huckins yacht corporation jacksonville fl

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Huckins Yachts – Yachts designed to make history

Business View Magazine interviews Cindy Purcell, President of Huckins Yachts, as part of our series on the marine and boating sector.

The Huckins Yacht Corporation is one of the oldest boat builders in the United States. The company is located on the Ortega River in Jacksonville, Florida, and is run by its third-generation owners, Cindy and Buddy Purcell. Huckins manufactures custom yachts ranging from 40 to 90 feet that combine classic design and traditional workmanship with modern technology and amenities. It has built a total of 457 yachts during its 80-plus years of operation, crafting vessels one at a time.

“The company started in 1928 by my grandfather, Frank Huckins,” says Company President, Cindy Purcell. “Before that, he was in the millwork business, originally in Boston, and then, here in Jacksonville.” In fact, Huckins came from a family that had been in the lumber business ever since his grandfather, Pembroke Somerset Huckins, and his great-grandfather John Huckins, of Bangor, Maine, founded the P. S. Huckins Company in 1854. “When the building boom of the 1920s went down, he decided to go into the boat business,” Purcell adds. “He had been working on a design for a planing boat – a large yacht that would plane. At the time, all boats were displacement boats, other than small runabouts.”

Planing is the mode of operation for a waterborne craft in which its weight is predominantly supported by hydrodynamic lift, rather than hydrostatic lift (buoyancy). Boats with planing hulls are designed to rise up and glide on top of the water when enough power is supplied. So, even though the boat does not weigh less when planing, the water resistance at high speeds keeps it on top of the water. When the speed of the boat is slow enough to let the water move away, the planing boat no longer planes. The design of the boat’s hull has an effect on how well it works.

“He took that design and started building boats and they were a success,” Purcell continues. “They were the first planing hull yachts and they ran fast for the time.” The Fairform Flyer 42’ Express Cruiser was the first boat launched, captained by Huckins himself on its maiden voyage from Fernandina, Florida to New York City. It was sold that autumn for $15,000 to David M. Goodrich of the B.F. Goodrich Rubber Company, who became a repeat customer.

“He sold boats to people like Goodrich and DuPont and other notable people,” says Purcell. In 1943, the U.S. Navy commissioned the Huckins Yacht Corporation to build two squadrons, a total of 18 PT (patrol torpedo) boats, for service during World War II. “He ran the company and stayed in business until the mid-fifties when he died,” says Purcell. “My father, after the war, came and worked in the company and we continued to build boats and be successful. My husband and I have been in the company since the ‘70s and we’ve continued to run it through different innovations. We’ve always been an innovative builder. And that’s where we are, today.”

In 1975, Huckins unveiled a radical transformation from traditional cold-molded mahogany to fiberglass composite core construction. Largely inspired by growing demand, the transition also presented a number of engineering advantages: significant weight reduction, for instance, allowing for a higher horsepower-to-weight ratio. That meant more speed and fuel-efficiency on top of the exceptional strength and seaworthiness that the new space-age materials provided, and today, Huckins yachts are among the lightest, strongest, and fuel-stingiest afloat, displacing thousands of pounds less than similarly-built competitive boats. Coupled with the company’s legendary Quadraconic hull, this weight-conscious design produces the Huckins-signature performance so admired by experienced yachters.

“Our customers today are still A-list,” Purcell says. “They may not be names you would recognize, but we are strictly in the custom yacht business, and what that means is you come to us, generally, because you’ve seen some of our yachts and you like the styling. You come to us and sit down with us and we design a boat for you the way you want it. If you say, ‘I’m going to run from here to the Bahamas, or here to someplace else,’ we can design it around how much fuel you’ll need; we’ll design it around the speed that you’ll want; we design it around the number of staterooms.

“We’ve built all kinds of boats. We’ve built such boats for an individual who was in a wheelchair, so the whole boat was wheelchair-friendly. We put an elevator in the boat so that the owner could get up to the fly bridge and down to the engine room, because he wanted to be able to check his own engines. We built a boat the owner wanted to run from here to Marathon (Key) in daylight hours. And, at the time, there was a bridge in Marathon that was a low bridge, and so the boat had to be designed to go under the bridge and it had to run at a speed to get him there. We’ve designed for fishermen that have won major tournaments. We’ve built from 36 to 90 feet – whatever the customer wants. In a good year, we will build three boats. In these years, since the 2008 downturn, it may be just one boat.”

