oct-2017

142 143 T heHuckinsYacht 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,Cindyand Buddy Purcell.Huckinsmanufactures customyachts rang- ing from40 to 90 feet that combine classicdesign and traditional workmanshipwithmodern technol- ogyand amenities.It has built a total of 457yachts during its 80-plus years of operation,crafting vessels one at a time. “The companywas started in 1928 bymygrandfa- ther,FrankHuckins,”says CompanyPresident,Cindy Purcell.“Before that,hewas in themillworkbusiness, originally in Boston,and then,here in Jacksonville.” In fact,Huckins came froma family that had been in the lumber business ever since his grandfather, Pembroke Somerset Huckins,and his great-grandfa- ther JohnHuckins,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 beenworking HUCKINS YACHTS HUCKINS YACHTS YACHTS DESIGNED TO MAKE HISTORY AT A GLANCE HUCKINS YACHTS WHAT: An 80-year-old, custom yacht building company WHERE: Jacksonville, Florida WEBSITE: www.huckinsyacht.com 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 themode of operation for awaterborne craft inwhich its weight is predominantly supported byhydro- dynamic lift,rather than hydrostatic lift (buoyancy).Boats with planing hulls are designed to rise up and glide on top of thewater 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 thewa- ter.When the speed of the boat is slowenough to let the