!!

 

[captmike28]

Did many a trip out of the POE Orient Pt station. Great fluking, porgy and blackfishing right off the launch. We had some crazy launches hanging on for dear life going into a chop on the sound. And more than once we surfed back onto the rails to be hauled back up on the beach. We were young and had fun times.

Man, I would give anything to have a photo or two of that old contraption. Basically, it was an overhead Rail system attached to a flatbed surface upon which they would use a forklift to load the rowboat with all your gear already stowed. Then you would climb in and a good push plus the force of gravity and the angle of incline would move this whole apparatus down and into the water. Coming home was the real fun part when you positioned the boat on the flatbed and they fired up the old caddy and goosed the engine as it lifted the whole mechanism back up on land again!

In those days in the spring, you could motor about 10 minutes west, set up anywhere in Petty's Bight, and catch all the beautiful winter Flounder you could want. In the fall you went 5 minutes east, anchored by the Orient Lighthouse and filled the boat with far too many outsized Tog. We would also put out a dead stick with a high hook clam bait and catch between 5 and 10 nice market sized Cod to top off the day!