| Here's a selection of some notable published mentions thru the years, concerning the Grampian 26... (And be sure to check out a preview to a special installment of "In The News 2" which features the writing of Scott B. Williams at the bottom of this page!)  A Grampian 26 trans-Atlantic cruise was reported in the following two issues of Cruising World ...Cruising World December 1980: "Gypsy Rover, a 26-foot Grampian sloop, has completed a trans-Atlantic voyage from Montauk, New York to Baltimore, Ireland with singlehander Richard Morris of Grand Rapids, Michigan aboard. Because of fog and bad weather, the trip took 51 days. Dick was 800 miles off the coast of Ireland when the spade rudder snapped off in a gale blowing Gypsy Rover 250 miles off course. A jury rudder was fashioned from a fender board and some plywood but the going was slow because from then on he was able to fly only on a jib. Dick and his wife Theda are enjoying Irish hospitality while waiting for repairs to be made before continuing their cruise along the west coast of Europe." Cruising World August 1987: "Dick and Theda Morris.. ..sailed their original Gypsy Rover, a Grampian 26 from New York to Ireland and spent two years cruising Portugal, Morocco, Spain, the Balearics, the Canal du Midi, England, Madeira Islands, and the Canaries before crossing the Atlantic westbound to Trinidad and Tobago, Venezuela, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, the Bahamas and Key West, Florida. They returned to the United States in 1982 "broke".."  Another story about a different cruise,from the pages of Cruising World Sept 1979: "James Beck.. He teaches English at the University of Wisconsin, which permits him to cruise during the summers. Former owner of a Grampian 26, in which he cruised 3,000 miles on the Great Lakes, he “stepped down” in 1978 to a 17-foot Silhoutte sloop in order to be able to trailer to other areas..."
The March/April 2009 edition of Good Old Boat magazine features a full review of the Grampian 26...Gregg Nestor's review is spread over six pages, with numerous pictures, and highly descriptive text in Issue #65 of Good Old Boat magazine, Edwin "Chip" Hessler's G26 #412 is the particular boat of focus. Snippets from pages 44 thru 49: "The Grampian 26 has nice lines with it's spoon bow, delicate sheer, and a flat counter stern. Unfortunately, it's ample freeboard, especially the high sides and boxiness of it's cabin trunk, can overshadow it's more delicate features. The somewhat ungainly cabin structure, however, is exactly what made this boat so popular. With 6-foot standing headroom and a sense of spaciousness below, the Grampian 26 became the company's best seller... The Grampian 26's displacement/LWL ratio of 243 is moderate and suggest a seakindly coastal cruiser. It's ballast/displacement ratio of 47 percent makes for a fairly stiff boat. On the performance side, PHRF rates the fixed keel version at 213 and the centerboarder at 222. Both numbers suggest respectable performance for a family cruiser. For comparison, a similar vintage Columbia 26 rates 228 seconds per mile and a Pearson 26 rates 210 to 222, depending on the fleet...  After the Grampian 26's high-sided cabin, the boats other notable feature is the cockpit. It's a generous 7 feet 10 inches long with reasonably high coamings and comfortable seats... To faciliate good drainage, the cockpit sole slopes noticably aft, directing water to a pair of 1 1/2 inch through-transom drains. There is no bridge deck and the companionway sill is quiet low...  By todays standards, the interior of the Grampian 26 may seem spartan, but in 1967 it's 6-foot headroom, berths for four, head, and galley were extremely appealing and well received by the buying public. The layout is straightfoward and consist of a V-berth, followed aft by a head and a convertible dinette to port, and a hanging locker, galley, and quarter berth to starboard..." Read the full article: https://www.audioseastories.com/2009-65-march-april.html The New York Times recently printed an interesting article entitled "Deciding When to Trim Sails to Stay on Water"  New York Times, May 13, 2015: "According to industry specialists, at least two-fifths of the owners of recreational boats in the United States and more than half the members of many boat clubs are over age 50.. ...Those over-50 people may say, “If I’m going to do it, I’d better do it now,” .. ..Joseph Baird, 59, a social worker from Brooklyn, had to give away his first boat in the mid-1980s and daydreamed of getting another. “It didn’t seem in the cards,” he said, until 11 years ago. At that point, “the house was more or less renovated,” and his sons, then 8 and 10, were “a little more independent.” He bought a 1969 26-foot Grampian sailboat, and now he and his wife take a couple of friends and a picnic dinner onto Long Island Sound once or twice a week... ...Though they could hire a boatyard, Mr. Baird and Mr. Gallagher do the grueling maintenance work themselves, spending two to five weekends each year on chores like sanding and checking the rigging. “Doing it yourself is strenuous,” Mr. Gallagher warned. When their boats get too hard to handle, older owners can trade them for easier models, although there is some debate as to whether that means larger or smaller. Boats 35 feet and longer are typically more stable, but it takes more strength to lower their sails in rough weather..."
Naturally Salty, beginning on page 166: ..."The price of fuel was rising and the boat was hungry for it. It'd go about 20 knots. Then this sailboat, a Grampian 26, came on the market. I bought 'er, renamed her Gwaihir and sold the powerboat. Never looked back, really."... ..What inspires an 86-year-old to keep traveling those 700 miles - a venture that many people half his age find too demanding? "Why shouldn't I?" he laughs. "It's a lot of fun. I like to go. You must enjoy life while you got it." Will there be a 14th trip? Not according to Dick, who thinks the last voyage was enough. Although he admits he might like to spend a bit more time out there, or see some more of the Broughton Archipeago. His wife reminds him that every year has been his last, and when spring rolls around.. ..."Gwaihir, named after the Lord of the Wind in Tolkien's Lord of the Rings, is distinctive. If you see a grass-green, 26-foot, 26-year-old Grampian around Vancouver Island, I recommend you follow in her wake. Her skipper knows the history, hidey-holes and First Nations' sites on this coast. Besides, we could all use a buddy boat...."
