”The first thing that jumps out at us on this boat is, of course, the forward lounge. Hinckley waited decades to unveil such a feature, but at first blush, it looks like they got it right. The lounge is accessed via an unobtrusive sliding door and window mechanism in the cockpit. The door swings completely out of the way while the window simply becomes part of the larger forward windshield. The U-shaped lounge space looks to be a smartly upholstered and engineered space for five, maybe six lucky passengers. We’re seeing deep enough seating to keep guests in the boat and low-profile grab rails for when things get a little sporty. If it gets more than a little sporty, Bryant said that there are a pair of mammoth drains, expertly hidden at the lounges’ lowest reaches should quickly shed any water that makes it over the bow.
Maintaining a full sized, climate-controlled forward cabin was accomplished by putting the forward lounge mostly above the double-sized bed that hydraulically hinges upwards with a huge storage area underneath. This allows for a full sized head with shower and plenty of headroom for changing astern of the berth. “It’s cozy, it’s functional and it’s beautiful,” said Bryant.
Needless to say, we’re looking forward to sea-trialing her.
