Hinckley 43 (McCurdy & Rhodes)
Description
The Hinckley 43 (McCurdy & Rhodes), also known as the Sou'wester 43, is a semi-custom offshore cruising sloop designed by McCurdy & Rhodes and built by Henry R. Hinckley & Company in Southwest Harbor, Maine, USA. Introduced around 1990 as a refined evolution of the earlier Sou'wester 42 (from 1982), it was produced through the mid-1990s, with fewer than 10 examples completed—making it an exceptionally rare bluewater cruiser prized for its elegant lines, robust hand-laid fiberglass construction, and balanced performance. This masthead sloop features a centerboard for shallow draft versatility (5' up / 9'1" down), skeg-hung spade rudder, raked stem, and reverse transom, blending classic aesthetics with modern seaworthiness. The spacious teak-and-cherry interior sleeps 6–7, with a V-berth forward, U-galley, nav station, and convertible saloon. It's celebrated for stiff handling in heavy weather (moderate SA/D and high ballast ratio) and comfortable long passages (elevated comfort ratio), though owners note periodic centerboard maintenance.
Construction Details
| Designer | McCurdy & Rhodes |
|---|---|
| Builder | Henry R. Hinckley & Co. |
| Length | 43.850 ft |
| LOA | 43.850 ft |
| LWL | 31.250 ft |
| Beam | 12.500 ft |
| Displacement | 24000 lb |
| Ballast | 8500 lb |
| Max Draft | 9.100 ft |
| Min Draft | 5.000 ft |
| Year Built | 1990 |
The standard boat dimensions
| i | - |
|---|---|
| j | 18.30 ft |
| p | - |
| e | - |
| p2 | 26.50 ft |
| e2 | 8 ft |
| i2 | - |
| j2 | - |
| I | J | P | E | P2 | E2 | I2 | J2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| - | 18.30 ft | - | - | 26.50 ft | 8 ft | - | - |
Disclaimer. Boats are not all the same -- even when produced in the same factory of the same model. Sailrite does its best to publish accurate dimensions, but we often find it worthwhile to have our customers measure their boats carefully before we produce kits for them. You should take the same precautions, especially when the data is not from Sailrite. The information on this site is not guaranteed to be accurate. Sailrite offers this content as a service to our community, but takes no responsibility for the reliability of the data provided.