New Design & Consulting
Tad Roberts Yacht Design

Yellow Cedar 34... Over the years since then there have been a number of successful versions of the Yellow Cedar design in various lengths, layouts, and materials of which this cold-molded YC34 is the latest. I believe the continued appeal of the Yellow Cedar design, a classic style almost generic to the Pacific Northwest, stems from the practical arrangement, timeless good looks, and perceived efficiency of the light, full-displacement hull form. Read more about Yellow Cedar 34.

Pogy 17 Motorsailer... 17' trailerable coastal cruiser for one or two people. Main features of the design are trailerability behind smaller cars, seaworthiness, decent accommodation including sitting space inside, and ease of construction by amateurs. She also includes versatile means of propulsion including a split sailing rig, oars, and a small outboard... - Read more about Pogy 17.

Barefoot 5.8 A fast, minimalistic light-weight racing dinghy that also rows well... Designed for Barefoot Wooden Boats to compete in the 2015 750 mile-long strictly sail and oar Race to Alaska. -

Lambert 28, A Sail Assisted Outboard Cruiser... : a great VolksCruiserish design of the coastal variety... The fact of the matter is not everyone needs to cross oceans in which case this sort of VolksCruiserish design makes all kinds of sense...Seriously, a boat like this could take you from Nova Scotia all the way down to the Caribbean (or if you're of the West coast tribe, Alaska to Central America)... What's not to like?

Tilikum 32... The upcoming collection of early 20th century cruising yarns by Alker Tripp, "Under the Cabin Lamp", will feature a Postscript on barge yachts that includes drawings of Tilikum 32 with my design comments and description: Tilikum is aimed at a certain type of performance--the ability to sail coastwise in open water, yet also creep up tiny creeks to wait out tides while resting on the mud. Because there is no need to be running up to the mast, Tilikum can have a raised deck forward of the cockpit. This provides a wonderfully spacious interior, even though the vessel is of only moderate beam. It also provides tremendous reserve buoyancy up high; she will pop right back up from a knock-down. -

Pogy 17 Motorsailer... 17' trailerable coastal cruiser for one or two people. Main features of the design are trailerability behind smaller cars, seaworthiness, decent accommodation including sitting space inside, and ease of construction by amateurs. She also includes versatile means of propulsion including a split sailing rig, oars, and a small outboard. -

Nomad 16 in Launchings... Tad Roberts designed the Nomad 16 for a client seeking a boat similar to a production fibreglass design called Arima 16. Mark Reuten of Nomad Boatbuilding in Victoria BC built Cataline's glue-lapped hull from 3/8s plywood on frames of Douglas-fir and Alaska yellow cedar... -

Aletheia converted to junk schooner rig... The schooner rig was designed by Tad Roberts, of Gabriola Island, BC, to complement the stout Princess hull with its cutaway full keel and shallow 4.5' (1.4m) draft. To move the 16,000 lb (7.25 metric ton) hull smoothly through the water, Tad specified nearly 660 square feet (61 sq. m) of sail area in two nearly equal-sized sails. The masts are aluminum streetlamp poles and are unstayed, although running backstays are fitted for belt-and-suspenders reliability in a rough sea or when flying staysails. -

Viva V included in MotorBoats Launchings anthology... -In 1997 Tad Roberts wrote an article entitled “Power Boat Design”, which appeared in WoodenBoat 137. Tad included several of his designs in that article to demonstrate different hull characteristics, including Ironbark 28. Arild Gundersen of Edyehavn Norway spotted Ironbark and decided to build it. Viva V was finished by Eikeli Boatbuilders in Fevik, Norway and launched 2012.

Harry 2, "a nice design" ... -Harry 2 is a 27 foot sailing scow from the drawing boards of Tad Roberts in Canada. I’ve always thought it a nice design and wish I had the space/time to build it. I see there is a new pilot house version.

Ironbark 28, "tugboat-inspired heartbreaker" ... -The hull was built by Arild Gundersen, a retired captain, who went into retirement with the dream of building their own boat. He got hold of drawings signed the American Canadian designer Tad Roberts (www.tadroberts.ca), enlarged them up to 1:1 scale, built a tent in the garden of Narestø and started. The boat is kravellbyggget and strip-plank, first with kvistfri pine on the 22 laminated timbers, then two layers of mahogany surface above the waterline and four layers below the waterline. On top of this we have two layers of epoxy, so in reality we had been able to remove all the ribs. It is powerful as a battleship and will keep for generations, says Kai.

Halibut 42 Motorsailers... My 42' Halibut Motorsailer designs are modeled closely on the larger (65'-80') heavy displacement commercial fishing "schooners" which have been chasing halibut in the North Pacific for the last 100 years or so...The Halibut Schooner 42 has a low rig and bowsprit; the Halibut Ketch 42 is ketch-riggged with flying bridge. The hulls are the same multi-chine full keel with round stern. Steel or wood construction.

Nomad 16... Designed with maximum cockpit size, both in length and width, and intended for day fishing trips in coastal BC. The tiny cuddy cabin forward is only used for dry storage. A modern boat of traditional appearance with her lapstrake plywood topsides and wooden windshield frame. Commissioned by a Victoria BC client to be built by Nomad Boatbuilding.

“Power Boat Design: Form and Fuction and Their Effect on Performance” Analyses the effects of form and function on the performance of 10 power boats 18ft to 38ft specially designed for the article including Yellow Cedar, a 38ft. classic motor launch.

A Study in Efficiency: Passagemaker Lite 39... A boat that will top out at a very respectable 12 knots and be able to cruise for almost a week at 9 knots. A 7-knot cruising speed will give you a limit of pretty close to 4,000 miles...At this rate you will burn a mere 0.9 gallon per hour, or 7.8 miles per gallon. Pretty good mileage considering you are bringing your home with you...And a pretty nice home too. For a live-aboard couple, it's hard to see how to improve it... Read more about PL39.

A Study in Efficiency: Passagemaker Lite 39... A boat that will top out at a very respectable 12 knots and be able to cruise for almost a week at 9 knots. A 7-knot cruising speed will give you a limit of pretty close to 4,000 miles...At this rate you will burn a mere 0.9 gallon per hour, or 7.8 miles per gallon. Pretty good mileage considering you are bringing your home with you...And a pretty nice home too. For a live-aboard couple, it's hard to see how to improve it... Read more about PL39.