History
professional history and selected projects
Professional History
2001 After 14 years as the Senior Associate at Bruce King Yacht Design (BKYD), Tad Roberts returned home to British Columbia, Canada to open his own yacht design office, on Gabriola Island.
Selected projects, 2001-1987
2001-1987 During his 14 years at BKYD, Tad Roberts played an important role in the creation of the large custom sailing yachts Sophie, Alejandra, Hetairos, Antonisa, Cecile Marie, and Scheherazade. Starting with his arrival at BKYD in 1987, he successfully enlarged the practice to include power boats, which BKYD had not previously produced: Under Tad's direction the design office produced several spectacular successes including Liberty, the Talaria 40 and Talaria 44, and the Hinckley Picnic Boat.
1986-1982 British Columbia, Canada. Several designs built including a cold-molded daysailer and steel commercial vessels.
Annotated List
2000 Cecile Marie, 131' Aluminum Cutter, BKYD
- Built for a Danish owner by Huisman Shipyard in Holland.
Aluminum hull with carbon sloop rig and dark mahogany interior by Dick
Young.
2000 Scheherazade, 154' Cold-molded Ketch, BKYD
- Built for an American owner by Hodgdon Yachts. Cold-molded of
douglas fir and red cedar with carbon spars.
1999 Antonisa, 124' Cold-molded Centerboard Sloop, BKYD
- Built for an Italian owner by Hodgdon Yachts in East Boothbay,
Maine. Cold-molded hull with carbon centerboard and spars. Cherry
interior.
1999 Hinckley 44, Composite Twin Water-jet Express, BKYD
1998 Hinckley Custom 40, Composite Twin Water-jet Express, BKYD
1995 Liberty, 80' high-speed cold-molded motoryacht, BKYD
1994 Chanty, 51' Cold-Molded Centerboard Wishbone Ketch, BKYD
1993 Hinckley Picnic Boat, 37' composite jet boat, BKYD
1993 Bemfujjo, Express, BKYD
1992 Hetairos, 124'Cold-Molded Centerboard Ketch, BKYD
- Built for a German owner by Abeking and Rasmussen in Germany, with
project management by Jens Cornellson. Cold-molded hull with welded bronze
ballast keel and centerboard case. Carbon Spars. Dark mahogany interior
by Andrew Winch.
1992 Alejandra, 134' Aluminum Ketch, BKYD
- Built for a Spanish owner by the Mefasa Yard in Northern Spain.
Aluminum hull with carbon spars and Cuban mahogany interior. Construction
managed by her skipper, Steve Mclaren.
1992 Hinckley 70 production composite sailing yacht, BKYD
1991 Sophie, 90' Cold-Molded Lift Keel Sloop, BKYD
- Built for a Swedish owner by Renaissance Yachts and finished at
Derecktors yard in Connecticut. Cold-molded with hydraulic vertical lifting
ballast keel in a fiberglass case.
1990 Dixie, high-speed cold-molded sportfisherman, BKYD
1990 Rooster, 31' cold-molded mahogany surface drive speedboat, BKYD
1987 Signe, 100' cold-molded , BKYD
- Built for American owners by Renaissance Yachts in Thomaston, Maine,
under the direction of Doug Beebe. Cold-molded mahogany with Atlantic white
cedar core, Joseph Artese interior in koa.
All images on this page are courtesy of the respective builders.
last updated July 24, 2007
Selected Project
Memory 38, Classic Motor Yacht
Commissioned in 1998 by Dan Morris and Mike McConville of Memory Yachts.
Some interior views:
For more information on the Memory 38 or the Memory 44 (reviewed in Pacific Yachting September, 2001) please contact Tad Roberts.
Selected Project
Johns Bay Boat 40' Lobsteryacht
“I have been collaborating with Pete Kass of Johns Bay Boat for sevaral years now. Pete is one of the last full time builders of plank-on-frame wooden lobster boats.
The majority of the yard's production is commercial vessels for the Maine lobster fishery: Occasionally, Johns Bay builds a lobster yacht. The recently launched Julieann is an example of this.”