Hughes Boat Works was a Canadian boat builder based in Centralia, Ontario. The company specialized in the design and manufacture of fibreglass

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 brothers Howard and Peter Hughes in 1963 and closed in 1991. Howard Hughes was not the American pilot and engineer of the same name. The company grew to become the largest sailboat manufacturer in Canada. The company was also known as North Star Yachts Limited and later, Hughes Boatworks Inc.

History

The Hughes brothers formed the company initially in Willowdale, Ontario, as a builder of dinghies. Two years later, in 1965, the company was relocated to

Scarborough, Ontario Scarborough (; 2021 Census 629,941) is a district of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is situated atop the Scarborough Bluffs in the eastern part of the city. Its borders are Victoria Park Avenue to the west, Steeles Avenue to the north, Rouge R ...

where they built the

Hughes 24 The Hughes 24 is a Canadian trailerable sailboat that was designed by William Shaw as a cruiser and first built in 1966. The boat is a development of Shaw's Nutmeg 24 design, which was built by Tanzer Industries and was likely built from the ...

keelboat between 1965 and 1967. The Hughes 24 used tooling and moulds purchased from

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 May ...

. Also built during this period were the Hughes 27 and Hughes 38-1. The former was a Howard Hughes design while the latter was designed by

Sparkman & Stephens Sparkman & Stephens is a naval architecture and yacht brokerage firm with offices in Newport, Rhode Island and Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, USA. The firm performs design and engineering of new and existing vessels for pleasure, commercial, and milita ...

in conjunction with Hughes. In 1968 the company moved away from the

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

area to southwestern Ontario and the town of Centralia, Ontario. After moving, the company started building the Howard Hughes-designed Hughes 22, Hughes 25 and Hughes 29, as well as the Sparkman & Stephens' designed Hughes 38-1 and Hughes 48 keelboats. Between 1968 and 1970, the company also produced 28 Hughes 38-1 hulls that were sold to

Hinckley Yachts Hinckley Yachts, founded in 1928, manufactures, services and sells luxury sail and powerboats. The company is based in Maine, United States. The company has developed yacht technologies including JetStick and Dual Guard composite material, and was ...

Southwest Harbor, Maine Southwest Harbor is a town in Hancock County, Maine, United States. Located on Mount Desert Island, the population was 1,756 at the 2020 census. The municipality contains within it the villages of Southwest Harbor, Manset, Seawall, Wonderland, ...

, where the decks were added, the boats completed and sold as the Hinckley 38. In 1969 the company was sold to the

United States Steel Corporation United States Steel Corporation, more commonly known as U.S. Steel, is an American integrated steel producer headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, with production operations primarily in the United States of America and in several countries ...

which changed the name to North Star Yachts Limited. Both Hughes brothers stayed on with the company for a two-year transition period. The renamed company produced boats under the North Star name. Between 1971 and 1974 the Hughes 22 continued in production as the North Star 22. Also produced were a line of Sparkman & Stephens' designs, including the

North Star 500 The North Star 500 is a Canadian trailerable sailboat that was designed by the American firm of Sparkman & Stephens as an International Offshore Rule Quarter Ton class racer and first built in 1973. The boat was Sparkman & Stephens' design #2 ...

, North Star 1000,

North Star 1500 The North Star 1500, also called the North Star 35, is a Canadian sailboat that was designed by Sparkman & Stephens as a cruiser- racer and first built in 1974. The North Star 1500 was developed into the Hughes 35 and was built by Hughes Boa ...

, North Star 38 and the North Star 80/20. The company also built the Bruce Farr-designed North Star 727 and North Star 900 starting in 1973. In 1977 US Steel entered receivership and the appointed receiver offered the assets of the bankrupt company's North Star Yachts division to the former owners. Howard Hughes bought the company back in 1977 and renamed it Hughes Boatworks Inc, changing the boat design names back to Hughes. The Hughes 26 was derived from the

North Star 600 The North Star 600 is a Canadian sailboat that was designed by the American design firm Sparkman & Stephens as a racer-cruiser and first built in 1975. The boat is Sparkman & Stephens' design number 2135.2. It was also sold under the name Nort ...

. The North Star 1000 received an extended

transom Transom may refer to: * Transom (architecture), a bar of wood or stone across the top of a door or window, or the window above such a bar * Transom (nautical), that part of the stern of a vessel where the two sides of its hull meet * Operation Tran ...

