The largest boat produced by Grampian was the 46.  The following is a summary of information I’ve been able to find on the Grampian 46.  Numbers in the square brackets, e.g. [1], refer to references given at the end of this article.  No doubt more will be uncovered as time goes by, and will be added to this page.  Most photos on this page can be clicked to bring up a larger view.

History of the Design

The G46 descended from William H. (Bill) Tripp Jr.’s design called the U.S. 41.  This was a center cockpit yawl design, as shown in Figure 1 [1].  Grampian built at least some of these in Oakville about 1965-7.  It should be noted that Bill Tripp Jr. is not to be confused with his son, Bill Tripp III, who designs racers and megayachts at his company Tripp Designs.  Bill Tripp Jr. died in a car accident in 1971 [2].

Figure 1: 1967 U.S. 41 built by Grampian Marine

U.S. 46 – Twin Centerboarder Builder’s Comments         This interesting yacht is Bill Tripp’s development of his earlier U.S. 41, a very successful design several of which, including Fantasy, Kimwanda and Seal, have proven to be fast racing yachts as well as comfortable distance cruisers.         Adler & Barbour has developed the present accommodation, rig and detailing, and is building the yachts to an extremely high specification.         The yacht is basically a keel boat of moderate displacement and draft, with supplementary twin tandem centerboards providing precise adjustment of lateral plane for complete control under severe conditions.         The long straight keel permits hauling on primitive ways, as well as grounding with less than the usual hazards, and this ship is worked out for distance cruising with two people aboard.         The cruising rig shown incorporates releasing inner forestay with self-trimming staysail, large roller reefing mizzen as well as main.  Storm trysail gear, genoa and spinnaker gear standard.         An anchor windlass forward of the staysail plus stainless stemhead with double roller chocks simplifies anchor handling.  The large afterdeck affords room for a dinghy in cradle.         The most unusual feature is, of course, the center cockpit offering maximum security at sea and providing a roomy owner’s stateroom aft with companionway and private head.  The forward cabin is very complete with dressers, many lockers, head with shower, and double doors latching athwartship providing privacy and a dressing area as well.         The main saloon is designed to be a social area and not normally to double as a sleeping cabin.  It is separated from the galley by a partial bulkhead. Comment by Edward S. Brewer, N.A.         The U.S. 46 appears to be on of those compromise designs which are becoming all too rare in these days of tall rigs and thin fins.  Bill Tripp has designed a comfortable, seaworthy auxillary which promises to be a good performer and which will provide the cruising man with an easy steering, shoal draft hull.         I do question the added cost and complexity of the twin centerboards.  In theory, two boards allow the skipper to adjust the lateral plane to best advantage but I have never encountered any problem in balancing a single centerboard craft under a wide variety of sail combinations.         The rig is relatively low by present day standards, well stayed and easily handled.  While termed a “yawl” by the builders, probably due to the location of the mizzen mast, the proportions are more akin to a ketch – a good cruising rig but one not noted for its racing ability.         One option that could be offered, however, would be a cutter rig and there are many who might prefer its better windward performance for racing.         Two arrangements are offered – racing and cruising versions.  For either purpose I would prefer the racing layout as the cruising setup eliminates a very useful work bench/ chart table and convenient passageway in favor of the dubious advantages of another two berth cabin.  The cruising version also has an 85 hp diesel, somewhat more power than necessary for a 33-foot waterline, 11 ton displacement hull, while the racing version has a more practical 40 hp engine.         There is no doubt that the U.S. 46 is one of the more sensible cruisers in her size range.  She promises a combination of comfort, performance and general handiness that is becoming difficult to obtain in a stock boat due to the present day accent on ocean racing and all-out performance.

• A collection of 1969 Bristol Yachts of Rhode Island literature sold on eBay in August 2006 listed sales brochures titled: “Bristol 27, Bristol 29, Bristol 33, Bristol 35 and Bristol 39 all under the name of Bristol Yachts,” plus “Barracuda Mark I 40’, US 46-Auxiliary center cockpit yawl, Tripp 45, Sea Lion 39, Herreshoff 44, Cougar 41 and Alerion 38” also sold by Bristol Yachts.  So Bristol Yachts appears to have sold U.S. 46s, but not under their own brand.

