In Trenton, Maine, Carpenter Hannah Drinkwater Crafts the Heart of a Hinckley
The first time Hannah Drinkwater walked through Hinckley’s Trenton production facility in Maine, she
didn’t know much about boats. But she recognized a certain energy. Born and raised in
rural Maine, Drinkwater grew up surrounded by craftsmanship in an inner circle of
carpenters, welders, and mechanics. As such, she learned from people who worked with
their hands, solved problems, and took pride in what they built.
A young ballerina, Drinkwater would have never predicted a future career in carpentry, but
a high-school woodworking teacher realized her talent and encouraged her to enroll in
Eastern Maine Community College’s Fine Woodworking program. During a college class
tour of local shops, they stopped at Hinckley’s Trenton facility. “I walked through the yard
for the first time thinking, I know nothing about boats, but something about this place just
feels right. I knew immediately it was where I wanted to be,” says Drinkwater. Three and a
half years later, she’s the only female carpenter on the Hinckley team, and one of its rising
talents. “I was nervous at first, when I started this position,” she says. “I was younger and
the only woman on the floor, but everyone welcomed me. I quickly realized I belong here —
and that felt huge.”
She specializes in the very important pod component — situated at the helm and the
boating equivalent to a car’s dashboard. “Barry Buchanan, now retired, really took me
under his wing,” she says. “He helped me discover what I’m best at — and now I’m known
as ‘the pod lady.’ That’s my thing.” One Hinckley craftsman describes the exquisite pod as
Hinckley’s crown jewel: If the whole boat is like the gold of a ring, the pod is the diamond.
For a captain, it’s the emotional touchpoint to the entire boat. “The pod is what the owner
stands in front of every time they’re at the helm,” adds Drinkwater. “It holds the
instruments, the steering wheel, everything. In a lot of ways, it’s the heart of the Hinckley
experience.” Since Drinkwater joined the Trenton team, she’s worked on 20 different Picnic
Boat 37 pods, in addition to building them for numerous other makes and models. Every
pod is shaped, finished, and assembled by hand — each one requiring nearly two weeks
and some 80 hours of precision work, from fiberglass form to veneered perfection. “I never
would have predicted this path,” she says. “But it turns out working with wood feels natural
to me.”
