The story
In 1954 the company was launched by five sailors under the name Yacht Constructors. The first design, the 34-foot (10 m) Chinook, came from the desk of well-known Philadelphia naval architect Frederick Geiger, adapted from a wood design. The first five were launched in 1956-1957 to the founders, and began winning local races and gathering attention in the press. Eventually 70 were produced, making it arguably the first production fiberglass sailboat.
Robarta A. Smith, a former Sparkman & Stephens designer, would later design a series of boats for the company:
Cascade 29 1961 360 were eventually produced.
Cascade 42 1964
Cascade 36 1967
Cascade 23 1977
Cascade 24 1977
Cascade 27 1978
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Like many early producers of fiberglass boats, the company's production methods resulted in yachts that were heavier than later builders. Experimenting with fiberglass, at that time a relatively novel material for boat construction, the founders made test samples that were shot at from 10 feet (3.0 m) with various firearms to test the material strength. The test samples repelled.45 slugs and became the foundation of the company's reputation for producing bulletproof yachts. In various cases Cascade Yachts have been dropped off slings, fallen off a trailer at highway speed, and submerged in a mudslide, and suffered little consequential damage. Many Cascade hulls were sold in various stages of completion for owners to finish the interiors.
In 1989 the company's assets were sold to a new owner who continued production under the name Cascade Yachts.
In 2007 the company was sold to Russell Mead and moved to Warrenton, Oregon.
From Wikipedia’s article on Cascade Yachts, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.3