Tad Roberts grew up on the British Columbia coast in a family of boatbuilders, artists and sailors, so it wasn’t surprising that he started drawing boats at a young age.
He spent a decade working on tugs and fishing boats, and cruising and racing sailboats. In 1982 he began his own design practice in Victoria, British Columbia. But he knew he needed to improve his knowledge, so in 1986 he moved to Castine, Maine, where he attended Maine Maritime Academy’s Yacht Design Institute. Within a year, he’d landed a job with Bruce King Yacht Design in Newcastle, Maine, and over the next 14 years he became principal designer, working on a wide range of projects. Among them were numerous large custom sailing yachts that included, the 134-foot aluminum ketch , and the 154-foot cold-molded ketch .
