Hours of searching the internet, and several visits to view possible boats that would meet our criteria of smaller, less suites and bathrooms to clean, accessible engine room to work in, and classic style were fruitless, until I stumbled into the Huckins boat yard in Jacksonville, Fl. I was there to view a Hatteras yacht in a nearby yard and as we walked through the Huckins boat yard I saw an absolutely beautiful freshly painted yacht sitting up on jack stands. Timeless classic lines with a robust running gear.
"Man, this boat looks like it can take some water!" I exclaimed to the salesman.
"These boats are all custom made for their owners. They got started during the war. Mr. Huckins designed the unique hull used in PT boats. They are sturdy and kept lightweight for fast and economical cruising." he replied.
Thus began my research and review of the Huckins line. It quickly became apparent to me that these boats (unlike the Hinckley's known to me from living in Maine) had maintained their heritage; had not become a production boat. ( the Hinckley's are built 24 hours a day all year long and although you can alter some features per your request....they basically all look the same!) Not so with the Huckins! They build one boat at a time with direct and constant input from the owner. No two Huckins are alike except for their time proven "quadraconic hull".
Searching the internet and the Huckins website, I found the Nena 11. A 1985 50 ft Huckins that had new Cummins diesel motors and Northern Lights generator installed in 2002 and now had only 380 hours on them. The average recreational boater puts about 100 to 150 hours a year on a boat, so even with average use this boat should have had about 1500 hours of use. The motors weren't really even broken in yet! It had two state rooms with their adjoining showers and head and a private owners head, an engine room that was accessible, and per my promise to Beth, was smaller than Doc's Holiday...by 1 foot! Hee! Hee! Hee!
To top it off, the Huckins manufacturer have maintained a following and nurtured a family image that they honestly and truly support. Cindy Purcell (Huckins granddaughter ) and her husband Buddy Purcell even took the time a couple of years ago to tour the country and visit all the Huckins yachts that they could access. They have all the original blueprints of their boats and records of all the upgrades that they have done to their boats. They encourage owners to call them with any concerns or questions and give freely of their expertise and advise. They even took supplies to help some of the do-it-yourself owners continue their maintenance of their boats. ...they want all of their boats to function well, be up to date with new designs and look good. Needless to say Huckins has a committed owners group.
I hired a surveyor who was formerly a yard manager at Huckins. He was not only knowledgeable about the production of these boats but new the Nena 11 personally. This boat was commissioned by a retired Naval officer who in 1985 asked Huckins to power the boat with outboard motors. Unheard of in that day and age! Huckins with their can do attitude consulted with the top outboard manufacturer at the time (OMC) and after several redesigns produced this 50 foot motor yacht powered with four outboard OMC motors. I have been told that "the admirals boat" was a head turner all along the intercostal and cruised (with Buddy Purcell) to the Bahamas and Caribbean.
We can hardly wait to meet Buddy and Cindy to get a recap of that trip and further history on the Nena 11 (which of course you know I am going to change the name to Doc's Holiday 11)
Currently Beth has teamed up with our good friends Terry and Cathy Lee Winchester from Beaumont, Texas to take the boat up to the Huckins yard in Jacksonville, Florida. They left Punta Gorda two days ago and as of last night had not even made it to Lake Okeechobee! It appears that the boat is running just fine but the celebrations (read uninhibited partying!) is slowing them down! Terry says they aren't going to be able to get there by their expected time of 8:30 Monday morning...in fact they might just swing by Bimini (in the Bahamas ) to refuel! Damn I have got to retire!!! You can follow their progress by clicking on spot at the top of the blog. I will probably have to wait for Beth to get back to have pictures of the boat uploaded to the blog but you might try to google 1985 50 ft Huckins for sale...I think there are still pictures up on the internet.
In the meantime, I'm going to sit on the upper deck, stare at the "Guff" of Mexico, listen to the waves and Pout!
