Vandestadt and McGruer Limited (sometimes styled as Vandestadt & McGruer) was a Canadian boat builder based in

Owen Sound Owen Sound (2021 Canadian Census, 2021 Census population 21,612) is a city in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. The county seat, seat of government of Grey County, it is located at the mouths of the Pottawatomi River, Pottawatomi and Sydenham River ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

. The company specialized in the design and manufacture of

fibreglass Fiberglass (American English) or fibreglass ( Commonwealth English) is a common type of fiber-reinforced plastic using glass fiber. The fibers may be randomly arranged, flattened into a sheet called a chopped strand mat, or woven into glass c ...

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 ...

s. 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 This is the top category for all articles related to architecture and its practitioners. {{Commons category, Architecture by occupation Design occupations Occupations Occupation commonly refers to: *Occupation (human activity), or job, one's rol ...

E. G. van de Stadt, a pioneer of 20th century sailboat design.

History

Former Vandestadt and McGruer building 11 June 2020

The company imported the

trailer sailer A trailer sailer is a type of sailboat that has been designed to be easily transported using a boat trailer towed by an automobile. They are generally larger than a sailing dinghy.Royce, Patrick M.: ''Royces Sailing Illustrated'', pages 52-57. De ...

s built by the

MacGregor Yacht Corporation The MacGregor Yacht Corporation was a manufacturer of sailboat, sailing yachts, located in Costa Mesa, California. History MacGregor Yacht Co. was founded by Roger MacGregor as part of a Stanford University MBA class project in the early 1960s. ...

from the United States into Canada and also produced its own line of boats. The first design produced was the Spindrift 13, a small

day sailer A daysailer, day sailer, or dayboat is a small sailboat with or without sleeping accommodations but which is larger than a dinghy. Dayboats can be mono hull or multihull, and are typically trailer-able. Many dayboats have a small cabin or "cu ...

dinghy A dinghy is a type of small boat, often carried or Towing, towed by a Watercraft, larger vessel for use as a Ship's tender, tender. Utility dinghies are usually rowboats or have an outboard motor. Some are rigged for sailing but they diffe ...

in 1965, with 800 boats built. This was followed by the smaller Skunk 11 in 1968, of which 1200 were delivered. The next boat was the even smaller

Shrimp A shrimp (: shrimp (American English, US) or shrimps (British English, UK)) is a crustacean with an elongated body and a primarily Aquatic locomotion, swimming mode of locomotion – typically Decapods belonging to the Caridea or Dendrobranchi ...

in 1972, with 340 boats completed.Sherwood, Richard M.: ''A Field Guide to Sailboats of North America, Second Edition'', pages 4-5, 8-9, 86-87. Houghton Mifflin Company, 1994. The first

keelboat A keelboat is a riverine cargo-capable working boat, or a small- to mid-sized recreational sailing yacht. The boats in the first category have shallow structural keels, and are nearly flat-bottomed and often used leeboards if forced in open w ...

produced was the

Siren 17 The Siren 17 is a Canadian trailerable sailboat, that was designed by Hubert Vandestadt as trailer sailer and first built in 1974.Sherwood, Richard M.: ''A Field Guide to Sailboats of North America, Second Edition'', pages 86-87. Houghton Miff ...

pocket cruiser, introduced in 1974. With 3,200 boats built, it became one of the most successful Canadian sailboat designs. 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 The Sirius 20, 21 and 22 are a family of Canadian Trailer sailer, trailerable sailboats that was designed by Hubert Vandestadt for Cruising (maritime), cruising and first built in 1976.Sherwood, Richard M.: ''A Field Guide to Sailboats of North ...

in 1977 and the Sirius 22 in the early 1980s. The

Sirius 28 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 designer, Hubert Vandestadt, is the nephew of Dutch boat designer Ericus Gerhardus van de Stadt. Produc ...

was introduced in 1982 and finally the Sirius 26 1987. The Sirius 21 became the first North American production sailboat to use both ballast and positive flotation.

Closed-cell foam Foams are two-phase material systems where a gas is dispersed in a second, non-gaseous material, specifically, in which gas cells are enclosed by a distinct liquid or solid material. Note, this source focuses only on liquid foams. Note, thi ...

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. The largest design produced, the Sirius 28 had 120 examples completed between 1982 and 1987. The company declared bankruptcy in April 1988.

Boats

Summary of boats built by Vandestadt and McGruer Limited: * Spindrift 13 - 1965 * Skunk 11 - 1969 *

- 1972 *

- 1974 * Sirius 20 - 1976 *

- 1977 * Sirius 22 - circa 1981 *

Super Skunk 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.Sherwood, Richard M.: ''A Field Guide to Sailboats of North Am ...

- 1981 *

- 1982 *Sirius 26 - 1987

References

External links

Vandestadt and McGruer Ltd short documentary film
{{Vandestadt and McGruer Limited Vandestadt and McGruer Limited

History

Boats

See also

References

External links