// ON THE WATER //
Drew McMillin
An avid waterskier, his summers growing up were spent behind the boat on Peninsula Lake in Huntsville, Ontario. A graduate of the College of Sports Media, Drew put in stints at TSN and CTV Northern Ontario before securing his dream job on the water hosting PowerBoat TV every Saturday morning on Global TV.
Rossiter 20 Coastal Cruiser Review
PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY OF WALKERS POINT MARINA
Since the financial crisis of 2008, it’s become rare to see a “Made in Canada” label on a fibreglass boat, as the Great Recession claimed many of our nation’s most prolific producers of powerboats. Well-established brands like Doral and Grew were among those that found themselves in receivership shortly after the 2008 crash.
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Using the very latest technology and materials, Rossiter boats are built to last a lifetime. Every Rossiter is built to the highest industry standards.
or domestic builders who were able to weather the storm and continue manufacturing north of the border, challenges still abound.
One Ontario builder, Rossiter Boats, has built a fiercely loyal customer base in Muskoka and Georgian Bay, but financial struggles still led to bankruptcy in 2018. “Probably the single largest hurdle that the company has to overcome is doing business in Canada,” says Blair Levinsky, who rescued Rossiter from insolvency, purchasing the company three years ago. “There’s not many of us left.”
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Already the owner of a 23-foot Rossiter outboard, Levinsky seized the opportunity to rescue a brand near and dear to his heart. “There’s tremendous pride in the fact that we produce these boats in Ontario, Canada, notwithstanding all of the challenges,” he says. “The easiest and best way is just to do what we do. Rossiter is an iconic Canadian brand, equally known for its classic design as it is for the quality of construction and the strength of its performance.” This was on full display on my visit to Rossiter’s production facilities last fall, where the company hand-builds 150 to 200 “semi-custom” boats each year in Markdale, Ontario. It’s come a long way since George Rossiter began building canoes and rowboats in his shed in 1974.
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