Down East Yachts
Encyclopedia
Down East Yachts was a manufacturer of sailboats headquartered in Santa Ana, California
. According to Coast guard
records, the company was founded on August 5, 1974, and went out of business on July 12, 1983. The company was founded by Bob Poole, who had previously worked for Columbia Yachts
. The company began production in 1974 and, after the death of the founder, his son continued operations for a short while, before selling the molds to Newport Offshore Yachts.
The heart of a sailboat company is the design of its boats. Down East Yachts started with a single boat, the Downeaster 38 which was designed by Henry Morschladt, a California Naval Architect who specialized in cruising sailboats. The design was traditional, with a wineglass stern, full keel, and bowsprit. As additional boats were added to the line, they were modifications of this original design.
In addition to manufacturing their own boats, Down East Yachts was contracted to finish several hulls made by Westsail as it was closing its doors in 1980.
, Schooner
, and Cutter configurations:
Downeaster 45 Hull number 1 in schooner configuration
The above links are to sites no longer in existence
The new website for downeaster owners and enthusiasts as of 10/2009 is
Santa Ana, California
Santa Ana is the county seat and second most populous city in Orange County, California, and with a population of 324,528 at the 2010 census, Santa Ana is the 57th-most populous city in the United States....
. According to Coast guard
Coast guard
A coast guard or coastguard is a national organization responsible for various services at sea. However the term implies widely different responsibilities in different countries, from being a heavily armed military force with customs and security duties to being a volunteer organization tasked with...
records, the company was founded on August 5, 1974, and went out of business on July 12, 1983. The company was founded by Bob Poole, who had previously worked for Columbia Yachts
Columbia Yachts
Columbia Yachts is a US manufacturer of sailboats, with offices and production facilities in Southern California.-History:Richard “Dick” Valdes founded Glas Laminates, a fiberglass contract company, in 1958. Among the early products were camper shells and producing canoes for Sears...
. The company began production in 1974 and, after the death of the founder, his son continued operations for a short while, before selling the molds to Newport Offshore Yachts.
The heart of a sailboat company is the design of its boats. Down East Yachts started with a single boat, the Downeaster 38 which was designed by Henry Morschladt, a California Naval Architect who specialized in cruising sailboats. The design was traditional, with a wineglass stern, full keel, and bowsprit. As additional boats were added to the line, they were modifications of this original design.
In addition to manufacturing their own boats, Down East Yachts was contracted to finish several hulls made by Westsail as it was closing its doors in 1980.
Sailboats
Four sailboats were manufactured by the company. All were heavily built cruisers suitable for blue water sailing and were available in KetchKetch
A ketch is a sailing craft with two masts: a main mast, and a shorter mizzen mast abaft of the main mast, but forward of the rudder post. Both masts are rigged mainly fore-and-aft. From one to three jibs may be carried forward of the main mast when going to windward...
, Schooner
Schooner
A schooner is a type of sailing vessel characterized by the use of fore-and-aft sails on two or more masts with the forward mast being no taller than the rear masts....
, and Cutter configurations:
- Downeaster 32, 1975 - 1980.
- Downeaster 38, 1974 - 1981.
- Downeaster 41, 1980 - 1981.
- Downeaster 45, 1977 - 1981.
Downeaster 45 Hull number 1 in schooner configuration
Trawlers
Down East Yachts acquired the molds and tooling for the Defever 40 Passagemaker from Jensen Marine when they ceased operations in 1980. Production was resumed as the Downeast 40.External links
The above links are to sites no longer in existence
The new website for downeaster owners and enthusiasts as of 10/2009 is