A while back, my colleagues and I were talking about what iconic boats from the past we would like to retest for the magazine. Knit-Wits, the first fiberglass Hatteras was a popular choice, as was the first Princess ever built called Project 31. Also landing in the finals was the original Hinckley Picnic Boat Dasher, which we thought might actually be possible since the company had reacquired it a number of years back. Those first two stories haven’t made it to fruition—yet—but I would get my chance behind the helm of Dasher when I least expected it.
I received a cryptic email from Hinckley’s Vice President of Sales and New Product Development, Scott Bryant, one afternoon teasing a new product. When we finally connected on the phone he told me, “We have something really big on our hands and we’d like to be the first to check it out. I can’t tell you what it is,