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George Cassian
George Cassian was a yacht designer and founding partner of Cuthbertson & Cassian yacht designers, 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. His was the second “C” in C&C, with his design associate George Cuthbertson, being the first. Cassian would continue as a designer with that company until his untimely death in 1980 at the age of 47.
George Cassian grew up in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, near the western Toronto lakeshore. As a teenager he began to sail in an old 14 ft (4.3 m) dinghy at the Toronto Sailing And Canoe Club. As he gained experience he began to sail competitively. Over time he sailed and competed in most of the hotter one-design classes — Lightnings, Dragons, 5.5s — and over time he came to be regarded as a highly competitive sailor.
George Cassian studied technical draughting at Central Technical School in Toronto, Ontario.
On graduation Cassian decided the future looked bright in aircraft design, so he went to work in the design office of A.V. Roe. With the cancellation of the Avro Arrow contract, Cassian was one of the 17,000 Avro employees laid off on 20 February 1959.
The Monday after the Avro shutdown Cassian walked into George Cuthbertson's design office in Port Credit, Ontario, introduced himself as George Cassian, and told Cuthbertson that they had met at a party one or two years prior. A keen sailor, member of Toronto Sailing and Canoe Club, Cassian asked if his skills might be of some use in Cuthbertson office.
Cassian showed Cuthbertson several examples of his work. Cuthbertson was impressed but had to point out that he could foresee only about two weeks of design work ahead and, if he joined Cuthbertson, that would double the design staff and they might have to part after only one week. Cassian replied that he had no better opportunity, so he would like to come on board on that clear understanding.
Other work came in, and Cuthbertson and Cassian worked together for about a year when Cassian told Cuthbertson that he had decided to move to Detroit to pursue his other passion (automobiles, racing cars) and he had an opportunity in the auto industry. However, with family in Toronto, Cassian was frequently home on weekends and often dropped into Cuthbertson's office to see how things were going. Evidently things did not go all that well in Detroit, and after about a year, on one of Cassian's visits, he told Cuthbertson that he had decided to return home, was going to be married, and could he have his old job back. As an indication that he was serious about staying, Cassian inquired about buying into the company.
All of this sounded fine to Cuthbertson, so he sold him a 25% interest (later increased to 33%), which all went to pay off debts, and in 1961 they incorporated, the name chosen being Cuthbertson & Cassian Ltd. Neither George Cassian nor George Cuthbertson had ever worked in any yacht design office other than their own, so they had no preconceptions as to normal process and procedure.
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George Cassian
George Cassian was a yacht designer and founding partner of Cuthbertson & Cassian yacht designers, 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. His was the second “C” in C&C, with his design associate George Cuthbertson, being the first. Cassian would continue as a designer with that company until his untimely death in 1980 at the age of 47.
George Cassian grew up in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, near the western Toronto lakeshore. As a teenager he began to sail in an old 14 ft (4.3 m) dinghy at the Toronto Sailing And Canoe Club. As he gained experience he began to sail competitively. Over time he sailed and competed in most of the hotter one-design classes — Lightnings, Dragons, 5.5s — and over time he came to be regarded as a highly competitive sailor.
George Cassian studied technical draughting at Central Technical School in Toronto, Ontario.
On graduation Cassian decided the future looked bright in aircraft design, so he went to work in the design office of A.V. Roe. With the cancellation of the Avro Arrow contract, Cassian was one of the 17,000 Avro employees laid off on 20 February 1959.
The Monday after the Avro shutdown Cassian walked into George Cuthbertson's design office in Port Credit, Ontario, introduced himself as George Cassian, and told Cuthbertson that they had met at a party one or two years prior. A keen sailor, member of Toronto Sailing and Canoe Club, Cassian asked if his skills might be of some use in Cuthbertson office.
Cassian showed Cuthbertson several examples of his work. Cuthbertson was impressed but had to point out that he could foresee only about two weeks of design work ahead and, if he joined Cuthbertson, that would double the design staff and they might have to part after only one week. Cassian replied that he had no better opportunity, so he would like to come on board on that clear understanding.
Other work came in, and Cuthbertson and Cassian worked together for about a year when Cassian told Cuthbertson that he had decided to move to Detroit to pursue his other passion (automobiles, racing cars) and he had an opportunity in the auto industry. However, with family in Toronto, Cassian was frequently home on weekends and often dropped into Cuthbertson's office to see how things were going. Evidently things did not go all that well in Detroit, and after about a year, on one of Cassian's visits, he told Cuthbertson that he had decided to return home, was going to be married, and could he have his old job back. As an indication that he was serious about staying, Cassian inquired about buying into the company.
All of this sounded fine to Cuthbertson, so he sold him a 25% interest (later increased to 33%), which all went to pay off debts, and in 1961 they incorporated, the name chosen being Cuthbertson & Cassian Ltd. Neither George Cassian nor George Cuthbertson had ever worked in any yacht design office other than their own, so they had no preconceptions as to normal process and procedure.