Sailing around Seal Harbor this past weekend we also got a gander at Martha's "Skylands II" picnic boat. Unlike every other Hinckley picnic boat I've seen her's stands out because its painted a creamy color instead of the traditional dark blue.
http://www.hinckleyyachts.com/
Here is what she says about the boat:
"When I finally did buy my house, which looks over the sea and the many, many islands that beckon one to venture forth and visit, it came with two deepwater moorings in a small, secluded harbor. (Seal Harbor - Ed) I set out on my search for the perfect boat for the first-time boat owner, fully aware of all the complexities and wary of the fact that a novice had a lot to learn about the region's convoluted coastlines, lobster traps, invisible rocky outcroppings and ledges and very unpredictable weather patterns.
I was fortunate that friends did not steer me wrong or even slightly astray, and that there are extraordinary boat makers and shipbuilders in Maine. I was invited on many day trips aboard all sorts of vessels: sailboats, dinghies and yachts. One in particular tickled my fancy, a craft known as a picnic boat – a traditional, sleek, fast, roomy boat at 36 feet long. Because of something called a jet drive, it can glide safely through the coastal waters of Maine – it has no propellers to tangle in lobster-pot lines Former President Bush just cuts right through them with his obnoxious cigarette boat and then pays off the lobstermen for the damage. -- Ed or seaweed beds.
I tried this type of boat, and ordered one for delivery the following year. I was so happy, choosing the color of the hull and the upholstery for the cushions, outfitting the modest but very workable galley and ordering the most important parts of the boat – the navigational tools and electronics.
We christened the boat Skylands II and in the ensuing years have used it well and often. We've gone whale watching, antiquing in Blue Hill and picnicking on the neighboring islands off the coast of Mount Desert Island. It takes just a few minutes to get to the boat and load on the hampers and coolers, and off we go."
From a CNN show on Martha:
STEVE KAISER, HINCKLEY'S BOAT COMPANY: She basically said if the dogs liked the trip, she was going to buy a boat.
COLLINS: The Hinckley Boat Company has felt the queen's touch. A year ago, Stewart and her beloved chow dogs showed up and took a fancy boat out for a spin.
KAISER: She basically said if the dogs liked the trip, she was going to buy a boat and sooner or later, she did.
COLLINS: Steve Kaiser ended up selling Martha a 36-foot Hinckley picnic boat, but being Martha, it wasn't a simple sale.
KAISER: And I got a call from a producer and they said they would like to film the boat being built and being the conservative down east boat builder, my immediate reaction was how do we get out of this? I think somebody finally shook me a little bit and said, you know, this could be a good thing, to have a film of the boat being built.
COLLINS: Not surprisingly, Martha got her way and millions of her viewers saw her one of a kind egg-colored boat being built.
KAISER: Please do the honors.
COLLINS: When it came time to christen the boat, Martha gave it a good whack.
(APPLAUSE)
COLLINS: For the Hinckley Boat Company, it was a noise heard around the world.
KAISER: Absolutely, the phone just rang continuously, but that was a nice problem to have.
COLLINS: Stewart uses her boat while at Skylands, her summer retreat on Mount Desert Island, Maine. Skylands is a 61-acre estate. Made of paint granite, it sits high atop a hill far above the common man. To visit, one must drive up a narrow, winding, pine-laced road. It is very, very private.
The moss near her estate made it into a magazine article and Skylands; a new paint line was developed. This pale yellow, Cadillac Sunrise, was named for a nearby mountain where Martha has greeted the dawn.
During the day, Stewart can walk century old carriage roads designed and built by John D. Rockefeller, an earlier island resident. Stewart has found the road to fortune wherever she has traveled.
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