Design and Construction
The hull is a solid fiberglass monohull with wood trim, a raked stem, raised counter, and reverse transom. Beneath her lies a fixed fin keel with a retractable centerboard, giving a working draft of 9.10 feet with the board down and a shoal 5.00 feet with it raised — a configuration that lets the boat poke into anchorages and guts closed to fin-keel sisterships. Steering runs through an internally mounted spade rudder on a wheel. The design reads as a purposeful cruiser: solid glass rather than a cored laminate, lead on the keel, and a centerboard as the defining shallow-water asset.
Rig and Handling
Above the deck the boat wears a Bermuda masthead sloop rig with 818 square feet of sail. The 59-foot mast and moderate sail-area-to-displacement ratio suit a boat of this 24,000-pound displacement, and the 7.49-knot hull speed is the expected return for the 31.25-foot waterline. The centerboard is the defining handling asset: extended, she stands up to her sail like a 9-foot draft cruiser; retracted, she gropes into shallow water that would stop a fixed-keel 43. A Westerbeke diesel of 46 horsepower handles docking and maneuvering, backed by 115 gallons of fuel.
Accommodations
Below, the Hinckley 43 sleeps six. A double V-berth occupies the bow cabin, while the main cabin pairs a U-shaped settee around a drop-down table with a straight settee berth. The aft cabin holds a single berth to starboard. The galley sits on the port side just forward of the companionway ladder, laid out as a U with a three-burner stove, ice box, and double sink, while the navigation station faces it to starboard. A head lies just aft of the bow cabin on the starboard side. The 148-gallon fresh water capacity supports the six-berth layout on extended cruises without constant conservation.
Known Issues
The centerboard trunk is the one structural feature that invites scrutiny on this design. The retractable board passes through the hull on a 9.10-foot-draft fin keel, and the trunk and pivot hardware are classic points for moisture ingress and wear on any centerboard cruiser of this era.
Refits and Ownership
Production began in 1990 and the model is now out of production, so any surviving example has passed through one or more ownership cycles. The Westerbeke 46-horsepower diesel is the as-built plant. Solid fiberglass construction and a straightforward spade rudder keep the structure legible to a surveyor, with the centerboard the only concealed moving element.
The Verdict
The Hinckley 43 (McCurdy & Rhodes) is a thoughtfully evolved cruiser that took the proven Sou'wester 42/43 platform and added a centerboard's flexibility without sacrificing the ballast and displacement that make a 43-foot boat a credible offshore home. She is a six-berth, 24,000-pound vessel built by Hinckley in solid glass, and the centerboard is both her signature advantage and her one recurring watchpoint.
Pros
- Retractable centerboard gives 9.10 ft draft offshore and 5.00 ft in shoal water
- 8,500 lb lead ballast and 24,000 lb displacement for a stable cruising platform
- Six-berth layout with U-shaped galley and opposing nav station
- Built by Hinckley Yachts in solid fiberglass
Cons
- Centerboard trunk is a known moisture and wear concentration
- Out of production; parts and factory support limited to era-appropriate systems
