2001 Little Harbor WhisperJet 38 “Nancy Lynn” New arrival

"Nancy Lynn" is a beautiful example of this classic Downeast cruiser. With one careful owner since new, she has been lightly used and professionally maintained, and embodies the perfect blend of timeliness elegance and effortless performance.

Combining Little Harbor/Hinckley aesthetics with modern jet technology, the Whisper Jet is one of the most versatile and elegant 38-footers of its era.

With her sleek deep-V hull and Hamilton waterjet drives, the Whisper Jet 38 delivers a remarkably smooth, quiet ride—capable of gliding into shallow waters where traditional propeller boats can’t venture. Twin Yanmar diesels provide confident cruising in the high 20-knot range, while her responsive handling makes docking and maneuvering a breeze.

A focal point of the 38 is the large and comfortable cockpit salon featuring an L-shaped settee with casual seating for four. The interior accommodations are both straightforward and commodious. The owner's stateroom forward includes a large V-berth with two 36-inch-wide berths that can be converted into a double with a filler piece. Further aft, the layout features a large galley and head to port, a luxurious dinette to starboard and abundant storage lockers. Cabin soles are varnished teak and holly.

The main engines are surrounded by a carefully engineered, soundproofed compartment, making the raised salon a comfortable, quiet place while underway, even at high speeds. The water jet system is located well aft for easy access via hatches through the aft deck. The water jet configuration eliminates the need for external shafts, props, and rudders, thereby removing a substantial amount of running vibration. The resulting shallow draft also allows one to safely gunkhole shallow waters off-limits to most boats of this size.

As a final benefit, the water jet provides superior maneuverability in tight quarters utilizing a twin jet configuration. The Hamilton Jet Model H274 is one of the most successful and widely used commercial waterjet propulsion units ever produced and remains common in 1990s-2000s patrol craft, fast workboats and high-speed recreational vessels.

"Nancy Lynn" has been impeccably maintained by a team of professional marine technicians and was brought to the Pacific Northwest via truck from Massachusetts by her current owner.

Highlights Include:

• A 2026 comprehensive Garmin electronics refit completed in Port Townsend to ABYC standards.
• Jet drives removed for professional servicing - June 2026
• Recent engine service completed by Galmukoff Marine in Port Townsend.
• Pre-sale survey completed by the seller prior to placing the vessel on the market. No deficiencies were identified. Survey is available for review by prospective buyers.

"Nancy Lynn" is in the water in Port Townsend and available for immediate showings.

VESSEL DESCRIPTION:

HULL & CONSTRUCTION:

• Midnight Blue Awlgrip hull
• White house and deck with beige nonskid decks
• Full stainless steel bow rail
• Varnished teak cap rail - refinished annually
• Soft top with full enclosure
• Fiberglass swim platform
• Bow line chocks
• Cleats with chafe guards
• Transom gate
• Corecell foam-cored and knitted bi-directional E-glass with Kevlar hybrid hull
• Lightweight composite grid system stringers and marine grade plywood laminated FRP main bulkheads

DECK FEATURES:

• Fiberglass bowsprit with anchor roller
• Stainless steel bow pulpit
• Foredeck anchor locker with built-in hatch access and saltwater washdown
• Lewmar anodized aluminum deck hatches
• Stainless steel cleats, forward, spring and stern with chafe guards

COCKPIT:

• Finished teak cockpit coaming and covering boards and stern trim
• Full-beam cockpit stern seats with lift out cushion for transom walk-through
• Large cockpit deck hatch for easy access to jet lazarette area and built-in storage trays
• Cockpit hot/cold shower - aft starboard
• Cockpit cushions
• Storage under seating
• Courtesy lights under gunwales
• Shore power connection
• Teak steps port and starboard to facilitate boarding

BRIDGE DECK:

• Inward facing, L-shaped cushioned settee to port with varnished teak dining table
• Varnished lift-top navigation table forward to port - custom rebuilt July 2026
• Day hatch access to engine compartment in sole
• Teak deck
• Hinged deck with electric deck-lift access to engine area below
• Custom wood dashboard, steering console and instrument box
• Varnished teak helm wheel
• Teak trimmed windshield with opening center port
• Canvas soft top with full wrap-around enclosure and clear side and aft curtains
• Built-in freezer to starboard
• Companionway on centerline forward to interior

HELM STATION:

• Helm station with Stidd chair to starboard
• Jetstick control mounted to Stidd chair
• Yanmar dual engine gauges and start panels
• Flush mounted Garmin MFD electronics - new July 2026
• iCom VHF
• Garmin autopilot
• Bennett trim tab control switches
• Single lever Morse controls
• Manual bucket controls
• Fuel tank gauge

INTERIOR ACCOMMODATIONS:

From the bridge deck, down teak companionway steps is the open salon/cabin.

GALLEY:

To port, amidships is the very spacious, functional linear galley:

• Corian counters
• Under counter mounted stainless steel sink
• Grohe faucet
• Kenyon electric cooktop
• Norcold under-counter refrigerator
• GE microwave
• Storage lockers outboard with shelves
• 3-drawer storage below countertop
• MarineAir digital control panel
• Opening port & overhead hatch

HEAD:

Aft of the galley, to port, a Cherry louvered door provides access to the enclosed easy to clean fiberglass, formica and Corian head with cherry trim and padded vinyl overhead with a fiberglass molded-in floor with shower sump for easy cleaning.

