OnBoard InBox: Canadian Boat Builders are Motivated
December 18, 2025
From Muskoka
Morning John:
Thanks for your brief article today re: Canadian boat builders.
Its unfortunate that most larger CDN builders have disappeared, losing the market to lower-labour cost builders in Kentucky, Florida etc.
Some smaller specialty builders remain, Rossiter in Ontario comes to mind.
Long-gone builders such as Greavette and Ditchburn exported many of their finished boats to the US and further.
The boat industry is historically very cyclical with deep valleys of low sales: quite high risk , with decent capital reserves required.
My company Clarion Boats builds modern mahogany speedboats, usually built to custom order. We have 10 semi-stock designs from 19 to 34 feet, or clients can bring us their own dream. In business since 1987, our clients are across Canada and the US.
Our boats use modern technology and materials to avoid the traditional issues of antique boats: maintenance, leaking and rot.
See Clarionboats.com
Regards
Paul Crammond
Clarion Boats of Muskoka
705 646 8129
And from Kelowna BC
Thanks John – Wood boat building /production is small by comparison to fiberglass but is gaining in popularity in a number of significant ways. I’d like to chat with you about what we do and where we think the Wood boat Industry is going in Canada.
The concept boat we have designed has elements that reflect back on the stylish boats of a by gone era. Not many know that Canadian boat builders in the 1920-50’s, like Greavette, Minett, Ditchburn, Shepherd, Barnes where held in the highest regard as some of the finest boats in the world. In fact, there are at least four companies in Canada that now produce Contemporary Classic Speed boats. Expensive and limited production
The concept boat will be truly Canadian, using domestic woods and materials. Equipment, materials, tech, and production will be based in Canada
Check out our website at www.absoluteclassicsmarine.com
Andrew Middleton
Master Boat Builder
