Hinckley Acquires Chesapeake Bay Boatyard

Crockett Bros. Fits Yacht Builder's Strategy To Expand Service Network To better service its customers in the Chesapeake Bay and mid-Atlantic states, The Hinckley Company has acquired the assets of Crockett Bros. Boatyard, Inc., in Oxford, Maryland, it was announced here today. The full-service boatyard and marina will be renamed Hinckley Yacht Services. Hinckley, regarded as one of the world's premier builders of semi-custom sailing and motor yachts, has been steadily expanding its network of service yards during recent years to keep pace with the rising popularity of its Talaria® jet boats, including its classic Picnic Boat®. In addition, the company opened a new sales office in Annapolis this January to sell its complete line of Sou'wester® sailboats, Talaria and WhisperJet boats. "Hinckley has always been committed to offering the highest level of service to its customers," said Ralph Willard, the company's president and CEO. "With more than 100 Hinckley sailboats and jet boats now cruising the waters of the Chesapeake, the time had come to find a top-shelf service yard that was convenient to these owners and bring it under the Hinckley umbrella." "Crockett Bros. is a perfect fit for Hinckley," said Gerry DiSchino, President of Hinckley Yacht Services. "The yard is centrally located, it has a highly trained workforce and it has sterling reputation among yachtsmen in the Chesapeake. That gives us a very strong base from which we can build," he explained. He noted that expansion of the yard's off-site winter storage capabilities is already under way. Philip Conner, president and owner of Crockett Bros. since 1978, commented: "I can't think of a better company to pass my company onto than Hinckley. Our cultures are remarkably compatible in terms of being sticklers for detail in everything we do and believing in training and retaining the very best technicians. Our customers can be sure that the yard will only get better with Hinckley at the helm." To assure a smooth transition to new ownership, Mr. Conner will stay on with Hinckley for at least five years according to Mr. DiSchino. Hinckley also plans to retain all Crockett Bros. employees. Technicians will be given intensive training at Hinckley's Rhode Island boatyard in servicing Hamilton water jets, the JetStick® handling system pioneered by Hinckley and all other aspects of maintaining the high-tech boats. The technicians have already been factory-trained and certified in maintenance and repair of the Yanmar engines that power the boats.