Yesterday, Hinckley Yachts announced that it is building an outboard-powered Hinckley 35 that will be released in 2021. But this time, it’s not a Sport Boat, and even though it looks like a Picnic Boat, don’t call it one.

“It’s similar to a Picnic Boat but it’s optimized for outboards,” says Scott Bryant, Hinckley’s vice president of sales and marketing. “The Picnic moniker is reserved for Hinckley’s jetboats.”

The Hinckley 35’s new hull is by Michael Peters—who has drawn all of Hinckley’s Picnic Boat iterations since 2008—and was specifically designed to handle outboard power. (The original 36-foot jet-powered Picnic Boat was designed by Bruce King in 1994.) For the Hinckley 35, Peters included slightly wider chines and strakes to provide the lift and stability that is needed for the higher speeds associated with outboard propulsion.

“In the Hinckley 35 we wanted to make sure we were drawing from the Picnic Boat form,” Bryant says, “but it’s for people who don’t necessarily want jets.”

The Hinckley 35 will have a top speed of 42 knots with optional twin 350-hp Mercury outboards. Standard power will be twin Mercury 300-hp outboards with 300-hp Yamahas available as an option.

Besides outboards, the Hinckley 35 will have other features that are different from the Picnic Boats, among them the ClearView one-piece windshield that made its debut on the Sport Boat 40x last year. However, the 35 will also have many of the Hinckley hallmarks—like the meticulously varnished woodwork, craftsmanship and carbon fiber epoxy-infused hulls.

So why is this not a Sport Boat? “The Sport Boat is for sport utility,” Bryant says. “It’s about wash-and-wear, load it up and go. The Hinckley 35 will be for cocktail cruising and picnic boating. It has the Hinckley curves with outboard propulsion.”

The 35s will be built at Hinckley’s Trenton, Maine, facility. The first hull is already under construction and will launch in June of 2021. Bryant says three Hinckley 35s have already been sold. A standard model sells for $825,000.

Specifications:

LOA: 38’8”

Beam: 11’0”

Draft: 2’10”

Displ.: 13,174 lbs.

Fuel: 300 gals.

Power (standard): (2) Mercury Verado 300-hp outboards

For full details, click here.