The new owner of the iconic yard, Bristol Marine, says the past will drive a future of exciting new models.
Andy Tyska sat alone in the room, trying to reconcile the weight of the past with everyone’s hopes for the future. He had just finished a meeting about his company, Bristol Marine, acquiring the storied boatbuilder Huckins Yachts. Everyone else had left, giving him a chance to think. He’d been using a desk that was moved into the office of Huckins President Cindy Purcell, the third-generation owner of the company that her grandfather founded in 1928. And now, before him, Tyska had a leather-covered binder full of vintage marketing materials and letters from Frank Pembroke Huckins himself, curated by Purcell from her personal files.
Tyska took a breath and opened the binder, carefully turning every delicate page. “It made me realize I have a lot to learn, and that there’s a Huckins voice that is so definable as it relates to the product,” he says. “It’s pretty cool to have that front-row seat.”
In late September, when Bristol Marine and Huckins announced the acquisition plans, the 52-year-old Tyska got bombarded by calls and emails. Many were congratulatory, and some expressed concern. Huckins boat owners wanted to learn about him and his plans for their beloved brand. Since then, Tyska has been showing them all who he is. He’s taking meetings, such as a recent one with a Huckins boat owner who toured Bristol Marine’s facilities in late October.
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