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. 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 occupations Design occupations Architecture, Occupations ...

Ericus Gerhardus 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. Del ...

s built by the MacGregor Yacht Corporation from the United States into Canada and also produced its own line of boats. The first design produced was the

Spindrift 13 The Spindrift 13 is a Canadian sailing dinghy that was designed by Hubert Vandestadt and first built in 1965.Sherwood, Richard M.: ''A Field Guide to Sailboats of North America, Second Edition'', pages 26-27. Houghton Mifflin Company, 1994. P ...

, a small day sailer dinghy in 1965, with 800 boats built. This was followed by the smaller

Skunk 11 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 ...

in 1968, of which 1200 were delivered. The next boat was the even smaller

Shrimp Shrimp are crustaceans (a form of shellfish) with elongated bodies and a primarily swimming mode of locomotion – most commonly Caridea and Dendrobranchiata of the decapod order, although some crustaceans outside of this order are refer ...

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 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 in 1977 and the

Sirius 22 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.Sherwood, Richard M.: ''A Field Guide to Sailboats of North America, Second Edition'', pages ...

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. Produ ...

was introduced in 1982 and finally the

Sirius 26 The Sirius 26 is a Canadian sailboat that was designed by Jean Berret, modified by Vandestadt and McGruer and first built in 1987. The Sirius 26 is a development of the Kelt 7.6, production of which ran from 1980 to 1984. The Sirius 26 prima ...

1987. The Sirius 21 became the first North American production sailboat to use both ballast and positive flotation.

Closed-cell foam Foams are materials formed by trapping pockets of gas in a liquid or solid. A bath sponge and the head on a glass of beer are examples of foams. In most foams, the volume of gas is large, with thin films of liquid or solid separating the reg ...

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 went out of business in 1987.

Boats

Summary of boats built by Vandestadt and McGruer Limited: *

- 1965 *

- 1969 *

- 1972 *

- 1974 * Sirius 20 - 1976 * Sirius 21 - 1977 *

- circa 1981 * Super Skunk - 1981 *

- 1982 *

- 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