Maple Leaf sailboats for sale

Buying a used Maple Leaf: two builders behind one closed regional line

A used Maple Leaf's builder isn't uniform across the line. Most of the range came from Cooper Enterprises, which built a significant majority of designer Stan Huntingford's work, but the 42 was built exclusively elsewhere, at Svend's Yachts. Both yards have been closed for years, so parts sourcing and factory records aren't an option for either half of the range; with no active manufacturer standing behind any boat, provenance and documentation carry more weight than the brand name alone.

Which era to target

The line runs from the early 1970s into the mid-1980s: the 48 arrived first, in 1972, followed by the 42 in 1976, the 54 in 1978, and the 45 last, in 1985. Because the 42 came from Svend's Yachts while the rest of the range traces to Cooper Enterprises, confirming the builder on a given hull is as useful for placing it in the line as the model year itself.

What to inspect across the range

The 45 and 54 are both built predominantly of fibreglass with wood trim; the 45's foam-cored hull and balsa-cored deck are worth checking for moisture during a survey, and the wood trim on both models is worth examining for weathering.

Navigating the lineup

Anyone browsing listings under the Maple Leaf name should watch for a second, unrelated boat: a 35-foot Sparkman & Stephens one-design sloop built for the Toronto Yacht Club in the 1940s, with no connection to the British Columbia-built cruisers. Within the BC line itself, size runs from the 42-footer up to the 54.3-foot 54, with the 47.7-foot 48 and the 45 in between; models are best compared by length and builder rather than treated as one continuous production run. The full model directory on this page breaks the range down accordingly.