Welcome to Tad Roberts Yacht Design

Yacht designer Tad Roberts offers a wide range of yacht design and naval architecture services from new design of power, sail, and small boats to oversight of refits and restoration, to consulting on Transport Canada and ISO regulations and standards for commercial vessels.

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On the Board (Concepts and Current Projects)

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Recent Designs

  • 60' Steel Cargo Schooner

    A traditionally styled simple vee bottom gaff schooner. Accommodations forward and aft of a 16’9” long cargo hold, pilothouse aft over the engine room. Full box ballast keel with integral tanks.

  • Enavigo 39

    The new Enavigo Power 39, for Enavigo Yachts, is a development of my Yellow Cedar design from 1997. A classic cold-molded launch. Accommodation for 4-5 with maximum privacy. 15 knot cruising speed. ISO certification for coastwise and inland cruising

  • Ocean 55

    55' steel fuel-efficient sail-assisted ocean-going motor yacht. 2006 commission updated with 833 sq ft ketch sailing rig to provide added fuel savings, increased range and roll stabilization without the underwater drag of fins or paravanes.

  • Passagemaker Lite 5602

    Passagemaker Lite 5602 represents some of my latest thinking on the Passagemaker Lite concept. As she is half the weight of a Nordhavn 55, cost to a similar level will be half while speed is substantially faster and accommodation roughly similar

  • 30' Halibut Ketch

    A smaller version of the 36’ Halibut Ketch designed to go to sea and actually have reasonable cruising performance under sail. Double berth forward, single in the galley down low midships, and a convertible dinette in the pilothouse. Shipmate wood range in the galley to provide heat, inside and outside controls with good visibility, and easily handled small sails.

  • Minigrime 32

    A very traditional heavy cruiser, based on a much larger William Garden design which he called a “Freighter Yacht”. Choice of 3 different interior layouts with either 3 or 4 berths and the galley forward or aft. Comfortable pilothouse with 360 degree visibility. Sheathed strip planking (with or without diagonal veneer layers) on laminated frames with heavy laminated backbone.

  • Northcoast 34

    A sail assisted motor vessel.  Accommodation for 4 overnight but designed for full time living aboard by one or two.  Cruising speed 7-8 knots. Wood construction, plank-on-frame, sheathed strip, or cold-molded.

  • 42' Steel Halibut Schooner

    Multi-chine full keel with round stern in the style of 1920’s halibut schooners. Large midship deckhouse with sliding doors P & S, engine and tanks under. Galley below aft, along with a head and two bunks; roomy forward cabin with head.

  • Johnson 285 Double-ender

    28' BC Workboat-style Cruiser. Lighter displacement than a working commercial troller, but with depth of hull and internal ballast for offshore use. For more designs under 30', visit the SMALL BOATS section
Tad Roberts