Above: The first Hinckley T34 arrives at the Portsmouth plant at 1 Little Harbor Landing Monday morning. Photo by Richard W. Dionne Jr.

PORTSMOUTH — Demand for its 34-foot Jetboat has grown so rapidly that Hinckley Yachts is expanding its building capacity in Portsmouth — a move that will add about 40 new jobs at the plant.

The company will assemble and finish the Hinckley T34s at 1 Little Harbor Landing, while the hull and deck of the boat will continue to be fabricated in Maine.

The first T34 arrived at Hinckley Monday afternoon.

“We’ve been building them mostly in Maine for quite a while now,” said John Donahue, a 17-year veteran of Hinckley who serves as production plant manager in Portsmouth. “We’ve been trying to expand in Maine, but we’re been finding it challenging. So, we chose to expand here, where our corporate headquarters are.”

The expansion comes on the heels of Hinckley’s acquisition of its next-door neighbor, Hunt Yachts, in 2014. Hunt builds about 25 new powerboats annually, ranging from 25 to 36 feet.

“We’re using those facilities to build the Hunt Yachts and some of the Hinckleys here in Rhode Island. That accounts to adding about 40 new jobs. We’ve hired 25 so far — a little more than half right now,” said Mr. Donahue, adding that most of the new hires will be from the local area.

That will bring the total employee count to 210 in Portsmouth. Mr. Donahue said the expansion is underway and expects to be completed by October.

Added Hinckley chief operating officer Mike Arieta in a prepared statement, “This area, and this yard in particular, has a rich history of boatbuilding going back to the Ted Hood era.”

Training underway

The new employees are already in Maine, where they will spend 10 weeks training with Hinckley craftsmen, according to a prepared statement from the company. Hinckley will also seed the Portsmouth workforce with experiences Maine boatbuilders.

The company partnered with the State of Rhode Island to accomplish the training.

Hinckley has built some boats in Portsmouth in the past, such as the Talaria 29 runabouts and center consoles in the early 2000s.

As for the Hunt side, it recently launched the Hunt 32 Center Console, so the company plans for growth in the manufacturing of that line as well.

Besides its skilled trades, Hinckley and Hunt also have their corporate team and engineering and design group in Portsmouth.

For more information, visit www.hinckleyyachts.com.