PDQ Yachts was founded in 1987, when the present malaise of the Canadian pleasure boat building industry was gaining momentum. Nonetheless, the optimistic PDQ team were determined to bring into production a "modern, commodious, performance catamaran of impeccable quality." All principles are keen sailors and multi-hull enthusiasts. They include president and director Harvey Griggs, an engineer with a doctorate degree from Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Alan Slater, a manufacturing consultant who has been designing one-of catamarans for 20 years; and vice-president Simon Slater, with ten years prior experience in the marine industry. They are backed by a board of directors with experience in law, finance, accounting, technology, manufacturing and marketing.

As a trailer boat sailor – one of life's guilty pleasures is casting off from the dock early in the season, against the backdrop of the busy boatyard – heading out to sail while those left on land await the arrival of the crane – "a couple of weeks from now".

So while the boat yard in Port Dover Ontario bustled with the pre-season rituals of washing, waxing, sanding, painting and resealing – we set off to test sail the Precision 23, a friendly uncomplicated and seaworthy performer.

Become a member of Canada's boating lifestyle at a fraction of the cost.

Canadian statistics suggest that the average boater goes boating 10-12 times each summer. If your summer is two months long, that's 6X a month. Although the pride of ownership is half the fun, SailTime offers you and your family and friends another way to experience the joy of boating with all the joy and none of the pain.

Just as the mythical “Phoenix” rose from the ashes, reborn to live again, so too was a beautiful yacht launched in September to replace another destroyed by fire.

In 2005, Covey Island Boatyard built a beautiful sixty-three foot classic schooner, “Maggie B” for Chicago venture capitalist Frank Blair. This boat cruised extensively, including a circumnavigation, and was ultimately returned to the boatyard for a refit. On August 12, 2008, disaster struck; a horrendous overnight fire completely destroyed the yard along with the “Maggie B”.

Trailer sailing seemed to go out of style during the excesses of the '80s when bigger was better. Now, in the lean and mean 1990s, many well built, trailerable boats have high demand on the second-hand market. Not limited to local waters, a trailer sailor can be afloat on his or her own boat away from the city in a few hours after leaving home waters. A trip that would take a larger vessel days, even weeks, can often be a simple Friday night cottage-like run on the highway. Canadian-built trailer sailboats include the CS 22, Tanzer 22, as well as various models from C&C, Paceship, Abbott, Grampian, Viking, Mirage and Northstar. One gem is the Sirius 21/22 built by Vandestadt and McGruer Ltd. of Owen Sound, Ont. a company which had a strong 25-year history...

If the Sirius 28 was a racehorse, it would be described as having good breeding. Its designer, Hubert Van de stadt, has in his stable the smaller Sirius 22, a restyling of his Sirius 21, which has proven to be a tough, able, small cruiser. This talent for design runs in the family. Hubert is the nephew of the well-known European designer E. G. Van de Stadt, who has a long and impressive list of outstanding designs, including the lines of the famous 72-foot South African ketch Stormvogel. The Sirius 28's builders also inspire confidence. Vandestadt and McGruer Ltd. of Owen Sound ahs been building boats since the mid-'60s and in spite of such setbacks as major fire and a long industry recession, it has managed to survive and grow...