V O L . X X V I I I N O. X X I X
D E C E M B E R 1 2 , 2 0 2 2 18
M A N U FAC T U R I N G
H
inckley Yacht Services counts
among its customers David
Rockefeller, Martha Stewart
and Roger Penske.
e Southwest Harbor-based
company builds just 30 to 40 yachts a
year and, even with a starting price of
around $1.5 million, there's a waiting
list for prospective boat buyers.
Yet for Hinckley, which has 240
employees in Maine and about 700
on the East Coast, expansion depends
on finding skilled workers. It hopes to
expand its Maine workforce by 10% to
15%, which would translate to some 25
to 35 employees.
"We need top carpenters, electri-
cians and mechanics," says Kirk Ritter,
general manager of the Southwest
Harbor Service Center. "Traditionally,
we wanted to hire people with marine
industry experience, but there just
aren't enough experienced people in
those disciplines anymore."
At the same time, like many other
employers, its longtime employees are
P H O T O / T I M G R E E N WAY
Sean Fawcett, executive
director of the Landing School
in Arundel, is eager to set up
more partnerships between the
trade school and manufacturers,
including boatbuilders.
F O C U S
carpenters,
carpenters,
electricians,
mechanics
Hinckley turns to trade school to reshape
'builders' into boatbuilders
B y P e t e r V a n A l l e n
Calling