Purcell insists that what mainly differentiates a Huckins Yacht from the competition is its distinctive planing hull. “Almost every builder out there designs on a planing hull, these days,” she says, “but all those hulls are very similar; ours is different. Our boats come up on plane at 12 knots, whereas most boats come up on plane at more than 16 knots. It’s easy for them to stay on plane at 12 knots, whereas other boats get knocked off plane very easily. Ours are noted for handling a seaway.”

“And it’s versatility,” she adds. We’ve built with all different kinds of power trains. We’ve built with regular props; we’ve built with water jets; we’ve built with outboards; and we’ve built with pod drives.” A pod drive is a relatively new power system that eliminates the need for shafts, struts, and rudders. Instead of using traditional running gear to transfer the engine’s power into thrust, a “pod,” consisting of the transmission, outdrive, and propeller(s), is mounted right through the bottom of the boat. The pod itself articulates to direct propeller thrust, so no rudders are needed. And the part of the pod below the waterline is designed to shear free of the engine without leaving a hole in the boat, in the case of a catastrophic grounding.

As successful as Huckins Yachts has been for almost a century, Purcell believes that the custom boat industry, as a whole, is much smaller than it used to be and that its days might actually be numbered. “Take the car industry,” she says, by way of explanation. “Ten or fifteen years ago, you could still order ‘special things’ for a car; these days, cars come with all the special things on them. The car industry has gotten so good that they put the leather seats in, they put all the amenities in a car; it’s not a special order. And I think that’s truly the way this industry is going. So, the production industry is the way to go, and we’re working on that, right now. We are looking at co-venturing with someone to build a line of production boats, for the moment, at least, in two different sizes. They’ll still be very distinctive, because of our pedigree, and our design will go back to a boat that we actually built in the ‘30s. So, we have a DNA of the boat that we’re building. We will maintain our quality, and we’ll just produce a very high-end production boat. And we will still have the capacity to build a custom boat if someone wants one.”

With their distinctive styling, superior craftsmanship, and state-of-the-art technology, all backed by the legacy of an 89-year-old company, Huckins Yachts are still designed to make history.

AT A GLANCE

WHO: Huckins Yachts WHAT: An 80-year-old, custom yacht building company WHERE: Jacksonville, Florida WEBSITE:  www.huckinsyacht.com

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Advertisement

WE SERVICE ALL BRANDS, SIZES AND MODELS

If it floats, we'll service it. if it doesn't, somebody else did..

Whether you're refitting, remodeling, repainting or repowering, Huckins does it all. For all brands of boats. Here, craftsmen who custom-build legendary Huckins yachts perform all your service work: the same designers, engineers, carpenters, painters, ABYC-certified electricians and mechanics. And all at the lowest hourly rates among full-service yards on Florida's east coast.

RESTORATIONS & MAJOR REFITS

The secret to timeless beauty..

In this age of combining vintage style with modern amenities, Huckins' craftsmanship is universally renowned — both in restorations and new construction.

To us, restoring yachts is as rewarding as building new ones. We embrace our role as caretaker of the historic Huckins fleet and we take pride in the restoration of other makes and models as well, classic and otherwise.

Numerous articles have been penned about our ability to tackle complete interior and exterior projects, thanks to the considerable capabilities of Huckins carpenters, engineers, mechanics and painters: refinishing toerails, caprails and deck boxes; fairing, sanding and painting hulls; adding bow thrusters, stabilizers and other improvements; rebuilding decks, transoms, pilot houses, heads and galleys; the list goes on and on.

Whether your project involves gutting and rebuilding interiors or replacing windows, electrical equipment or mechanical systems, the Huckins yard can seamlessly integrate modern technology with the original elegance. We'll have your yacht looking as good as the day it was built. Only better.

MISSION STATEMENT

Huckins' complete refit facility creates an atmosphere and culture that makes for a delightful boat yard experience. With our exceptional staff, Huckins continues to exceed all customer expectations and is undoubtedly the clear destination for all of your boat yard needs.

