Spencer Yachts Ltd. - Production STATS

Spencer Boats Ltd.  "PRODUCTION Stats"
    By Patricia Brandlmayr

We asked Pat if she could provide a list of all the Spencer Vessels Produced.  She has done an excellent job and here is what she has provided.  We have included her comments.

        While the numbers are quite well defined for the molded fiberglass sailboats, when it comes to the plywood and fiberglass power boats and sailboats, the records are not so clearly defined.  Some were built from Frame Kits for both sail and power; some were built (particularly the power boats) complete, partially complete, and from Frame Kits as well as directly from plans from the Brandlmayr office.  (See Below) I have some records for these as to who they were bought by and whether they were plans or Frame Kit but they are not as updated as the records maintained by Spencer on their production boats.  Due to storage problems, we have not kept the files for each of the contracts in the Spencer production.

        Total Spencer Hulls Produced.

• Spencer     28   - 8 boats (fiberglass Hull) + 1 plug wooden.
• Spencer     31   - 24 boats + plug   (See Comment #1 - below)
• Spencer     34   - 4 boats  (See Comment #2 - below )
• Spencer     35   - 64 boats + wooden plug
• Spencer     42   - 26 boats + wooden plug
• Spencer     44   - 21 boats - Produced by modification of the Spencer 42 hull and deck molds - "This model is considered a center cockpit"
• Spencer  1330  - 25 boats including plug as hull #1 (Originally Benora III)
• Spencer 51/53 - 31 boats plus wooden plug ("Sea Fern")
  

Note: The records do not differentiate between the Spencer 51/53.  The 53 has a traditional transom; while the 51 has a reverse transom.  Since they were both aft cockpit and center cockpit deck configurations and many modifications of their rigs, (sloop, ketch {not many}, cutter, etc.) the record list has not differentiated the details. Hull Numbers were consecutive.

Grand Total of all hulls produced

203 Spencer Sailing Vessels
and 5 Plugs

Total of 208 Operational Spencers.

Comment #1 - Re: S-31  Spencer was the record keeper of the hull numbers and we kept a record of owners, etc.  We are reasonably certain that all the S-31s indicated in the quantity noted above also include those vessels produced by Philbrooks.

Comment #2 - Re: S-34  Vladimir Plavsic designed the Spencer 34 - This was after John's death

Plans and Frame Kits for Sailboats by Spencer Boats Ltd.

24 footer - 15 recorded   The plywood & fiberglass sailboats were, in some cases, supplied as a Frame Kit from Spencer and in some instances, built from plans supplied by Brandlmayr. The 24 and 32 were nice sailing boats and Frame Kits were supplied for several areas in the world.

32 footer - 18 recorded

41 footer - 7 recorded   The 41 was a ketch and some used for offshore work. Not many were Frame Kits.

46 footer - 3 recorded.  The 46 - We believe only one was a Frame Kit completed by Bill Rudolf in Seattle. He chartered her in the Caribbean for years as "Queen of Sheba", sold her to a couple from Vancouver (Sidney-Smith) who continued sailing her offshore; now she is owned by a fellow who worked for Spencer for years and who has used her as a liveaboard with his family.  We don't know the current name of the boat but the family are active sailors to the best of our knowledge.

To see the procedure in Building a Spencer 35 from a Hull and Deck Kit, see webpage titled "Building Your Own Spencer"

The Sunstar
The Sunstar was built to order for Specialty Yachts and Spencer did not interface with the owners. "The Sunstar was produced from molds which Specialty Yachts purchased from an American builder. I have even forgotten how many we built.  But they were quite a nice little boat for the size and cost." ( Comments by Pat Brandlmayr)

Other Spencer Built Vessels
We also want to mention that the design office included the design of commercial fishing boats, rowboats, dredges and a wide variety of marine designs over the years.  Since John Brandlmayr was a Professional Engineer, some of the work/designs were associated with commercial vessels, as well as the pleasure boats.