Johann Tanzer (1927-2016) was a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

sailboat 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. Types Although sailboat terminology ...

designer, who founded the sailboat manufacturer that bore his name,

Tanzer Industries Tanzer Industries Limited was a Canadian boat manufacturer based in Dorion, Quebec. The company specialized in the design and manufacture of fibreglass sailboats. History The company was founded by Johann Tanzer in 1966 and went bankrupt in M ...

, in 1966.

Early life

Johann Tanzer was born on 3 January 1927 in the village of

Velden am Wörther See Velden am Wörthersee ( Slovene: ''Vrba na Koroškem'') is a market town in Villach-Land District, in the Austrian state of Carinthia. Situated on the western shore of the Wörthersee lake, it is one of the country's most popular holiday resorts. ...

, in the province of Carinthia,

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

. In 1941 Tanzer began his apprenticeship in shipbuilding at the Valentin Feinig (Feinig Werft) boat yard on the shores of the

Wörthersee Wörthersee (; Slovene: ''Vrbsko jezero'', en, Lake WörthTesch, F. W. 1977. ''The Eel: Biology and Management of Anguillid Eels''. Transl. Jennifer Greenwood. London: Chapman and Hall, p. 195.) is a lake in the southern Austrian state of Cari ...

. The shipyard built sailing yachts, cruiser-racer and motor boats. Johann Tanzer completed his apprenticeship before being drafted into the Navy on Jan. 3, 1945, his birthday.

Professional life

Tanzer immigrated to Canada in 1956, with a portfolio of sailboat designs that he hoped to put into production. He first worked in the

aerospace Aerospace is a term used to collectively refer to the atmosphere and outer space. Aerospace activity is very diverse, with a multitude of commercial, industrial and military applications. Aerospace engineering consists of aeronautics and astrona ...

industry, but quickly decided to pursue boat-building instead. Tanzer is noted as the designer of several commercially successful sailboat designs, the most produced of which is the

Tanzer 22 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.Henkel, Steve: ''The Sailor's Book of Small Cruising Sailboats'', page 259. International ...

, with 2,271 built between 1970-1986. His company, located in

Dorion, Quebec Vaudreuil-Dorion () is a suburb of Greater Montreal, in the Montérégie region of southwestern Quebec, Canada. The result of the merger of two towns, Vaudreuil and Dorion, it is located in the Vaudreuil-Soulanges Regional County Municipality. ...

and with satellite manufacturing operations on both American coasts, became one of the largest boat builders in Canada during its 20 years in business, before it was forced into bankruptcy in 1986.

Personal life

Tanzer was married to Gabriella, who died in 2012. They had three children, two grandchildren and one great grandchild.

Death

Tanzer died on 23 October 2016 at age 89 at the Lakeshore General Hospital, in the

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple- ...

suburb of

Pointe-Claire Pointe-Claire (, ) is a Quebec local municipality within the Urban agglomeration of Montreal on the Island of Montreal in Canada. It is entirely developed, and land use includes residential, light manufacturing, and retail. As of the 2021 c ...

Boat designs

Tanzer's designs include: * Constellation 16 *

Overnighter 16 The Tanzer 16 is a Canadian sailboat, that was designed by Johann Tanzer and first built in 1963. The design is out of production.Sherwood, Richard M.: ''A Field Guide to Sailboats of North America, Second Edition'', pages 76-77. Houghton Miffli ...

* Tanzer 7.5 *

Tanzer 8.5 The Tanzer 8.5 is a Canadian sailboat, that was designed by Johann Tanzer and first built in 1978. Production The boat was built by Tanzer Industries Limited in Dorion, Quebec. The company entered bankruptcy in 1986 and production had ended by ...

Tanzer 10.5 The Tanzer 10.5 is a Canadian sailboat, that was first built in 1983. The boat was developed from the 1980 Dick Carter (naval architect), Dick Carter designed Tanzer 10, with contributions from Johann Tanzer.Sherwood, Richard M.: ''A Field Guide ...

* Tanzer 14 * Tanzer 16 *

Tanzer 26 The Tanzer 26 is a Canadian sailboat, intended for Sailing (sport), racing, Day sailer, day sailing and cruising. It was designed by Johann Tanzer and first built in 1974. The design is out of production.Sherwood, Richard M.: ''A Field Guide to ...

* Tanzer 28

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Tanzer, Johann Johann Tanzer 1927 births 2016 deaths