We post this complaint only to compare the experience of this skipper with Imron versus Awlgrip. We also trust that the results of this particular work are not typical of Hinkley’s expertise. See Tom Law’s comments below.

You don’t always get what you pay for! With such great reviews we decided to use Hinckley to paint our boat. We got a bid to have our 49 Hylas yacht painted in Awlgrip in January 2016. We have used Awlgrip paint before and found it to be durable, easy to clean and long lasting. A few weeks after we got the bid to paint the topsides in Awlgrip by the manager, we were handed off to [another worker] to coordinate the work we needed done. Then came emails and phone calls to use Imron paint. Imron paint is cheaper than Awlgrip. Although we loved Awlgrip we decided the “professionals” knew better and so we went with their product Imron. We felt that on every step Hinkley encouraged us to do more and more work than we felt unnecessary. It always started with “at Hinckley we do it this way because it’s the best”. They faired the transom and built it up with a compound to fix a few dings. We were not in Florida when the work was done which was Big mistake. When we arrived in late January the first issues started. First issue was we had covered our boat to protect the deck from the harsh Florida weather .We always do this when leaving our boat in storage. Hinckley removed it when they stepped the mast right after we left and never replaced as they deemed it unnecessary. We reminded them to put it back on after the mast was stepped and were assured they would do so. We had new [name] signs put on the boat. When I showed [the worker] that they were peeling, he suggested a little clear nail polish on the edges to keep them from peeling off! I was starting to regret using Hinckley.
Most worrisome was the paint job. The Imron just wasn’t the right type of paint for a sailboat that actually gets used. This became apparent a few months later. We sailed from Hinckley directly to the Bahamas and Cuba for 4 months. The boat was only in a marina once where it was rinsed down and washed. It was there we noticed that salt had etched the paint. When we returned to Hinckley five months after the initial painting we had to haul the boat and they had to use an acid to remove the salt. Even the yard and paint distributor said they had never seen anything like it. Never in 25,000 miles of sailing with Awlgrip had we ever used anything but Awlgrip wash to clean our boat of salt residue. It always looked great. Next issue was discovered by the guys who polished the boa. He t noticed small cracks all over the transom. Brian tried to explain it as fiberglass from under the bonding they used was suddenly erupting through the paint. Riduculous? Of course. But our choice was to stay in Florida and haggle with Hinckley or just consider this a VERY EXPENSIVE lesson. We realized we would never be satisfied and left. We are currently in Europe and have now noticed that everything scratches this paint. Mooring lines that rub remove the paint down to the primer. Bumpers rubbing wear off the paint, a small bump on a plastic dock scratches. Even my finger nail can scratch through the paint! Two professional painters here in Europe laughed at their explanation on why the transom had cracks. Both explained it was too much compound used and the compound was cracking underneath. This of course makes more sense. I will say that Hinckley did reimburse me the costs of the signs. Lessons learned. Never would I recommend Imron paint and never would I recommend Hinckley Boat yard.
Maureen Gapp