Classic Yachts was an American boat builder based in Chanute, Kansas. The company specialized in the manufacture of fiberglass sailboats. The company was founded by John Heaton in 1988 and went out of business in 2000.

History

Heaton started out as a dealer for

Laguna Yachts Laguna Yachts was an American boat builder based in Stanton, California. The company specialized in the design and manufacture of fiberglass sailboats. The company was founded by Bill Downing in 1973. History The first designs produced were t ...

based in Stanton, California and for Gloucester Yachts of

Newport Beach, California Newport Beach is a coastal city in South Orange County, California. Newport Beach is known for swimming and sandy beaches. Newport Harbor once supported maritime industries however today, it is used mostly for recreation. Balboa Island, Newport ...

. Laguna had also bought out a competitor,

Coastal Recreation Coastal Recreation, Inc was an American boat builder based in Costa Mesa, California. The company specialized in the design and manufacture of fiberglass sailboats designed by well-known naval architects, including Lyle C. Hess, Peter Barret ...

Costa Mesa, California Costa Mesa (; Spanish for "Table Coast") is a city in Orange County, California. Since its incorporation in 1953, the city has grown from a semi-rural farming community of 16,840 to an urban area including part of the South Coast Plaza–John Wa ...

, in 1981. Laguna Yachts went out of business in 1986 and Gloucester Yachts in 1988, leaving Heaton with no companies to represent. He bought the molds and tooling for some of the designs and produced three of his own boats as "Classics" until a factory fire in 2000 ended the business.Henkel, Steve: ''The Sailor's Book of Small Cruising Sailboats'', pages 172 & 230.

International Marine S&P Global Inc. (prior to April 2016 McGraw Hill Financial, Inc., and prior to 2013 The McGraw–Hill Companies, Inc.) is an American publicly traded corporation headquartered in Manhattan, New York City. Its primary areas of business are financ ...

/ McGraw-Hill, 2010. The first design produced was the Classic 22 (Windley) in 1989, followed by the Classic 26 in 1991 and the larger Classic 33 in 1996. The Classic 22 (Windley) sailboat design is a development of the

Gloucester 22 The Gloucester 22 is an American trailerable sailboat that was designed by Stuart Windley and Harry R. Sindle as a cruiser and first built in 1983.Henkel, Steve: ''The Sailor's Book of Small Cruising Sailboats'', page 172. International Mari ...

, that had been built by Gloucester Yachts from 1983 to 1988. The Classic 26 was based on the

Laguna 26 The Laguna 26 is an American sailboat that was designed by W. Shad Turner as a cruiser and first built in 1982. Production The design was built by Laguna Yachts in the United States, starting in 1982, with 400 boats completed by the time pro ...

and also the similar

Windrose 26 The Windrose 26 is an American sailboat that was designed by W. Shad Turner as a cruiser and first built in 1982. Production The design was built by Laguna Yachts in the United States, starting in 1982, but it is now out of production. The ...

, both built by Laguna Yachts from 1982 to 1988. The Classic 33 used the Laguna 33 molds. The Laguna 33 had been produced by Laguna in 1986, just before that company went out of business.

Boats

Summary of boats built by Classic Yachts: * Classic 22 (Windley) - 1989 * Classic 26 - 1991 * Classic 33 - 1996

References

{{Classic Yachts Classic Yachts

History

Boats

See also

References