Collecting boat brochures was part of the job in the 1950’s, 1960’s and 1970’s, so the Dawsons could keep up-to-date on all the makes and models to sell their new and used boats at Dawson’s Marina Limited on Lake Simcoe. Then, during the 1980’s, 1990’s and 2000’s, Doug and Brenda continued collecting brochures for reference in their businesses: Computer Boat Search, Boat Value Book and Boat Evaluation Service. As a boat tester for Canadian Yachting and Power Boating Canada Magazine, Doug continued to collect and often referenced the brochures for specifications and equipment.
Even though they only collected one of each, the “Old Boat Brochure Library” has grown to thousands and is probably the largest in the world. The Dawsons are keeping it up-to-date each year collecting brochures at Boat Shows and contacting builders.
Boaters around the world now have access to this library. The Dawsons have a long list of all the brochures in their library. They are appreciative of any donations from anyone, who is house or office cleaning and need a place to send their old boat brochures. “Don’t throw them out” says Doug. “We may have someone out there, looking for them”.
They will scan and email a pdf for boaters who need information for buying, selling, restoring, bragging, advertising, or history. Depending on the manufacturer, the number of pages ranges from 5-20.
This is a unique resource for boaters and anyone interested in boats.
by Andy Adams, Editor
Canadian Yachting Magazine
The Dawsons, I received your email with the 2002 SeaPro brochure attached. In my haste to read it, I forgot to thank you for sending it. I very much appreciate you doing so. Your old brochures are a wonderful tool in researching the purchase of a used boat. Thanks again.
Found the boat! THANK YOU! Thrilled to have a brochure on the boat. The boat I was looking for “is” in the 1966 Grew brochure… the boat I just bought is a “barn find”… probably been in the water a total of 2 hours over its life… the boat is “mint”… no marks on the boat. Engine is just dirty from sitting… we fired it up yesterday to find it actually “runs”! Terrific barn find. Thrilled with the brochure. Could not find ANYTHING on it! Now I know! Thank you VERY much!!!
Thanks so much for your quick delivery.
I apologize for not knowing the precise model designation. There are several of these around me and all are tagged as 3370's, but they are, also, all newer models. It's great to be able to read the stuff that Cruisers, Inc. had to say about my new home (will be living aboard). Thank you, again, for providing this service. 🙂
Doug and Brenda, boating experts, publish lessons on how to dock a boat and how to buy a boat, and so much more.
