Hinckley Launches New Picnic Boat® Campaign To Show Jet Boat’s Tougher Side

06/22/01 - In a dramatic departure from previous ads for its Picnic Boat®, The Hinckley Company here is launching a new advertising campaign aimed at highlighting the tough construction, safety and rigorous testing of the 36-foot jet boat. The striking ad shows the boat in stormy seas as it is put through its paces in a Force 6 Nor’easter off the coast of Maine. Original ads for the hot-selling boat, which debuted in 1994, have depicted the vessel in sunny weather and placid waters.
"The Hinckley Picnic Boat has both beauty and brawn," said Marnie Wright, director of corporate communications for The Hinckley Company. "This new ad underscores the advanced technology and materials used to build our boats, as well as the stringent testing they go through on land and water," she said.

"Our ads typically portray the inherent beauty of our yachts," Ms. Wright continued. "But the Picnic Boat is really a bit of a ‘wolf in sheep’s clothing.’ We wanted to highlight the fact that while the Picnic Boat cuts an elegant figure on a harbor cruise in July, she’s no less capable of enduring the harshest of conditions."

Referring to the patented DualGuard® Composite Construction of the Picnic Boat hull, the headline reads: "The outer skin is Kevlar. The inner skin is carbon fiber. The thick skin is our test crew." Developed by Hinckley during "seven decades of boat building," the advanced construction technique bonds outer layers of Kevlar/E-glass to an inner skin of carbon fiber using the SCRIMP® process.

Unlike traditional methods, this involves laying up the hull dry, then vacuum bagging the entire structure and injecting it with resin to completely infuse every square inch. The result is a fully integrated hull system that is stronger, stiffer and more resistant to impact, yet weighs 14% less than conventional laminates. As the ad copy notes, "DualGuard construction yields a structure so tough it can stop a bullet. And safe enough to take you just about anywhere."

Materials used in Hinckley yachts undergo extensive testing at the boatyard before they even get out on the water, according to Ms. Wright. Sea trials are the final step in the process, she said.

The new ad was shot by Christopher Cunningham, of Rochester, Massachusetts, during a Nor’easter off the coast of Maine last March. Working in winds at 24-25 knots and 6- to 8-foot seas, the professional photographer said he had shot in such extreme conditions before, noting that he had to have someone available all day just to wipe off his lens between each shot.

The ad is slated to run in a number of marine industry magazines starting with the July 2001 issues.

Contact: Marnie Wright, Director of Corporate Communications, 207-244-5531 x210