Ontario Yachts

Last updated

Ontario Yachts
Type Privately held company
Industry Boat building, fibreglass products
Founded1961
FounderDirk Kneulman Sr. and Maria Kneulman
Headquarters
Burlington, Ontario
,
Canada
Key people
Dirk Kneulman
Don Oakie
Products Sailboats
Website www.facebook.com/OntarioYachts

Ontario Yachts is a Canadian boat builder at one time based in Oakville, Ontario, then Hamilton, Ontario and more recently in Burlington, Ontario. The company specializes in the manufacture and repair of fiberglass sailboats. [1] [2] [3] [4]

Contents

The company was founded in 1961 and continued as the North American builder of the Etchells keelboat in 2018. [1] [3] [4] [5]

History

Viking 28 Viking 28 sailboat Blueberry Tea 0656.jpg
Viking 28
Viking 33 Viking 33 sailboat Obsession 3689.jpg
Viking 33

Ontario Yachts was founded by Dirk Kneulman Sr. and Maria Kneulman. Dirk Kneulman Sr. was born in 1922 in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, where he grew up learning to build wooden boats. He immigrated to Canada in 1950 and shortly after built his first Snipe. By 1961 Kneulman was building boats, mostly kayaks and dinghies, including Snipes and 5.5 metre boats, and Sitka spruce spars, and sail battens – all made from wood. [6]

After only a few years in the business, Ontario Yachts established a reputation for high-quality workmanship and soon Kneulman’s Snipes were sought after by North America’s top one-design racing sailors. Next, Dirk established a world-wide market for his dinghy, 6 Metre and Dragon masts. [6]

Kneulman’s reputation for boat building grew and he began to build Olympic-class boats. In 1968, his final year building Olympic boats, nine of his shop’s 5.5 Metre yachts were raced in the Mexico Olympics. Kneulman accompanied the fleet at these Olympic events as a shipwright on the shore support team, to ensure his boats were properly tuned and repaired. One of these 5.5 boats, owned by media magnate Ted Turner, won a world championship in 1972. Kneulman was the Canadian Olympic Sailing Team shipwright in 1972 as well. In 1975, Kneulman began to build Etchells. [6]

Kneulman went to Dwyer Boats in Barrington, Rhode Island to learn fiberglass boat construction during a one week course. [6] Starting in the late 1960s, Ontario Yachts gained a reputation as a builder of quality fiberglass production boats. [6] The first designs produced were the Viking 22 keelboat and the Albacore dinghy. [1] [3]

Later designs intended for the cruising market included the C&C Yachts-designed Viking 28, Viking 33 and Ontario 32. The Bruce Kirby-designed Sonar was intended for the racing sailboat market. [1] [3]

The company survived the early 1980s recession and the downturn in the fibreglass boat market by diversifying into other lines of fibreglass work. The company was noted as having built the fibreglass support for the pitcher's mound for the Toronto Skydome. [1] [3]

Ontario Yachts is now run by Kneulman’s son, Dirk. [6] The company continued in business through 2018 as a boat repair and refurbisher, as well as the North American manufacturer of the Etchells racing keelboat, a boat Ontario Yachts has been constructing as a licensed builder since 1975. [4] [7]

Boats

Sailboats

Ontario 32 Ontario 32 sailboat Beluga V 2748.jpg
Ontario 32
Sonars racing Sonar start.jpg
Sonars racing

Summary of boats built by Ontario Yachts: [1] [3]

Motorboats

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Albacore (dinghy)</span> Two-person dinghy for competitive racing

The Albacore is a 4.57 m (15 ft) two-person planing dinghy with fractional sloop rig, for competitive racing and lake and near-inshore day sailing. Hulls are made of either wood or fiberglass. The basic shape was developed in 1954 from an Uffa Fox design, the Swordfish. Recent boats retain the same classic dimensions, and use modern materials and modern control systems.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Etchells</span> Sailboat class

The International Etchells Class is one-design sailboat racing class, designed by American Skip Etchells.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fireball (dinghy)</span> Sailboat class

The Fireball is a British sailing dinghy that was designed by Peter Milne as a one-design racer and first built in 1962.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">C&C Yachts</span> Sailboat manufacturer

C&C Yachts was a builder of high-performance fiberglass monohull sailboats with production facilities in Canada, Germany, and the United States. C&C designed and constructed a full range of production line cruiser-racer boats, as well as custom one-off and short production run racing and cruising boats. C&C boats ranged in size from as small as 21 ft (6.4 m) to as large as 67 ft (20.4 m). C&C also produced a line of bluewater cruising boats in the 35 ft (10.7 m) to 48 ft (14.6 m) range under its Landfall brand. In addition, C&C designed sailboats for production by a number of other manufacturers such as CS Yachts, Mirage Yachts, Northern Yachts, Ontario Yachts, Paceship Yachts, and Tanzer Industries.

