“My favorite was the thirty-five foot police boat we built. It had a double bottom on it about an inch and an eighth.
It was like a tank.”

— Charlie Cliffe, August 20, 2013

In 1946, Charlie Cliffe started building boats as a hobby in the basement of his family’s farmhouse in Wilstead, Ontario when he was 16 years old.

After high school, his interest in boatbuilding led him to a job at the Link Manufacturing Company, Ltd. (located just a few steps from here along the Gananoque River). He started out in the mill room, making planks and ribs for cedar strip boats. When the company abandoned boat building in the 1960s, Charlie purchased the moulds and leftover materials for $500, and moved them to the farm in Wilstead where he and his partner Jack Grey began building their own boats. Cliffe and Grey developed a new line of boats, and the Cliffe Craft brand was born.

In 1960 Link Manufacturing closed the factory, and Charlie and a new partner, Joe McDonald, stepped in and bought the building which provided space to build more and larger boats. Known for being affordable, sturdy and safe, Cliffe Craft was soon supplying boats to a network of dealerships across the province and beyond.

As fibreglass boats gained popularity in the early 1970s, wooden boat sales began to decline, and Cliffe Craft catered to the custom boat market. One of Charlie’s favorites was the 10.67 metre (35 foot) Joseph E. Rogers, the largest Cliffe Craft ever built. This boat was specially ordered by the Ontario Provincial Police for patrol work on Georgian Bay.

In 1984, Cliffe Craft stopped building new boats and concentrated on repairing and restoring wooden ones, having built 2500 boats over the years.

In 1989 Charlie and his family opened Wilstead Woodcraft, a small family business that hand-crafted beautiful cedar strip St. Lawrence skiffs in 4.9 metre (16 foot) and 5.5 metre (18 foot) models. Their small shop was just around the corner from the family farm where Charlie got his start in the business.

Although Charlie started building boats in a basement, he became one of the most popular builders in this area.

Boats built by Charlie Cliffe in the Museum Collection:

Cliffe Craft Mallard
Wilstead Skiff Putt