http://www.canadianyachting.ca 15marketing professional working in Toronto, but had a degree in
boat building and yacht design and shared George’s passion.
George proposed an extreme departure from life in the city, and
after some contemplation, Scott accepted the offer to purchase
the company.
Since that time, Scott has used his skills and enthusiasm to
grow the business from a 3,000 square foot garage to a 92,
square foot custom-outfitted plant in Markdale, Ontario.
Demand and production has increased tenfold. He laments that
he no longer physically participates in the boat building process
as he used to 10 years ago, but is happy to be the driving force
behind maintaining and growing the company. “The guys in the
plant said to me ‘you know what Scott? I think your time’s going
to be better spent going out marketing the company even
though you love working with your hands and building boats.
Let us build boats. You can create full-time instead of seasonal
jobs for us. You should go push some paper again.’ So I did.”
The expansion of production means that Scott is now able to
employ 30 staff with secure, year-round jobs. While some of the
team joined with a great deal of experience in the area of marine
construction, quite a few are local with little to no experience in
boat building and, similarly to Scott, come from occupationally
diverse backgrounds. Many have been hired for their transfer-
able skills and aptitude. For example, Mike, the plant supervisor,
worked for years at the distribution centre of Canadian Tire
before coming out of retirement to work full-time with Rossiter.
The evidence of his organizational skills and aptitude is ubiqui-
tous around the plant - everything down to brooms has a specific
place and inventory is meticulously accounted for. He and every
employee is a vital cog in the boat-building process, and are col-
lectively a team that Scott views as a family.
Our factory tour began with Richard, the carpenter, at the
last step of the production process, in the bright sunlit wood-
shop where all of the wood finishing for the boats is meticulous-
ly handcrafted. Richard was hard at work creating a teak table
and custom swim platform for one of the 23-foot powerboats.
Richard is a highly skilled and experienced woodworker and
boat builder, something that is clearly evident in the incredibly
crafted pieces we saw throughout our time at the factory.
Perpetually looking towards the future and the growth of the
company, Richard also has an apprentice, Aiden, who recently
completed a college degree in woodworking and has been
brought on to learn the intricacies of boatbuilding and finishing.
Heading into the cavernous depths of the factory reveals anScott Hanson stands proudly by a new Rossiter 23 Day Boat
with Loudon rowboats in the foreground.
An early fiberglass Rossiter in the foreground and the latest
Loudon beyond.