WHEN IT COMES TO PAINT, COLOR US EXPERTS

Not surprisingly, being part of one of the best-known service yards in the country, the Huckins Paint Department is renowned for its workmanship. We're experts in the application of Awlgrip, Alexseal and all other 2-part polyurethane paints - along with every brand of clear coat and varnish, including Awlbrite. Our 36'-high, lighted paint area is multi-filtered and dust-free. With a state-of-the-art facility and over 50 years' experience on all brands of yachts, we are not just painters. We're paint specialists.

Bottom Job Specials

Above 65' ask for estimate

Above Includes

• Haul, block, launch
• Pressure washing (inc. running gear & moderate barnacles*)
• Cleaning boottop
• 2 shaft zincs
• One coat bottom paint - Pettit HD black
• 40' - 50' boats hauled on Monday will be launched by Friday
• Exterior wash prior to departure

*Excessive barnacle sanding will be billed at a rate of $90.00/hr **Paint in excess price of Pettit HD black will be billed the difference in paint price

• Small Lift (44 ton) $7.00 per ft.
• Pressure wash $3.00 per ft.
• Big Lift 53' - 64 (77 ton) $9 per ft.
• Above 65' $9.50 per ft.
• Buff & Wax Hull & Superstructure Call for estimate

Whether you're refitting, remodeling, repainting or repowering, Huckins does it all. For all brands, models and sizes of boats.

Here, craftsmen who custom-build legendary Huckins yachts perform all your service work - the same designers, engineers, painters, ABYC-certified electricians and mechanics. We're a full-service operation featuring 40-ton and 77-ton travel lifts; a 36'-high, dust-free, filtered paint area; and 11 service bays in our main building for major restorations & service repairs.

TO SCHEDULE SERVICE OR GET AN ESTIMATE

CALL: 904-389-1125 Or Submit The Form Below.

Service Testimonials

Staff was awesome, professional and customer friendly. They have a customer for life!. -FARON MILES

Quality of work and attention to detail surpassed my expectations. -JACK STRINGFIELD

The Huckins staff was very responsive and did an excellent job of keeping me informed throughout the process. This helped keep the yard "surprises" to a minimum. -ED KELLY

Deb and Justin are a pleasure to deal with in every situation I have had with them in the past several years. You have a great team with customer satisfaction as a priority. -JACK CERNIK

It's a pleasure working with you as well as doing business with you. I will highly recommend you to everyone. Thanks again and have a blessed one. -CRAIG ROBERTS

You folks were the best to deal with, very understanding and helpful. -STEVE PARKER

No matter how much I visited to know the status of my project the staff (and dog) were all gems. -STEVE STUPAK

Great follow-up & communication. -JACK NICKERSON

Great experience with Huckins! All my instructions were followed to the letter. All work done in a professional manner. Price for work done was reasonable. Great people from Deb in the office, Paul the service manager, Tom, Eric, and Chris. All terrific! -CAPTAIN STU SCHECHTER

We just completed a total galley re-fit by Huckins and are astounded by the highest quality carpentry work. We never would have come here because we thought they only built high-end motor yachts. We were pleasantly surprised by the reasonable price. -M. TIMON

Huckins boat yard recently did a bottom job on my 34' Trawler. They were highly responsive, prompt, and did an excellent job. As a result, I will be a happy returning customer. -GARY WHITING

I had asked for an estimate from Huckins and was shocked when a written one appeared in my inbox that afternoon. Anyone who needs work done on their boat knows that this is unusual in a good way. They're craftsmen - you can tell. -JEFFREY SIEGEL

I was very pleased about the quality of work done. Huckins will be first on my list for any future work done on our boat. -KEVIN KOEHL

What sold me more than anything was visiting Deb and Paul at the yard. They sold me on their pride of doing the job right. -STEVE COLLAR

Huckins is currently restoring my 1930 Elco and I chose Huckins based on reputation. I am extremely pleased as a current customer. -SUELLYN HERRING

I had a great experience at Huckins and appreciated the attention and opportunity to meet you [Cindy]. -DICK ROBINSON

I have been familiar with Huckins and your history of building PT boats back during WW2. Your reputation has always been outstanding as a boat yard and as my project at your yard comes to a close this week, I believe it is well earned. -DAVID LEDBETTER

I have found the staff at Huckins to be one of the most professional and talented group of people I have had the pleasure of working with. -CAPTAIN JUANITA PADGETT, USCG