Overview
C&C Yachts was formed in 1969, when Canadian boat builders Belleville Marine Yard, Hinterhoeller Ltd. and Bruckmann Manufacturing joined forces with the design firm of Cuthbertson & Cassian Ltd. New capital was raised through a stock offering on the Toronto Stock Exchange. Although Ian Morch of Belleville Marine Yard was the first president, he resigned in 1971 taking the Belleville assets with him. George Hinterhoeller was then named president. Later, in an interview, Hinterhoeller states that he accepted this postition reluctantly. He resigned in 1973, and was replaced by Geroge Cuthbertson who continued in that role until 1981. C&C Yachts quickly established a reputation as a builder of high quality sailing yachts that were also successful on the race course. From it’s inception, as its first models were displayed at various boat shows in the US and Canada, the company sold as many boats as it could produce. In addition, a steep duty imposed by the Canadian government had also made them relatively affordable in the Canadian market. After weighing different options for expansion, the company decided to open a new plant in Rhode Island.(1976) In doing so, it benefited from very favorable financial terms offered by the Rhode Island Port Authority and Economic Development Corporation. In addition, plans were made to open another plant in Keil, Germany. This was also due to an offer of special, low interest loans. Throughout the late 1970’s and early 1980’s, C&C continued to develop and build new models, all of which were well received. Their revamped racing program brought the brand additional renown. But also during this time, a long, slow financial decline had begun. In 1976, George Hinterhoeller sold out and went back to boat building on his own. A plant at Kiel Germany closed in a few short years after incurring enormous losses. This and other factors were caused, in part, by a dramatic downward slide in the value of the American and Canadian dollar. An added factor was the gradual loss of the original personnel. The death of George Cassian in 1979, one of the driving forces of the company was a major loss. Geroge Cuthberson left the company in 1982. Finally, after the plant in Rhode Island closed, the last of the original partners, Eric Bruckman, head of the C&C custom shop, also moved on. By 1985, C&C yachts was left with a single plant at Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ont. From this time on, a long series of changes of ownership and various financial manipulations were to take place. By 1990, no new ownership, or source of financing could be found and the company went into receivership. For the first time in its history, C&C failed to exhibit at the Toronto International Boat Show. In 1992, there was a temporary reprieve. C&C was sold to Hong Kong based shipping magnates, Anthony Koo and Frank Chow. The name was changed to C&C Yachts International. By 1994, the factory was operating to capacity building a new 51, the the Tripp designed IMS 45 as well as the SR range of sport boats, designed by Glenn Henderson and originally built in Florida. But then, in the same year, a fire broke out in the factory, completely destroying most of the tooling and the boats currently under construction. Insurance only provided a small portion of the losses. In 1996, the factory closed, and the land, tooling and trademark were sold. Just a year later, a joint venture was been formed with another defunct builder, Tartan Marine, to build a new line of C&C yachts. These new models included the C&C 99, 110, and 115 which were well received and sold relatively well. In September 2013, US Watercraft announced that it had bought the rights to the C&C brand from Tartan. US Watercraft entered receivership in July 2017 and ceased all operations by the summer of 2018.