• The BUCValu Guide lists the US 46 as a model sold by Grampian Marine in 1971 [4].  (BUCValu lists U.S. 41s built by Grampian for 1965, 66, 67 model years.)

• The yacht Solitaire in Fort Lauderdale, FL is described by the owner as a 1969 U.S. 46 built by Bristol Yachts [5].  Its Coast Guard documentation, however, lists Grampian Marine Ltd. as the builder [6].

• There is a boat named “US 46”, which is a 12 meter America’s Cup racer from about 1983, but has no relationship to this design.

• A PHRF rating for a 1970 U.S. 46 was created by the Yacht Racing Association of Long Island Sound [7].

When the transition occurred from the model being called the U.S. 46 to the G46 isn’t clear.  A Grampian G30 magazine ad from 1971 was found that shows the hull profiles of the G17, G22, G26 and G30 and mentions: “Also available, kit boats from 30’ to 46’”, but it wasn’t called the G46 at this time.  The hull profile and the name G46 started to appear in Grampian advertisements and brochures about 1975.  Both BUC [4] and NADA [8] used boat price guides only list the G46 in 1976 and 1977 model years.

Gill Bibby was production manager at Grampian, and still has many original blueprints.  The only 46 drawing among these is of the rig and sailplan.  The titleblock had been cut off this drawing, so the draftsman and date are unknown, but this drawing was done in pencil on paper with a date code of 12-72.  Bill Tripp Jr. died in 1971, so this drawing was done by someone at Grampian.  The sailplan is very similar to that of the U.S. 46, with a primary difference a lack of the second forestay and staysail. 

Grampian Production

In the United States boats can be officially documented with the Coast Guard.  The database contains information on some 322,000 vessels, both recreational and commercial.  58 list Grampian Marine as the builder.  Of these:

• There is one 41 foot boat, named Tropic Bird II and built in 1967.

• There is one 46 foot boat, Solitaire, from 1969.

• One other sailboat matches the dimensions of the U.S. 46, the 1970 yacht Blue Angel.  Its builder is listed as Frans Maas of Breskens, Netherlands.  It’s possible this boat is one of the six G46s constructed by Grampian and sent to the Netherlands for finishing.

Canada has a similar system, known as the Ship Registry [9].  Of the registered boats built by Grampian, there is likely one G46.  Optimistra is listed as 38 foot length, 12 foot beam, 56 horsepower diesel and a gross tonnage of 16.41 metric tons.  The beam, power and gross tonnage are consistent with the G46.  Obviously the length is too short, so this is likely a typo in the registration.  This boat was built in Edenton, N.C. in 1976, and is almost certainly the last G46 built before Grampian closed.

The earliest 46 known is Solitaire, built in 1969. 

An order for six G46s was placed by Adler & Barbour, possibly in 1970.  The hulls and decks for these were molded at Grampian in Oakville and sent to Holland as ship deck cargo for fitting out.  From there it is believed they were sailed to the Caribbean and entered the charter trade.  Adler & Barbour, described as the builder of the U.S. 46 in the article above, does not show up in the Coast Guard database as the builder of any documented vessel.  No other information on them building yachts has been found, so it appears they may have been more of a broker than a builder. 

Gill estimates that a total of about twelve G46s were made by Grampian.  Except for the very last (see below), none were completed by Grampian.  Instead, they were sold as kit boats to be fitted out by the customer. 

The last G46 built by Grampian was done at the Edenton, North Carolina plant as a custom order in 1976.  Gill Bibby was sent down from Oakville to complete this boat (see his story in the Grampian History section of this website).  Without repeating his account, a few photos of this boat are below.  The last report on this boat came several years ago.  It had been donated to a charity in Florida.  They sold it to a buyer in Alberta.  The boat Optimistra, whose home port is listed as Toronto, appears to be this boat.

The second last G46 was produced in Oakville in 1975 and was completed by Gill in Toronto after Grampian closed.  This boat and her owner were lost off Cuba, with the presumed cause as piracy.

