Anyway, Hinckley Boats, one of America's famous boatbuilders has a picnic boat on display at the 2009 Seattle Boat show at QWest Center. The boat on display is Hull no. 3 of their newest model of picnic boat. I asked the company rep Mr. Steve Keiser how Martha Stewart is doing with her Hinckley picnic boat. He told me that Martha Stewart has one of the very first picnic boats the company built, and he's been trying to get her to upgrade, to no effect. Martha loves her current boat just the way it is, and loves pattering around in her boat.
Here is a photo of the new Hinckley 37 foot picnic boat at the show. The new picnic boat has a glossy dark blue varnish hull with nice varnished interior.
Photo below shows Martha Stewart's picnic boat which she named the Skylands II at a mooring buoy in Seal Harbor, Mount Desert Island.
Here is what Martha Stewart said about her boat (excerpt from an article in Boston Globe dated August 3, 2006)
"Perhaps one of my favorites is the "picnic by boat" to an outlying island. The procedure is casual. What matters, of course, is that you have delicious food, a group of friends or family members, a navigational plan or destination, and a seaworthy vessel.
My house, which looks down over the sea and the many, many islands that beckon , came with two deepwater moorings in a small, secluded harbor. I set out on my search for the perfect boat aware of 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 even slightly astray, and that there are extraordinary boat makers and shipbuilders in Maine. I was invited on day trips aboard all sorts of vessels: sailboats, dinghies, and yachts. One in particular tickled me , 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 -- it has no propellers to tangle in lobster-pot lines or seaweed beds.
I 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 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 can be. "
THERE YOU GO! Now you know what Martha Stewart's yacht is!
