Photo / Courtesy The Hinckly Co.
The Topsham facility was the right size, close to the interstate highway for shipping and commuting, and in a larger labor market.
July 2, 2025
Downeast boatbuilder Hinckley opens satellite carpentry shop closer to larger labor market
Photo / Courtesy The Hinckley Co.
Hinckley was able to find employees right off the bat to produce interior sub-assemblie sat its satellite carpentry shop in Topsham.
The Hinckley Co., a builder of high-end yachts with a production facility in the Hancock County town of Trenton, opened a separate carpentry shop in the Sagadahoc County town of Topsham in order to be closer to a larger labor market and boost hiring.
The company leased 16,440 square feet of industrial space at 62 Park Drive from 62 Park Drive LLC.
The transaction was arranged by Roy Donnelly of the Boulos Co. and John Beal of VT Commercial Real Estate.
The manufacturing facility is focused on building interiors for the company’s yachts.
The location at 62 Park Drive was chosen for its strong population demographics, established marine industry presence and pool of skilled labor.
“This facility will not only help us meet current and future demand, but also provide meaningful opportunities for skilled artisans in the region to join a team committed to excellence,” said Gavin McClintock, CEO of Hinckley Yachts.
Century-old builder
The Hinckley Co. was founded in 1928 in Southwest Harbor. Owner Henry Hinckley’s focus was on servicing the local lobster boats as well as the yachts of summer residents on Mount Desert Island.
In 1933, he began building boats that became known for beauty, speed and stamina. In the 1950s, Hinckley was one of the first boatbuilders to forego traditional wood-built hulls in favor of fiberglass cloth and polyester resin, both developed in the 1930s and ‘40s.
Since then, innovations included the use of carbon and Kevlar composite materials, a construction technique called vacuum-infusion to bond the material with epoxy resin, the development of precision controls and the integration of waterjet systems, which generate powerful jets of water to propel the boat and replace traditional propeller systems.
Hinckley yachts come with a starting price of around $1.5 million. The company has 240 employees in Maine and about 700 on the East Coast.
The ‘mother ship’
Hinckley has been producing powerboats at its main production facility, at 40 Industrial Way in Trenton, for 25 years.
“Trenton remains the mother ship,” Matt Barton, Hinckley’s general manager of production, told Mainebiz. “Topsham is a satellite carpentry shop.”
In Trenton, company has built over 1,000 jetboats and turns out 35 boats per year.
Photo / Courtesy The Hinckly Co.
Hinckley has turned over 1,000 Picnic Boats over the past 25 years.
Hinckley has seen continued demand for its products. But like the industry in general, it’s experiencing a labor crunch, primarily in carpentry.
Over the last few years, Hinckley has used various tactics to attract employees and to work more efficiently. Several years ago, Hinckley launched a student loan assistance program and began working with the Landing School in Arundel to train future employees.
Keeping it Hinckley
The company didn’t want to outsource any part of its production to another company.
“We want to keep it Hinckley,” Barton said. “That initiated our search.”
Criteria for the search for industrial property included being in a larger labor market, but not one that competed with the labor market that already feeds workers to the Trenton plant.
Other criteria included proximity to the interstate highway for shipping purposes and about 10,000 square feet of space.
The search took about six months and encompassed the Augusta region, the area southwest of Portland and the Brunswick, Bath and Topsham region.
The 62 Park Drive location is just off I-295, providing easy access for shipping and commuting.
The Topsham facility was built in 1998. Before Hinckley, it was most recently occupied by Grampa's Garden, which sold scented blankets and gifts, and a gym. Before that, it housed a slate sign business.
“There's a mezzanine in the building built to handle a bunch of weight from its past storing slabs of slate,” said Donnelly.
Park Drive is an industrial subdivision of sorts, with a mix of retail, office and industrial users, close to the highway and an easy commute for Brunswick, Lewiston and Gardiner area employees.
The search for industrial space that met Hinckley’s criteria had some challenges.
“There’s not many of these sorts of buildings that were built in the midcoast, and the good ones are occupied are filled pretty quickly,” said Donnelly. “The market has softened somewhat since.”
Move-in meant duplicating Trenton’s interior-build operation, with new equipment and fixtures.
Recruitment
The company launched its employee recruitment effort before moving in. Today the Topsham has nine employees, with a 10th starting next week. Recruitment included advertising on employment platforms such as indeed.com and attending a hiring event of the Southern Midcoast CareerCenter in Brunswick, followed by an open house at the Topsham facility.
“We had an empty shop and we had people showing interest — some knew the brand, some didn’t but were excited about what we were doing,” said Barton. “We brought in six or seven people right off the bat.”
The company brought that first group to the Trenton facility for three weeks of training.
There, the group built its first cycle of interior sub-assemblies, which are then installed in the hull. The group recently completed and shipped a second cycle at the Topsham plant and has the third underway.
The company is ramping up hiring. The goal is to be at about 15 employees in Topsham by the end of the year. Demographics of the new hires include one woman, several folks with backgrounds at Bath Iron Works, a couple of carpenters with fine home construction and cabinet-making experiencing, with a wide range of ages.
Said McClintock. “As demand for our yachts continues to grow, it is essential that we maintain production that stays true to our heritage of craftsmanship and quality.”
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