Design and Construction
Stan Huntingford drew the Maple Leaf 54 as a motorsailer, and Cooper Enterprises built her predominantly of fiberglass with wood trim built predominantly of fibreglass. The hull carries a solid fiberglass layup with a lead ballast of 12,000 pounds set in a fixed fin keel, giving a ballast-to-displacement ratio near 28.6 percent. A skeg-mounted rudder controlled by a wheel and a raked stem with a reverse transom complete the external profile. Cooper Enterprises itself went out of business in 1990, and the model is now out of production.
Rig and Handling
The cutter rig carries 1,120 square feet of sail area, which against the 42,000-pound displacement yields a sail-area-to-displacement ratio of about 14.8 — modest, and consistent with a boat whose 120-horsepower diesel is central to her motoring character. The 54.25-foot length overall with a 45.25-foot waterline gives a theoretical hull speed near 9 knots. A skeg-hung rudder and 7-foot draft fin keel describe a predictable cruising helm rather than a racing profile, and the 14.92-foot beam provides volume below without the extreme breadth of later performance cruisers.
Accommodations
Below, the Maple Leaf 54 sleeps six across three distinct cabin zones. The bow cabin holds two berths, with two more just aft of it, while the aft cabin offers a double berth. The galley sits on the port side just forward of the companionway ladder and is L-shaped, equipped with a three-burner stove and a double sink; opposite it on the starboard side is the navigation station. Two heads serve the layout — one just aft of the bow cabin on the starboard side, and one on the starboard side in the aft cabin. The arrangement separates sleeping quarters from the working heart of the boat and gives two private toilet spaces, a practical cruising division for a six-person complement.
The Verdict
The Maple Leaf 54 is a straightforward Canadian motorsailer of serious displacement, built in solid fiberglass by a now-defunct yard and drawn by Stan Huntingford. Her accommodations are rational and divided for extended cruising, and her cutter rig with a large diesel suits long-range motoring as much as sailing. The design itself is coherent and purpose-built.
Pros
- Solid fiberglass construction with wood trim and 12,000 lb lead ballast
- Three-cabin, six-berth layout with two heads and a defined navigation station
- Cutter rig and 120 hp diesel suited to motorsailer cruising
Cons
- Modest sail-area-to-displacement ratio limits light-air sailing performance
- Builder ceased operations in 1990, affecting long-term parts and support lineage
