With these classic lines that never go out of style, you can take your 56 Huckins anywhere and turn heads.

Huckins is one of the
few powerboat brands in the world that has what can only be described as “cult status.”
There are thousands of Huckins aficionados who think that powerboat styling began
and ended with the famous Huckins Fairform Flyer. They oooh and aaah whenever one
of the several hundred still in existence motors by. They approach them with the
reverence usually only reserved for something like a Mercedes gull wing or a 1936
Packard. We recently spent a day at the Huckins Yacht yard in Jacksonville, FL and
discovered several important things, the most surprising of which is that you do
not have to be a gazillionaire to own one of these classy, custom-built yachts.

1928 was a very good year for Pembroke Huckins, and the boat builder has been in continuous operation since then through depressions, at least four wars, numerous recessions, fuel cut offs and many good years.

See interview of Huckins 56 Jet Drive Owner…



Cindy Purcell on What Sets Huckins Yachts Apart…

Cindy and Buddy Purcell own and run Huckins and they
are there virtually everyday overseeing construction, refit and repair just the
way boat builders did in the good old days. Cindy is the granddaughter of Pembroke
Huckins who founded the company in 1928. With time he became a cranky old boat builder,
which is an occupational hazard. Eighty years later Huckins is still turning out
two or three yachts annually, plus refurbishing one or two of their old gems for
the cult worshipers, but Cindy and Buddy have not yet become grumpy. They are still
in love with building the boats that granddad made famous.


Goodrich Started it



David Goodrich was Pembroke’s first customer in ’28 and they immediately began building
all the powerboats they could manage from 45’ to 56’ – a size range where the company
has always felt comfortable, even to this day. While Huckins has built boats up
to 80’, such as the sportfisherman Kirkline 80, boats 44’ to 60’ have always
worked out best for both the yard and its clients.

Huckins impressed the navy with its PT Boat design during WWII.

For the History Buffs



The depression of the 1930s hit the company hard,
and Pembroke built boats as small as 25 feet to stay in business. When WWII came
along the yard built PT boats for the Navy. Afterward, the company moved to the
yard location on the Ortega River where it is to this day – 62 years in the same
location! From 1951 to '71 Huckins built 150 boats, averaging over 7 boats a year.
In 1975 it switched from wood to fiberglass, just in time to stave off the disaster
that befell a number of other great old boat brands that refused to give up genuine
tree wood.

A new 56’ jet-powered Huckins under construction two weeks ago.

Stays with Classic Lines




With the exception of one brief foray into a different style, Huckins has maintained
the look of the classic Huckins Fairform Flyer. Nevertheless, the company is a custom
boat builder, so they will build pretty much whatever you want. But obviously, if
you go to Huckins, you play to their long suit. (And we’re not sure Buddy and Cindy
would have much interest in building something that didn’t look like a Huckins.)
Most surprising, the prices quoted to us of boats built the last two years were
not too much more than good quality production boats, and in some cases they are
a bit less.

This 44 is currently under construction and is powered by Hamilton jet drives.

To our eye, Huckins designs are sort of like
classic mens’ clothing styles such as a fine herringbone or glen plaid sport jacket
– they are always in style. If you are one of those people who simply hankers for
the look and nostalgia of yesteryear, then Huckins might be right for you. Likewise,
if you want a motoryacht that you wouldn’t be embarrassed to tie up to the New York
Yacht Club’s Harbor Court dock in Newport, RI, then think Huckins. Their boats will
always be in style.

Bogie was once seen on the fourth boat from the left with a leggy blond half his age.

Pre-Owned Huckins Live!



If there are other demands on your purse right now (such as two kids in college),
and you still want the Huckins look, consider a used one. We discovered that the
Purcells have cornered the market on used Huckins and they have about a dozen of
all vintages and price points in their marina handled by their brokerage division.
Walking their used boat dock, one almost expects to see Bogie come out of one of
the old, gray Huckins models followed by Lauren Bacall with a twinkle in her eye.

New yacht owner Bill Higgins, Cindy Purcell, and Buddy Purcell on a 56’ Huckins.

The business end of the new 56’ Huckins. Note famous, patented Huckins bottom shape.

Huckins Goes Jet



Last year we made a video interview of Bill Higgins just after he took delivery
of his 56’ Huckins, the first jet powered boat the yard ever built. Now, after over
a year of heavy use up and down the eastern seaboard by Higgins, Huckins has commissions
for two more jet boats. When we visited the yard two weeks ago two new boats were
under construction – a 44 and a 56-footer. Both boats will be powered by Hamilton
jet drives. Buddy told us over a dinner of grilled grouper and grits at one of the
local snuggeries that they are taking a serious look at Volvo Penta IPS drives of
their next build.

A Bertram 31 never looked so good. The Purcells like restoring old boats for some reason.

Note the 24-degree deadrise on the Bertram that started the Deep-V. Pembroke would not have approved. Huckins’ hulls were fuel-efficient before it became fashionable.

Refurbish & Rehab




The third thing we discovered on our visit is that Huckins also has an active refurbishing
and repair business. Not only does the yard rehab old Huckins models, they put nearly any
old boat to rights. See the photos of the classic Bertram 31 with this article and
you’ll see what we mean. There are not many venerable old names like Huckins left
that still build and have a full-service boat yard. It harks back to another era,
one that is quickly coming to an end. Grab a piece of it while it lasts.




Here’s looking at you kid.