CS Yachts was a Canadian boat manufacturer founded in 1963 by Paul Tennyson, under the name Canadian Sailcraft. The company specialized in the design and manufacture of fibreglass sailboats. The location of the firm was in Brampton, Ontario, near the Great Lakes yachting epicentre of the day, Toronto.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Viking 28</span> Sailboat class

The Viking 28 is a Canadian sailboat, that was designed by Cuthbertson & Cassian and first built in 1968.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Laser 28</span> Sailboat class

The Laser 28 is a Canadian-built sailboat designed by New Zealander Bruce Farr and first produced in 1984.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Martin 16</span> Sailboat class

The Martin 16 is a Canadian trailerable sailboat, that was designed by Don Martin of Vancouver, British Columbia, specifically as a boat for disabled sailors. It was first built in 1995.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bluenose one-design sloop</span> Sailboat class

The Bluenose is a Canadian sailboat, that was designed by William James Roué as a one design racer and first built in 1946. Roué was also the designer of the Bluenose racing schooner, built in 1921. The term Bluenoser is a nickname for people from Nova Scotia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aloha 28</span> Sailboat class

The Aloha 28 is a Canadian sailboat, that was designed by Edward S. Brewer and Robert Walstrom and first built in 1972.

Grampian Marine Limited was a Canadian boat builder based in Oakville, Ontario. The company specialized in the design and manufacture of fiberglass sailboats.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Viking 33</span> Sailboat class

The Viking 33 is a Canadian sailboat, that was designed by Cuthbertson & Cassian and first built in 1971.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Viking 34</span> Sailboat class

The Viking 34 is a Canadian sailboat, that was designed by C&C Design and first built in 1973.

The C&C SR 33 is a racing sailboat that was designed by Glenn Henderson and first built in 1992.

The Geary 18 is an American sailboat that was designed by Ted Geary as a one-design racer and first built in 1926.

Vandestadt and McGruer Limited was a Canadian boat builder based in Owen Sound, Ontario. The company specialized in the design and manufacture of fibreglass sailboats.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paceship Yachts</span> Sailboat manufacturer

Paceship Yachts Limited was a Canadian, and later American, boat builder originally based in Mahone Bay, Nova Scotia. The company was founded in 1962 and specialized in the design and manufacture of fiberglass sailboats.

Lockley Newport Boats was an American boat builder based in Newport Beach, California. The company specialized in the design and manufacture of fiberglass sailboats.

Skene Boats was a Canadian boat builder based in Gloucester, Ontario, now part of the city of Ottawa. The company specialized in the manufacture of fibreglass sailboats. It was founded in 1968 and went out business in 1992.

Hughes Boat Works was a Canadian boat builder based in Centralia, Ontario. The company specialized in the design and manufacture of fibreglass sailboats.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Browning, Randy (2018). "Ontario Yachts". sailboatdata.com. Archived from the original on 5 February 2023. Retrieved 30 August 2018.
  2. ↑ McArthur, Bruce (2022). "Ontario Yachts". sailboatdata.com. Archived from the original on 6 October 2020. Retrieved 30 August 2018.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Sea Time Tech, LLC (2022). "Ontario Yachts". sailboat.guide. Archived from the original on 28 March 2022. Retrieved 28 March 2022.
  4. 1 2 3 Ontario Yachts (13 October 2017). "Ontario Yachts". Facebook . Archived from the original on 28 March 2022. Retrieved 30 August 2018.
  5. ↑ Ontario Yachts (13 October 2017). "About Ontario Yachts". Facebook . Archived from the original on 28 March 2022. Retrieved 30 August 2018.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Dirk Kneulman Sr. Founder Of Ontario Yachts, Passed Away Sept 16, 2015 at 92". Canadian Yachting . 2015. Archived from the original on 28 March 2022. Retrieved 30 August 2018.
  7. ↑ "Etchells - Licensed Boat Builders". Etchells.org. Archived from the original on 28 March 2022. Retrieved 9 September 2018.
  8. ↑ Milne, Mike (May 1984). "Great Lakes 33". Canadian Yachting . Archived from the original on 14 June 2017. Retrieved 14 July 2022.
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