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Down East Yachts (USCG Manufacturer's Identification Code (MIC) - AAY) was a manufacturer of sailboats headquartered in Santa Ana, California.
According to United States Coast Guard records, the company was founded on August 5, 1974, and went out of business on July 12, 1983. The company was founded by Bob Poole, who had previously worked for Columbia Yachts. The company began production in 1974 and, after the death of the founder on April 29, 1978, his molds were sold to Newport Offshore Yachts.
The heart of a sailboat company is the design of its boats. Down East Yachts started with a single boat, the Downeaster 38 which was designed by Henry Morschladt, a California Naval Architect who specialized in cruising sailboats. The design was traditional, with a wineglass stern, full keel, and bowsprit. As additional boats were added to the line, they were modifications of this original design.
In addition to manufacturing their own boats, Down East Yachts was contracted to finish several hulls made by Westsail as it was closing its doors in 1980.
Four sailboats were manufactured by the company. All were heavily built cruisers suitable for blue water sailing and were available in Ketch, Schooner, and Cutter configurations:
Downeaster 45 Hull number 1 in schooner configuration
Down East Yachts acquired the molds and tooling for the Defever 40 Passagemaker from Jensen Marine when they ceased operations in 1980. Production was resumed as the Downeast 40.
A sailboat or sailing boat is a boat propelled partly or entirely by sails and is smaller than a sailing ship. Distinctions in what constitutes a sailing boat and ship vary by region and maritime culture.
Catalina Yachts is a U.S.-based builder of fiberglass monohull sloop-rigged sailboats ranging in sizes from eight to 47 feet in length. It was founded in 1969 in Hollywood, California by Frank Butler . Catalina Yachts is one of the largest boat manufacturers in the world, with over 60,000 boats manufactured to date. Though Catalina produces boats from as small as eight feet under their Capri nameplate, the company is best known for its production of mid-sized cruisers.
The Mutineer 15 is a 15-foot (4.6 m) long fractional sloop sailboat currently manufactured by Nickels Boat Works. It has a dinghy centerboard hull, no ballast, and displaces 410 pounds. The Mutineer 15 has a 6-foot (1.8 m) beam, maximum draw of 4.08 feet (1.24 m), and has 150 square feet (14 m2) of sail area. The Mutineer 15 is commonly used for both day sailing and class racing. The Mutineer 15 can be comfortably sailed as a day sailer with a crew of four, but can also be raced with a crew of two, or even single-handed by semi-experienced to experienced sailors.
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Hans Christian is a brand of heavilybuilt cruising sailboats.
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Caribbean Sailing Yachts (CSY) is a company which built heavy-displacement recreational sailboats built during the 1970s and 1980s in Tampa, Florida. CSY was one of the first companies to recognize the impending growth of the Caribbean charter industry and although the company went out of business in the early 1980s, the well-founded boats have continued to sail the world's oceans for the past four decades. CSY's unique script logo was imprinted on a brass companionway medallion, dishware, and trailerboard design.
Frank Butler is the founder of Catalina Yachts, one of the biggest boat designers and manufacturers in the world.
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Erich Bruckmann was a boat builder and founder of Bruckmann Manufacturing, one of four companies that in 1969 formed C&C Yachts, a Canadian yacht builder that dominated North American sailing in the 1970s and early 1980s.
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Hedley (Ted) Gozzard was a British yacht designer and builder.
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