About S/V
Gypsy Flame
A proven builder of boats for others, Henry R. Hinckley envisioned the H49 as a comfortable cruiser for his own family. The big, beamy (for the era), shoal-draft centerboard ketch would prove to be a capable cruiser, at home in Maines cooler waters or while meandering the near-tropical conditions of the Bahamas. And for those so inclined, the H49 also lived up to the demands of around-the-world voyaging. Between 1971 and 1976, 24 ketch and sloop versions of the sailboat were built, and today the fleets cruising accomplishments and owner satisfaction is hard to beat.
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Built in the classic ritual of all early fiberglass Hinckleys, the 49s sport a thick-as-a-plank solid glass hull; a massive inward-turning, mechanically fastened hull-to-deck joint; and an all-around heavy-duty set of scan’tlings that have stood the test of time.
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BACKGROUND
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The H49’s cult following is in part due to Henry R.’s vision and his willingness to step out of the mold when it came time to design the boat he wanted to cruise. It was 1970, and despite the company’s growing success in high-end production boatbuilding, he tacked away from the Hinckley trend of low freeboard, less roomy, and smaller payload-carrying sailboats symbolized by the Pilot 35, B40, and SW50.
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Altering the formula, Henry shed the runway model mandate and allowed his design to take on a more usable hull volume, plus an un-Hinckley-like broadened stern that made room for a comfortable a# cabin. The H49’s center cockpit also ran contrary to Hinckley tradition, but some boat buyers preferred the better visibility from the helm and the way a dodger and bimini top could be worked into the equation. Even the mini owner’s cockpit a# of the cabin house earned praise.
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Other signifcant design departures were the small sail plan and significant reduction in drive as well as heeling moment. Less sail area, combined with the boat’s primary role as a coastal cruiser, led the designer to call for only 8,000 pounds of ballast and a 500-pound centerboard.
That is a very small amount of lead for a vessel displacing 38,000 pounds. The very modest 22-percent ballast
ratio negatively e%ects the vessel’s secondary righting moment, and its limit of positive stability is likely to be less
than 110 degrees. Despite this ultimate stability shortfall, many of the H49s have made lengthy ocean passages, including a few voyages around the world. One of the mitigating factors is the H49’s inherent strength and rugged well-thought-out construction details, Just as important as a vessel’s righting moment when it comes to contending
with heavy weather at sea.
ACCOMMODATIONS
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Belowdecks, the companionway ladder leads to the junction of the nav-station, the galley, and the main saloon—each with enough space to eliminate any sense of claustrophobia. Despite the dark mahogany "nish, the cabin has plenty of light thanks to an abundance of wellplaced hatches and ports.
The L-shaped dinette with opposing settee/transom berth, shelves, and cupboards offers the right balance between open and functional space. Just as important is the fact that these accommodations work both in port and underway.
The vessel’s high form stability and smaller sail area make extreme heeling angles less likely, and despite the fact that many chefs prefer a U-shaped, centerline galley, Hinckley’s approach worked just "ne during our tests. The aft cabin layout is the antithesis of the contemporary trend toward cramped interior design, where a king size mattress is wedged under the cockpit sole with only a few feet of headroom.​
CONSTRUCTION
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In an era of higher-performance lightweight sailboats, many have forgotten the value of a thick-skinned non-cored hull like that of the Hinckley 49. Such hand layups were a blend of 24-ounce woven roving and 1.5-ounce chop strand mat. The latter added bulk and helped "ll
the “crimp” valleys formed in the warp/
we# weave of the roving. Early Isopthalic polyester resins easily wet out the material, and a dedicated
work force armed with rollers and squeegees
worked out the air bubbles. Thanks to such conscientious e%orts, and the extra- thick hull laminate, blistering has not ravaged these hulls, and when symptoms occur, they can easily be repaired.
In addition to the overbuilt hull adding longevity, it also adds to peace of mind during accidents such as a grounding or when a heavy chunk of flotsam goes thud in the night.
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The H49s have “stick built” interiors with mahogany joinery bonded to the inner hull skin and finished in place rather than fashioned on the shop floor and secured to liners and pans.
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​​The Hinckley 49 aft cabin has its own cabin trunk with full centerline standing headroom and comfortable twin berths port and starboard. An owner’s head with a freshwater shower resides just forward and to starboard of the cabin, and an a# companionway in the cabin opens out into the small stern “owners” cockpit mentioned earlier. $ere is storage galore in the cabin to handle the demands of long-term live-aboard life.
Forward of the mast is a classic twinberth double cabin, an expanded version of what you might "nd squeezed into a 40-footer. With larger berths and extra cabinets and drawer space, the “V- berth” is very comfortable. A good-sized second head goes along with this forward cabin and hanging lockers fill in the space to starboard.
But the piece-de-resistance for many cruisers is the real engine room access that’s provided by the numerous well-positioned doors and access panels. Henry R. saw the H49 as more motorsailer than racing sailboat, and he set aside room for the he#y Ford Lehman 6-cylinder 1235-horsepower diesel to “breath,” and to give those maintaining the engine enough room to work.
and the anatomy of how a vessel is built also take center-stage importance. We’ll follow that prescription in this review,
but we’ll also look closely at long term live-aboard requirements and how a larger vessel can still be user-friendly
to a short-handed crew. The implications of tradeoffs, like
the stability issue mentioned above, are important to recognize. And features of design, such as heavy displacement and limited sail area, shut the door to the H49
"tting the role of a performance cruiser with light-air capability. But this boat was designed as an agile motorsailer with favorable ability under sail—once the breeze hits 14 knots or more.
Among the big pluses of the H49 are her shoal-draft cruiser capability and true long-term live-aboard characteristics. $e smaller sail plan is easy to handle, and its comfortable
motion underway includes a slow roll period—a feature linked to less ballast and a higher CG.
The 49 sports Hinckley’s trademark elegant and utilitarian rubstrake, a feature that takes some of the contact sport trauma out of docking. True to the Hinckley reputation, the
H49 sports plenty of high-quality hardware, fasteners, and components—even in places that may never see the light of
day. The Stuffing box for the prop sha#, the rudder stock,
and the gudgeons that attach the rudder to the massive skeg are the best silicon-bronze castings available. Details like the stem plate and chocks follow the Hinckley tradition of top notch metallurgy and attention to detail. Ground-tackle handling gear varies from boat to boat, but the foredeck has
room enough for either a vertical or horizontal capstan windlass, and the deep forepeak area is spacious enough to keep the chain from castling.