Gladiator Boat Company

Gladiator Boat Company, a fleeting yet fervent New Jersey-based fiberglass sailboat manufacturer established in 1969 in Waterford Township (near Atco), embodied the late-1960s wave of entrepreneurial boatyards chasing the surging demand for affordable, family-oriented cruisers amid America's fiberglass yachting renaissance. Founded by a consortium of local investors and led by production manager Al McIlwain, the yard—occupying a modest 10,000-square-foot facility—specialized in hand-laid fiberglass construction with plywood bulkheads and balsa-cored decks, focusing on designs by naval architect Henry R. "Hank" Lauritzen that emphasized stability, trailerability, and innovative rigging for East Coast weekend sailors. Its sole production run centered on the eponymous Gladiator 24 (1969–1972, ~35–40 hulls built: 24-foot LOA masthead sloop with 7'10" beam, 3'10" draft on a 50% ballasted full keel, 285 sq ft sail area including pioneering in-mast furling, and Atomic 4 gas auxiliary for 5.5-knot motoring), a vessel lauded for its dry cockpit, forgiving helm in 15–20 knot winds, and spacious interior (V-berth, U-galley, enclosed head sleeping four under 5'10" headroom) at a sticker price of ~$12,000 new—ideal for Chesapeake Bay or Long Island Sound jaunts. Despite initial buzz from boat show demos and club endorsements, the company grappled with rising material costs, labor shortages, and the 1970–1971 recession, folding operations by 1972 after completing its inventory; molds were scattered to custom builders, with some repurposed for one-off variants like the shoal-draft Gladiator 24 Mk II.