The Molds

Below is a photo of Grampian G46 mold,   You can see how the bow and stern don’t match the rest of the mold.  At some point the bow and stern were cut off the mold and replaced.  Likely this was the mold for Bill Tripp’s U.S. 41, and the U.S. 46 was created by stretching the bow and stern of the U.S. 41.  The comparison of the profiles of the U.S. 41 and the G46 shows that the stern of the G46 projects considerably farther beyond the rudder and the angle of the stem is lower than on the U.S. 41, but the rest of the hull certainly looks to be the same.

Another detail is the cove stripe on the hull topsides – a stylized arrow with the arrowhead and a single dash at the bow, a continuous stripe, and a dash and arrow tail at the stern.  This form of stripe appears on the U.S. 46 drawing above, as well as the G46 sailplan drawing done at Grampian, and appears in the G46 hull mold, as shown below.  Grampian owners will see that this stripe differs from the Grampian “fish” appearing on the cove stripe of all other Grampians of the time. 

Tatiana W is something of a puzzle.  Her webpages  describe her as a 1999 Grampian 46.  They also claim “custom built by most respectful [sic] yards in Canada” and list “Builder: Grampian, Hager Yachts, Canada”.  “Hager Yachts”, or “Hagen Yachts” as it is spelled in the Canadian Ship Registry entry and in a survey, doesn’t seem to have existed as any kind of company in Ontario.  So the reference to a respected builder’s yard apparently also must mean Grampian, but clearly Grampian Marine had nothing to do with her construction. 

Tatiana W. has been renamed Eye to Eye and had been listed during the Fall of 2006 at Yachtworld [13].  Initially she was advertised as a 1999 Grampian, but that was changed to a 1999 46' “Custom Tripp Sloop.”  Adding to the confusion is the survey mentioned in the listing [14] that calls the boat a “Tripp Grampian 46” and “Grampian 46”.  Although she was initially built in 1981 or 82 (notice the surveyor’s reference to “an extensive refit”), apparently boats don’t acquire a model year until they are registered, so Tatiana W./Eye to Eye is listed as a 1999 model.  The current owner reported the boat’s weight at a recent haulout was measured at 31,500 lbs., compared to the 25,000 lbs for the Grampian built boats, and there are no keel centerboards, further suggesting Grampian wasn’t the builder.

The Future?

The molds are available, the sailplan and some technical data has been found, and a few of these boats have been located.  All we need is someone to step up and put them back into production.

Acknowledgements

Special thanks go out to Gill Bibby for much of the information presented here.  Bruce Smith has also been instrumental in filling in some of the gaps.  Many thanks to both these gentlemen for their assistance.


References

1.    An example of a 1967 U.S. 41 built by Grampian was sold in July 2006 at Yachtworld, listing number 1425768.  This listing is no longer available to the public, but is accessible by boat brokers.
2.    There is an extensive article about Bill Tripp Jr. in the November/December issue of Good Old Boat magazine.  The same article appeared in Professional Boatbuilder magazine, Feb/March 2007 page 56,
3.    This review was found as a photocopy.  It appears likely to be from Sail magazine, possibly January 1971, pp 40-41, but this needs confirmation.
4.    BUCValu used boat value guide is available free on-line at http://www.bucvalu.com/ You need to register to look up boat values.
5.    See the website for the yacht Solitaire at http://sailboat46.tripod.com/
6.    Search the Coast Guard documentation database for Solitaire at http://www.st.nmfs.noaa.gov/st1/CoastGuard/VesselByName.html, entering the Coast Guard official number of 521894 for this boat.
7.    The Yacht Racing Association of Long Island Sound website is at http://www.yralis.org/
8.    Available at http://www.nada.com/
9.    The Canadian Ship Registry can be searched on-line at Welcome Page | Page d'accueil 
10.    Sailboat rig dimensions are found at http://www.mauriprosailing.com/sailboat-rig-dimensions.htm
13.    This boat was listed on Yachtworld, listing number 1475502 during the Fall of 2006.  
14.    The survey provided by the broker was an insurance survey #5004-3 of May 2004 by David Alter of Miami, FL.

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