Welcome to Tad Roberts Yacht Design

Yacht designer Tad Roberts offers a wide range of yacht design and consulting 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 vessels to 150'.

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Yellow Cedar 34NEW 2016/04/24

On the Board (Concepts and Current Projects)

Recent Designs

  • 60' Steel Cargo Schooner

    A traditionally styled simple vee bottom gaff schooner. Accommodations forward and aft of a 16 foot 9 inch long cargo hold, pilothouse aft over the engine room. Full box ballast keel with integral tanks.
  • Pilot Bay 45

    Ocean cruising home. Two basic layouts, aft or mid deckhouse, and two basic rigs, schooner or ketch. Emphasis on large storage areas and big capacity tankage.
  • Passagemaker Lite 46+ Update

    PL46+ update carries a 450 square foot auxiliary sailing rig. Even a limited amount of sail can make a big difference in fuel consumption.
  • Dawkins 62

    PL Dawkins 62, a sail-assisted 62' Passagemaker Lite for NZ/Dalian builder Kiwi Marine. The new ketch-rigged 62' aluminum Passagemaker Lite is for ocean crossing with French canal capability.
  • 42' Halibut Ketch Motorsailer

    Ketch-rigged version of the Halibut Schooner 42 with flying bridge. Multi-chine full keel with round stern in the style of 1920’s halibut schooners. Steel or wood.
  • Bearbay 23

    Lapstrake motorsailer.  A very capable boat that can also be trailered. 295 sq.ft. of sail area, a 9HP inboard diesel or 4-8HP outboard in well, 6’1” headroom in pilothouse, and a 6’6” pram with 3’6” beam carried in davits. For more designs under 30', visit the SMALL BOATS section.
  • Enavigo 39

    The 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. Now with a new profile.
  • Dean 345 Motorsailer

    The 34'5" aluminum ketch is single chine round stern with deep vee sections. Moderate beam and deeper sections for comfort in a sea as well as excellent stability characteristics.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • Garden Bay 23

    A small full displacement, easily trailerable motor boat with a sailing option and accommodation for 5. For more designs under 30', visit the SMALL BOATS section
  • classic coastal cruising launch

    Wedge Point 27

    27' sail-assisted, semi-displacement, trailerable classic coastal cruising launch. Plywood planking. A development of my Yellow Cedar design. For more designs under 30', visit the SMALL BOATS section
Tad Roberts