Hinckley has announced plans for a new Sou’wester 53 fast cruiser, designed with a pilothouse to give skipper and crew a commanding 360-degree view of the watery world as it slides by.
Designed in conjunction with Tripp Design Naval Architecture, the boat will be built at the Hinckley yard in Maine. The hull will be carbon-fiber and Kevlar, infused with epoxy from stem to stern, and it’s based on the underbody developed for the more race-oriented Bermuda 50.
The design includes a bulb keel with 8-foot 3-inch draft. In addition to twin wheels in the cockpit (raised to afford a view over the house and of the sails overhead), there will be an indoor helm as well, where the captain can evade the elements when they turn nasty. The Sou’wester 53is designed to sail or motor at over 10 knots. Drawings of the boat indicate a self-tending jib and sprit for off-the-wind sails.
Accommodations include a settee, galley and helm station in the pilothouse. A couple steps down to port and aft there is a captain’s or guest cabin; a second guest stateroom with separate head and shower are down two steps and forward, with the owner’s en suite berth in the bow.
