The Grampian 26 is a Canadian

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 ...

, that was designed by Alex McGruer and first built in 1967. The Grampian 26 design was developed into the Discovery 7.9 in 1975 and which was built in small numbers.

Production

The boat was built by Grampian Marine in

Oakville, Ontario Oakville is a town in Halton Region, Ontario, Canada. It is located on Lake Ontario between Toronto and Hamilton. At its 2021 census population of 213,759, it is Ontario's largest town. Oakville is part of the Greater Toronto Area, one of the ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by to ...

between 1967 and 1977. The company completed 980 examples, making it one of the most successful Canadian designs in its size range.

Design

The Grampian 26 is a small recreational

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 ...

, built predominantly of

fiberglass 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 cl ...

, with wood trim. It has a

masthead sloop A masthead rig on a sailing vessel consists of a forestay and backstay both attached at the top of the mast. The Bermuda rig can be split into two groups: the masthead rig and the fractional rig. The masthead rig has larger and more headsails, ...

rig, a

raked stem The stem is the most forward part of a boat or ship's bow and is an extension of the keel itself. It is often found on wooden boats or ships, but not exclusively. Description The stem is the curved edge stretching from the keel below, up to ...

, a vertical transom, an internally-mounted spade-type

rudder A rudder is a primary control surface used to steer a ship, boat, submarine, hovercraft, aircraft, or other vehicle that moves through a fluid medium (generally air or water). On an aircraft the rudder is used primarily to counter adve ...

and a fixed fin

keel The keel is the bottom-most longitudinal structural element on a vessel. On some sailboats, it may have a hydrodynamic and counterbalancing purpose, as well. As the laying down of the keel is the initial step in the construction of a ship, in Br ...

centreboard A centreboard or centerboard (US) is a retractable hull appendage which pivots out of a slot in the hull of a sailboat, known as a ''centreboard trunk'' (UK) or ''centerboard case'' (US). The retractability allows the centreboard to be raised t ...

. The boat was optionally factory-equipped with a Palmer

gasoline engine A petrol engine (gasoline engine in American English) is an internal combustion engine designed to run on petrol (gasoline). Petrol engines can often be adapted to also run on fuels such as liquefied petroleum gas and ethanol blends (such as ''E ...

or can be equipped with a small

outboard motor An outboard motor is a propulsion system for boats, consisting of a self-contained unit that includes engine, gearbox and propeller or jet drive, designed to be affixed to the outside of the transom. They are the most common motorised method ...

for docking and maneuvering. The fresh water tank has a capacity of .

Operational history

In the 1970s a Grampian 26 was sailed down the

St Lawrence River The St. Lawrence River (french: Fleuve Saint-Laurent, ) is a large river in the middle latitudes of North America. Its headwaters begin flowing from Lake Ontario in a (roughly) northeasterly direction, into the Gulf of St. Lawrence, connecting ...

, to the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

, down the east coast of North America, through the

Panama Canal The Panama Canal ( es, Canal de Panamá, link=no) is an artificial waterway in Panama that connects the Atlantic Ocean with the Pacific Ocean and divides North and South America. The canal cuts across the Isthmus of Panama and is a condui ...

and north to

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region o ...

on the US west coast. Owners Dick and Theda Morris sailed their Grampian 26 from New York to Europe and cruised it there for two years. They then returned across the Atlantic to

Key West, Florida Key West ( es, Cayo Hueso) is an island in the Straits of Florida, within the U.S. state of Florida. Together with all or parts of the separate islands of Sigsbee Park, Dredgers Key, Fleming Key, Sunset Key, and the northern part of Stock Isla ...

via the Caribbean. In a review Michael McGoldrick wrote, "The prize for the boat with the best price/size ratio on the used market has to go to the Grampian 26... What makes the Grampian such a great deal is its size - it is a BIG twenty-six footer. It has a large cockpit, standing headroom throughout the length of the cabin, and one of the bigger v-berths that can be found on any size production sailboat. And if all this isn't enough, the Grampian 26 is a surprisingly fast boat...The Grampian's main cabin has a dinette arrangement on the port side and a galley along the starboard side, so it does not have all that much lounging space."

Variants

;Grampian 26 :This model was introduced in 1967, with a fin keel. It has a length overall of , a waterline length of , displaces and carries of ballast. The boat has a draft of with the standard keel fitted. The boat has a PHRF racing average handicap of 228 with a high of 238 and low of 219. It has a

hull speed Hull speed or displacement speed is the speed at which the wavelength of a vessel's bow wave is equal to the waterline length of the vessel. As boat speed increases from rest, the wavelength of the bow wave increases, and usually its crest-to-t ...

of . ;Grampian 26 CB :This model was also introduced in 1967 and features a centreboard, but only a few were built. It has a length overall of , a waterline length of , displaces and carries of ballast. The boat has a draft of with the centreboard extended and with it retracted. The boat has a PHRF racing average handicap of 225 with a high of 219 and low of 231. It has a hull speed of .

References

External links