Erich Bruckmann was a boat builder and founder of Bruckmann Manufacturing, one of four companies that in 1969 formed C&C Yachts, a Canadian yacht builder that dominated North American sailing in the 1970s and early 1980s.

Erich Bruckmann built the revolutionary racing yacht Red Jacket which featured a first in sailboat construction - an extremely light weight balsa core - which allowed the vessel to compete and win. Red Jacket won 11 of 13 races in her first season, including the Charles Freeman Cup and the Lake Ontario International. In the 1967 Southern Ocean Racing Conference (SORC) race from St. Petersburg to Venice in Florida, Red Jacket finished first. It was the first Canadian boat to win against a fleet of about 85 others, many being the best U.S. racers.

Erich Bruckmann was born in Düsseldorf, Germany in 1930. The only child of Klara and Ludwig, he suffered from tuberculosis, an ailment that relapsed late in his life. Bruckmann at times spoke about his difficult youth in war-torn Germany. After the Second World War ended and his health returned, he became an active youth, playing soccer and cycling. He met his future wife, Lisa (briefly) on a bicycle tour around Germany and, despite the brevity of the meeting, sent her a postcard from every subsequent destination.

Bruckmann left Germany as a young man in 1956 to start a new life in Canada.

Bruckmann was trained as a cabinetmaker and master carpenter in his native Germany.

Bruckmann arrived in Oakville, Ontario from Germany in 1956, speaking no English and with little other than his carpentry tools, hoping to bring his wife and first-born son to Canada as soon as possible. His first years in Ontario after arriving were difficult. He showed up for his first job in the boat-building trade with no references and little English but with a toolbox of his own construction – the meticulously organized and crafted box served as his best reference. Bruckmann was hired by Metro Marine in Bronte, Ontario, working for Harry D. Greb, building and repairing wooden boats, working with Jan Gudgeon and Vic Carpenter. Metro Marine had evolved into a first-class yacht yard under the direction of John “Johnnie” Walker and, after a short time, Erich Bruckmann was made Shop Superintendent. While at Metro Marine Bruckmann oversaw the construction of several Cuthbertson & Cassian designs, including the 38-foot La Mouette, a wooden design built for Gord Fisher of the Royal Canadian Yacht Club, which led to a semi-production series.

In 1962 Bruckmann left Metro Marine in Bronte to found his own cabinetmaking business, ostensibly to build kitchen cabinets and counters, but he had undertaken several yacht jobs, including completion of a Canadian Northern CN35 from a Cuthbertson & Cassian design. His skills had become known and appreciated.

Erich Bruckmann began Bruckmann Manufacturing on Maple Avenue in Burlington, Ontario. He later set up shop on Wallace Road in the Speers Road and Third Line area of Oakville, Ontario, still as Bruckmann Mfg.