Company type | Privately held company |
---|---|
Industry | Boat building |
Founded | 1965 |
Founder | Fraser McGruer and Hubert Vandestadt |
Defunct | 1988 |
Fate | Out of business |
Headquarters | , Canada |
Products | Sailboats |
Number of employees | 48 |
Vandestadt and McGruer Limited (sometimes styled as Vandestadt & McGruer) was a Canadian boat builder based in Owen Sound, Ontario. The company specialized in the design and manufacture of fibreglass sailboats. [1]
The company was founded by Fraser McGruer and Hubert Vandestadt in 1965. Vandestadt was the main designer for the company and also the nephew of naval architect E. G. van de Stadt, a pioneer of 20th century sailboat design. [1] [2] [3]
The company imported the trailer sailers built by the MacGregor Yacht Corporation from the United States into Canada and also produced its own line of boats. [1]
The first design produced was the 13.33 ft (4.06 m) Spindrift 13, a small day sailer dinghy in 1965, with 800 boats built. This was followed by the smaller 11.08 ft (3.38 m) Skunk 11 in 1968, of which 1200 were delivered. The next boat was the even smaller 9.58 ft (2.92 m) Shrimp in 1972, with 340 boats completed. [1] [4] [5] [6] [7]
The first keelboat produced was the Siren 17 pocket cruiser, introduced in 1974. With 3,200 boats built, it became one of the most successful Canadian sailboat designs. [1] [7] [8] [9] [10]
The company moved into bigger boats with the Sirius series of keelboats, which commenced with the Sirius 20 in 1976, a design that evolved into the Sirius 21 in 1977 and the Sirius 22 in the early 1980s. The Sirius 28 was introduced in 1982 and finally the Sirius 26 1987. [1]
The Sirius 21 became the first North American production sailboat to use both ballast and positive flotation. Closed-cell foam was injected into some of the boat's compartments and also in between the inner and outer hull to accomplish this, a feature that added cost, but improved safety. [11]
The largest design produced, the Sirius 28 had 120 examples completed between 1982 and 1987. [12] [13]
The company declared bankruptcy in April 1988. [14]
Summary of boats built by Vandestadt and McGruer Limited:
The Tanzer 22 is a Canadian trailerable sailboat, that was designed by Johann Tanzer and first built in 1970. The design went out of production in 1986.
The Tanzer 8.5 is a Canadian sailboat, that was designed by Johann Tanzer and first built in 1978.
The Sirius 28 is a Canadian sailboat, that was designed by Hubert Vandestadt and first built in 1982. The design is out of production.
The Siren 17 is a Canadian trailerable sailboat, that was designed by Hubert Vandestadt as trailer sailer and first built in 1974.
The Kelt 7.6 is a French trailerable sailboat, that was designed by Jean Berret and first built in 1980.
The DS-22 is a Canadian trailerable sailboat, that was designed by Bruce Kirby and first built in 1983.
The Discovery 7.9 is a Canadian sailboat, that was designed by Alex McGruer and first built in 1975.
The Invader 36 is a Canadian sailboat, that was designed by C&C Design specifically for Hinterhoeller Yachts and first built in 1965.
The Mariner 19 is an American trailerable sailboat, that was designed by Philip Rhodes and first built in 1962.
The Spindrift 22 is an American trailerable sailboat that was designed by Jim Taylor Yacht Designs and first built in 1982.
The Marlow-Hunter 22 is an American trailerable sailboat that was designed by Glenn Henderson as daysailer and racer, first built in 2010. It is a development of the 2003 Hunter 216, but with the hull built of fiberglass, instead of thermo-plastic
The Hunter 280 is an American sailboat that was designed by the Hunter Design Team in conjunction with Rob Mazza, as a cruising boat and first built in 1995.
The Pearson Electra is an American trailerable sailboat that was designed by Carl Alberg as a Midget Ocean Racing Club (MORC) racer and first built in 1960.
The Cape Dory 22 is an American sailboat that was designed by Carl Alberg as a cruiser and first built in 1981.
The Shrimp is a Canadian dinghy that was designed by Hubert Vandestadt and Fraser McGruer and first built in 1972. The boat was designed to employed as a powered yacht tender, a rowboat or as a sailing dinghy.
The Skunk 11 is a Canadian utility dinghy that can be rowed, used as a motorboat, fishing boat or as a sailing dinghy. It was designed by Hubert Vandestadt and first built in 1969.
The Spindrift 13 is a Canadian sailing dinghy that was designed by Hubert Vandestadt and first built in 1965.
The Sirius 20, 21 and 22 are a family of Canadian trailerable sailboats that was designed by Hubert Vandestadt for cruising and first built in 1976.
The Mercury 18, sometimes just referred to as a Mercury, is an American sailboat that was designed by Ernest Nunes as a one design racer and first built in 1939. The boat was one of the first one-design sailboat classes designed for plywood construction.