Maple Leaf 54 Buyer's Guide
The Maple Leaf 54 is a Canadian motorsailer designed by Stan Huntingford and built by Cooper Enterprises from 1978 until the yard closed in 1990. On the used market she appears as a substantial 54-foot cruiser of solid fiberglass construction, and understanding her layout and equipment tiers will help a buyer focus a survey rather than chase generic checks.
Layouts on the Used Market
Owner three-cabin arrangements are the more common version afloat, but both owner and ex-charter layouts are available, with ex-charter examples a familiar sight. The standard accommodation sleeps six: a bow cabin with two berths, two more just aft of it, and an aft double. The L-shaped galley to port just forward of the companionway carries a three-burner stove and double sink, with the navigation station opposite to starboard. Two heads — one aft of the bow cabin, one in the aft cabin — divide the private spaces sensibly for a cruising couple or family.
Equipment and Common Upgrades
Well-equipped boats commonly carry a watermaker, cabin heating, solar panels, and an inverter as baseline liveaboard infrastructure. Sail-handling upgrades frequently seen include a furling main, spinnaker or asymmetric spinnaker, and a bow thruster for close-quarters control. Navigation typically features radar, AIS, and a chartplotter, while a freezer and swim platform round out comfort and boarding. A buyer should verify the age and capacity of the energy cluster — solar, inverter, and watermaker — since these define off-grid range more than cosmetic additions.
What to Inspect
Confirm the solid fiberglass hull and wood trim for moisture or rot at trim junctions built predominantly of fibreglass, and check the skeg-mounted rudder and fixed fin keel for past grounding damage given the 7-foot draft. Verify the Ford Lehman diesel's service history, as the 120-horsepower unit is central to the motorsailer concept. Inspection should follow normal age-appropriate survey practice for a 1978-onward solid-glass cruiser.
Availability and Buyer's Takeaway
Typical markets for the Maple Leaf 54 are Mexico and the United States. For a shopper, the practical checklist is: confirm which layout (owner three-cabin versus ex-charter) is offered, validate the energy and water systems are operational, inspect the rudder and keel for impact history, and review the diesel records. She is a roomy, conventionally built motorsailer whose main ownership consideration is the closed builder and the age of her systems rather than any documented design fault.
Price & volume trends
Monthly asking-price and listing-volume trends for the Maple Leaf 54. The line shows the median ask each month; the bars show how many listings appeared.
Monthly breakdown · 1 row
| Month | Listings | Median ask | Δ vs. last mo. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 25 | 1 | $30,000 | — |
Comparable models
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