Vanguard Sailboats was founded in 1967 in Waukesha, Wisconsin, USA by Peter and Olaf Harken. The brothers started to gain attention after their sailing hardware was used on boats that won Olympic gold in 1968 and after Vanguard supplied the Finn class for several countries in the 1976 Olympics. The hardware segment was maintained somewhat separately, as it was marketed to competing boatbuilders. In 1986, the Harkens sold Vanguard to Stephen Clark, who moved the business to Rhode Island. The brothers focused their efforts on the performance sailing hardware business in Pewaukee, WI under the name Harken, Inc., while Vanguard continued in boatbuilding.

Since the launch of their first dinghy, Vanguard has enjoyed success in building recreational sailboats for adults and junior sailors. Vanguard constructs a wide range of boats from the Optimist pram to the ultra-modern 49er. Their most famous build is the Sunfish, created by Alexander Bryan and Cortlandt Heyniger in 1952 under the name Alcort.