The Digest | New Jersey Magazine
Issue link: https://magazines.vuenj.com/i/1265384
e attention to every detail means that boats are not produced at assembly line speeds. Depending on the size, model, and customization, a boat can take 7 months to 14 months from start to finish. Hacker-Cra Boats produces 10 to 12 new builds each year. Factory produced, fiberglass boats may have become the more common boat of today, but for the clientele of Hacker-Cra Boats, embracing tradition with a custom flair is just more appealing. Badcock explains that modern wooden boats carry on the sleek lines and smoother ride of their previous versions but bring improvements. "Our customers come to us because they like the idea of timelessness, something that transcends current life but with modern conveniences and amenities. ey can be in a piece of art but listening to their iPod," Badcock said. e ride of today is much different than that of wooden boats of the 1950s. Bottoms are sealed with epoxy to allow storage on lis or trailers. "You used to have to soak the bottoms and have caulk in the planking. We don't have that anymore. We take away the headaches but keep traditional lines." Boats are matched to customers so that someone who boats in coastal waters has the right bottom, the right style, and higher freeboard needed for rougher seas. "Our boats are bespoke for the customer from the ground up or modified. Very few are exactly alike." V U E N J . C O M 55