• Corian counter
• Stainless steel oval undermounted sink with hot and cold pressure water
• Hot/cold faucet with pull-out shower and wall mounted holder
• Vacuflush toilet
• Wet head with shower
• Cherry framed, wall mounted mirror
• Opening window port
• Tank watch mounted under vanity
• Stainless steel towel rails

V-BERTH:

Forward are the V-berth sleeping accommodations finished in Cherry trim and cabinetry with flush panel doors. There are Cherry battens on the hull sides, upper hanging lockers with lower storage lockers port and starboard, and outboard shelves forward at the hull sides.

• V-berth with filler cushion to form double berth
• Step/seat between V-berth with storage compartment below
• Drawer storage under the V-berth
• Port and starboard reading lamps
• Overhead hatch
• Opening ports

DINETTE:

The dinette to starboard faces the galley and has bench style seating forward and aft with a varnished teak table. There is outboard shelving and an aft, cedar-lined hanging locker.

• Opening ports
• 12-volt overhead lighting
• Under seat storage
• LCD TV with DVD player & stereo

ELECTRONICS:

• Sharp LCD TV above dinette
• Alpine stereo & DVD player at dinette
• Alpine CD changer
• iCom VHF
• Dual Garmin 8612 series MFD at helm - installed July 2026
• Garmin Reactor 40 autopilot - July 2026
• New Garmin GMI20 depth transducer - July 2026
• New Garmin 4 KW xHD3 24 radar - July 2026
• Trace Mariner Series inverter/charger with RC-7 remote
• 2 Lifeline AGM starting batteries
• 2 Lifeline AGM house batteries

MECHANICAL:

• Twin Yanmar 6LYA-STE six-cylinder, fresh water cooled, turbo-charged 350 HP diesel inboard engines with 970 original hours - serviced July 2026
• Twin Hamilton H274 jet drives - removed, inspected and serviced July 2026
• Cooling system on both engines stripped down, cleaned, serviced and reassembled - 2021
• Jet Stick control mounted to Stidd helm chair
• Morse MT-3 single lever controls
• Bennett trim tabs
• Vetus bow thruster
• Hydraulic steering
• Water Heater

GROUND TACKLE:

• 33 lb Bruce plow anchor on bow roller
• Chain and line rode
• Lewmar Ocean electric windlass with power up and power down foot pedals at bow

OTHER EQUIPMENT AND FEATURES:

• Stidd Series 500 helm chair
• Cedar lined hanging locker
• SeaLand Tankwatch 4 level monitor system
• Wash down
• Cruisair Marine Air Vector compact heat pump heating and cooling
• Freezer in cockpit
• New custom fabricated navigation station wood top
• New custom fabricated wood dashboard panel to accommodate new electronics
• New Bottom Paint - July 2026
• Bronze sea cocks
• 3 electric bilge pumps
• High water alarm
• Canvas wheelhouse and helm cover
• Athwartships cockpit seat with transom walk-through
• Swim step
• Boat cover
• Flag staff
• Dock lines and fenders
• Fire extinguishers

Design Background:

Ted Hood was an innovative thinker who made his name in the sailing world, but he also felt that he could design and build a better waterjet-powered Downeast-style cruising yacht. Hood had spent a lifetime rethinking everything from sail cloth to sail and sailboat design and he’d helmed the 12-Meter Courageous in a successful defense of the 1974 America’s Cup. After 40 years of racing and building well-regarded racing and cruising sailboats, he nimbly crossed the boundary from sail to power in the 1990s.

He started with an excellent base design, one created by Ray Hunt for Luhrs Marine Group that eventually became the Black Watch 30 in 1986, a sportfishing powerboat that was one of the Ted Hood Company’s model lines. According to Winn Willard, president of Ray Hunt Design, “Ted was more interested in cruising than fishing, so he began to develop the Little Harbor WhisperJet from that 30-footer.”

Hood extended the dimensions of Hunt’s deep-V design across a range of four twin-diesel, waterjet-powered boats ranging in length from 36 to 52 feet.

Hood gave the WhisperJet 38 a well-raked stem with a significant flare for dry running in open waters, three pairs of lifting strakes, and long planing runs aft that terminated in 17 degrees of deadrise at the transom. The foredeck and cabin trunk were cambered slightly for optimal runoff, and welded stainless steel handrails along obstruction-free decks made anchoring and line-handling more secure.

To keep the boat light and strong, Hood specified a hybrid Kevlar reinforcement in the hull lamination, as well as closed-cell coring for the hull and deck. Powered by either twin 350-hp Yanmar diesels turning Hamilton waterjet drives, the WhisperJet 38 could attain cruising speeds in the high 20-knot range and top speeds in the low 30-knot range. With a maximum depth of 1 foot, 10 inches and no running gear protruding below the surface, the boat could be safely navigated through fields of crab or lobster pot markers or be used to explore shallow waters unreachable by boats with traditional drivetrains.