Hacker Boat leaving Ticonderoga

Lohr Mckinstry, The Press-Republican, Plattsburgh, N.Y.
·2 min read

Mar. 2—TICONDEROGA — Classic mahogany boat-maker Hacker Boat Company plans to leave Ticonderoga for a new facility in Queensbury this spring.

Hacker-Craft boats like the Sport are manufactured at the firm's 47 Delano Rd. plant, a former pallet works, but will soon have a new home at 315 Corinth Rd. in Queensbury, Warren County.

Hacker will keep its showroom, storage and engine repair site at 8 Delaware Ave. in Silver Bay, Town of Hague. Offices there have already moved to Queensbury, however.

The Silver Bay location is the former Morgan Marine, where Hacker-Craft were initially made.

Hacker Boat Company owner George Babcock said they were running out of room in Ticonderoga. The 32,000 foot facility in Ticonderoga will be replaced with 59,000 square feet of space in Queensbury, which is also only a few minutes off the Adirondack Northway.

The new factory should be ready by May 1, Babcock said, but they likely won't move manufacturing until late spring. He said many employees already live in the Glens Falls area and will have a shorter commute now.

Hacker Vice President for Operations Erin Babcock said the move will let them expand their cadre of skilled boat builders. Eventually, a showroom will also be added at the Queensbury site.

Hacker and its parent company, Erin Investment LLC, bought the former Perkins Recycling building for $2.4 million, and will likely invest another $500,000 to upgrade it for boat manufacturing, George Babcock said.

The firm has 33 full-time and six part-time workers, and will probably add six to eight more full-time people, George Babcock said, depending on demand for Hacker-Craft.

They usually sell around a dozen to two dozen boats a year, runabouts, racers and sport boats, with the company's roots in the early 20th century after founding by boat-maker John L. Hacker.

Today, a new Hacker costs around $400,000 and clients include fashion designer Tommy Hilfiger and actor Donald Sutherland.

William Morgan acquired the Hacker name in 1959 and set up shop in Silver Bay as Morgan Marine. He died in 2012 at age 84.

Morgan is credited with turning Hacker into a multimillion dollar company and making Hacker-Craft a highly sought after luxury brand.

George Babcock is continuing that tradition and he said the new facility will be "something we can grow into" as Hacker expands for the future.