Sabbatical; A Romance, page 343: "... sighted next in Eastern Bay on 13 September 1980 by Trudy and Coleman Guthrie, sober and sensible middle-class Marylanders aboard Impasse, their Grampian 26 sloop. Ms. Guthre, a marine biologist's daughter and an able draughtsman, will publish convincing drawings of the animal, together with a matter-of-fact account of their close-range sighting, in November 1980 number of Chesapeake Bay Magazine..."  From an October 28, 2002 Canadian Yachting article, Paul Howard provides a nice write up on a Grampian 26.. "...It was one of the nicest sails I have had in my home waters. ... The Grampian 26 was heavily built and, happily for their owners, no chronic problems have surfaced in the nearly quarter century since the first boat was launched. In the past 24 years, this Canadian boat has been spotted in waters around the world. During one notable voyage an owner sailed from Lake Ontario to England and the Mediterranean, then returned to Canada via the Caribbean. Several of these boats have made good the trip through the Intra-Coastal Waterway to the Bahamas and the Caribbean, returning to their ports with a contented crew. I have never heard the Grampian 26 described as a "pretty boat" but she is comfortable for her size... Many owners describe her as the ideal minimum-sized boat for a cruising couple... As we sailed along in the moderate wind the helm required only a light touch to mainstream our course, and provided a slight weather helm. ... Grampian 26s were once considered good club racers, and the boat has surprisingly good sailing performance. She tacks quickly and points well, belying the somewhat ungainly and outdated appearance of her high cabin trunk and her high spoon bow. For a couple wishing to do some cruising on a boat with standing headroom and a minimum length (remember, marina charges are by the foot!), the Grampian 26 could fit the bill." Read the entire review: http://www.canadianyachting.ca/boat-reviews/sail/1376-grampian-26-sail-boat-review.
"It might not be a looker, but this inexpensive pocket-cruiser is just the ticket... Those golden years, which began in the mid-1960s and hung on into the early 1980s, produced some notable boats and a lot of forgettable boats. Despite the fact that it may not be the most handsome boat afloat, and that's putting it charitably, the Grampian 26 falls into the notable boat category. Why? For one thing, around 1,000 boats were launched during a 10-year production run making it Grampian's best seller, and for another, this roomy 26-footer was well-built, sailed better than it looked and has endured as something of a cult boat for those looking for a capable but inexpensive small cruiser... It is possible to carry full sail to almost 20 knots, although it is more comfortable to reef sooner... the boat is capable of ocean sailing. We saw a Grampian 26 in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia, this summer, it sailed over from Boston as part of the Marblehead to Halifax fleet and had apparently done well in the race. Conclusion: The Grampian 26 is a roomy, well-built cruiser that can usually be purchased for less than $10,000. You may need to retrofit, or at least update the boat, but it's a boat worthy of a bit of TLC. This once popular pocket-cruiser represents a good buy on the used boat market. Read the entire review: http://sailingmagazine.net/article-573-grampian-26.html  Practical Sailor also published a review of the Grampian 26 in November 1982... SNIPPETS: A Plain Jane cruiser from one of Canada's oldest builders sports 6-foot headroom at a bargain price... By 1961, a handful of European builders were also working with woven glass fibers and polyester resin, laying up hulls in female molds. In Canada, one of the first was Grampian Marine Limited of Oakville, Ontario... The Grampian 26 was introduced in 1969.... Full article available online for subscribers: http://www.practical-sailor.com/reviews/boatreview/Grampian_26-1182-1.html .  New member of the QCYC Race Club, an owner of a Grampian 26 is featured in Clipper Magazine. The Magazine of the Queen City Yacht Club.. A few more quick ones.. Not quite sure what some of these are, but thought might as well include them. I was only able to acquire snippets of them: Yatching Vol 136 1974:  Yatching Vol 138 1975:  "..boats finished on top of the spring-summer series cruising class races at Pultneyville YC on Lake Ontario. ..George Veillard in Papillon, a Grampian 26, was third. Fifteen boats competed in the six-race series..." The Ancient Interface, Volume 5, Page 71 Western Periodicals Company, 1974 ."...Section Head in charge of Fluid Dynamics in the Research Department.  This extracurricular activity is an outgrowth of active cruising and local racing in his Grampian 26. His wife Susan and daughters Chris and Nancy make an enthusiastic crew." Assembly, Vol's 32-33, P.58 1973 "Last May, Ray Firehok with his Grampian 26 entered the palm Beach Sail Fish Club race to West End. Bahamas, 65 miles, and back. During a storm at night on the way over they all6 aboard got very wet and Mary got tossed out of her bunk." That does it for this installment, However, something special was saved for In The News 2... And it's available now! Click below:  Click here for Page 2 of IN THE NEWS! -The writings of Scott B. Williams features the Grampian 26 in two excellent publications... In an issue of Sea Kayaker, the search to retrieve his Grampian 26 Intensity in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina is chronicled. And the best selling series book Bug Out Vehicles and Shelters provides a review, and suggest the Grampian 26 as a candidate of a small low-cost cruising live-aboard. |
In The News..
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