, as well as increased

beam Beam may refer to: Streams of particles or energy *Light beam, or beam of light, a directional projection of light energy **Laser beam *Particle beam, a stream of charged or neutral particles **Charged particle beam, a spatially localized grou ...

and was renamed the Hughes 31. The North Star 1500 became the

Hughes 35 The Hughes 35 is a Canadian sailboat that was designed by Sparkman & Stephens as a cruiser- racer and first built in 1977. The Hughes 35 is a development of the North Star 1500, which was built by North Star Yachts prior to Howard Hughes re-a ...

and the North Star 38 had its interior redesigned and was renamed the Hughes 38-2. The North Star 80/20 became the Hughes 40. A new model, the Hughes 27 was also introduced. The North Star 35 design was modified by

Coronado Yachts Coronado Yachts was a US sailboat manufacturer located in Southern California which produced several popular lines in the 1960s and early 1970s. Many of the boats they built are still sailing and racing today. In the 1970s Playvisa obtained a li ...

and sold by that company as the Coronado 36. Hughes purchased the US company Columbia Yachts in 1979 and moved production to his facility in

Huron Park, Ontario South Huron is a municipality in the Canadian province of Ontario, located in the southern part of Huron County. It was formed by amalgamation of the townships of Stephen and Usborne with the Town of Exeter in 2001, in an Ontario-wide municipal ...

. The Columbia lines of sailboats were renamed as Hughes-Columbia and were produced in addition to the Hughes sailboat line. Boats were produced finished and ready-to-sail, or as kits for builder completion. New models introduced under the Hughes-Columbia

brand A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's good or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create an ...

included the Hughes-Columbia 36,

8.3 An 8.3 filename (also called a short filename or SFN) is a filename convention used by old versions of DOS and versions of Microsoft Windows prior to Windows 95 and Windows NT 3.5. It is also used in modern Microsoft operating systems as an alterna ...

, 8.7, 10.7, 11.8, 42 and 48. During this period the company was the largest builder of sailboats in Canada. In 1980 the company entered

receivership In law, receivership is a situation in which an institution or enterprise is held by a receiver—a person "placed in the custodial responsibility for the property of others, including tangible and intangible assets and rights"—especially in ca ...

and production ended when the factory was shut down. The Columbia Yachts division was sold to Aura Yachts, another boat builder in the same location. Aura went on to build versions of many of the Hughes' designs under their own brand name. Some of the designs were also built in the United Kingdom by

South Hants Engineering South is one of the cardinal directions or Points of the compass, compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Pro ...

. Hughes bought the company back once again in 1986, this time locating it in

Orangeville, Ontario Orangeville (Canada 2016 Census 28,900) is a town in south-central Ontario, Canada, and the seat of Dufferin County. History The first patent of land was issued to Ezekiel Benson, a land surveyor, on August 7, 1820. That was followed by land ...

, north of Toronto. The company advertised a new model, the Hughes 41 for sale in this period. In 1991 the factory was destroyed by fire and that marked the end of the company and along with it production of the Hughes and the Columbia lines of sailboats.

Boats

Summary of boats built by Hughes Boat Works: *

- 1966 * Hughes 38-1 - 1967 * Hinckley 38 - 1968 * Hughes 25 - 1968 * Hughes 38-2 - 1970 * Hughes 48 - 1970 *

North Star 48 The Hughes 48, also sold as the North Star 48, is a Canadian sailboat that was designed by Sparkman & Stephens as a cruiser and first built in 1970. The boat is Sparkman & Stephens' design 1956. The Hughes 48 is a development of the Seafarer ...

- 1970 * Hughes 22 - 1971 * Hughes 36 - 1971 * North Star 38 - 1971 * North Star 22 - 1972 * PJ 30 1/2 Ton - 1973 * North Star 80/20 - 1973 *

- 1973 * North Star 1000 - 1973 *

- 1974 * Hughes 29 - 1975 * Hughes 40 - 1975 *

- 1975 *

Farr 727 The Farr 727 is a Trailer sailer, trailerable sailboat that was designed by New Zealander Bruce Farr as an International Offshore Rule Quarter Ton class Sailing (sport), racer and first built in 1976. The boat was also built in Canada as the No ...

- 1976 * Columbia 8.3 - 1976 * Hughes 26 - 1976 *

- 1977 * Hughes 38-3 - 1977 * Hughes-Columbia 27 - 1978 * Columbia 7.6 - 1979 * Columbia 8.7 - 1979 * Hughes 31 - 1979 * Hughes-Columbia 36 - 1979

References

External links

* {{Hughes Boat Works Hughes Boat Works

History

Boats

See also

References

External links