TOPIC: Introduction

Hi, My name is Karl Sack. Thank-you for accepting my application to join this group. I am doing research on my father's boat manufacturing company, Long Sault Woodcraft Limited.

My father Stan Sack co-founded Long Sault Woodcraft Limited in 1946, with Jim Simpson, in St. Andrews East, Quebec. They manufactured pleasure boats and cruisers. The various types of boats they made were: Pram Yacht Tender, Fisherman, Racer, Sportsman Runabout, and Express Cruiser. Ranging from 8 feet to 18 feet.

The boats at Long Sault Woodcraft were unique in that they had fiberglass hulls which made them more rugged in the water and lasted much longer than regular wooden boats at the time. They could withstand the banging on rocks under the surface of the water with the reinforced hulls. The boats also had a fiberglass molded roof.

The company started with six employees in 1946 and in just 6 years that number grew to 160 in 1952. It’s worth noting that in this was the first time that Canadian pleasure boats had been sold to the Belgian Congo or Venezuela. Nearly half of their production was sold to the United States. Orders were received regularly from dealers of every province in Canada, as well as most of the United States and Alaska. However, it was the first time Long Sault boats had been shipped overseas. These actually constituted the largest sales by any Canadian boat manufacturer to foreign countries at that time.

The 18–foot Outboard Express Cruiser was the largest boat which Long Sault manufactured as a stock model. It was fully equipped for extended cruising with: two large permanent berths, a complete galley, a marine toilet in the cabin, a roomy cockpit and plenty of storage space.

Long Sault Cruisers were in use on most of the principal waterways of North America. They have been seen on the Trent Canal system, as well as Africa and South America. The firm was also actively engaged in developing other export markets.

From what I understand, they sold their boats to Simpson-Sears under the Elgin brand name but I can't confirm that.

If anyone has information on Long Sault Woodcraft, or if you have questions, please feel free to reply.

BTW, the company changed to manufacturing military products including radar domes (radomes) for the DEW Line and Pinetree Line during the Cold War.