Low Tide

Yacht Designer Tad Roberts' Web Log

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SOLD FOR PEANUTS

The auction of our YAG’s is now complete. The six ships brought a total of $26,537.80, an average sale price of $4422.56, which is peanuts for a 75′ heritage vessel, with twin engines, electronics, and all systems. It’s not that I think they should have sold at higher prices, after all these are 55 year[.....]

Canadian Navy YAG’s for sale

Crown assets is selling off our historic vessels to the highest bidder…..This month six, 75′ wooden YAG’s (Yard Auxiliary General) will be auctioned off. Not only are these significant to Canadian Naval history, having trained thousands of naval personel, but they are fine examples of 1950’s British Colombian boatbuilding. The original contract (let in 1952)[.....]

The Hybrid Myth, Greenline 33

More Hybrid Myth…… The Greenline 33 claims to be “Green”, claims to require far less fuel than typical cruisers, and claims to be especially efficient with their “patent pending” Super Displacement hull form. In truth it is none of these things. What the Greenline hull appears to be is a reasonable answer to lower speed[.....]

Drawing the Boottop

An excellent example of a wide boottop done by William Garden on his Vega design. Drawing the Boottop The boottop line is screwed up more often than not…….very few get it right…. There is no simple formula…..this is art…..the boottop should be curved top and bottom (not a straight line in profile). The lower edge[.....]

Aluminum bulwarks on old wooden boats

It seems that British Columbia’s maritime history will be preserved one boat at a time. Lacking any museum or group focused solely on small craft, the work will be done by individuals within their personal (sometimes very limited) means. The results are uneven, a mix of methods with no fixed standards of preservation or restoration.[.....]

Martin Marie’s Arielle

Transoceanic cruising in powerboats began in 1937 when French yachtsman Martin Marie crossed the Atlantic alone in Arielle. There had been several transatlantic stunt voyages prior to that, but this was the first real ocean cruise in a powerboat. Marie was a marine painter, and he wished to spend time with his subject. Arielle was[.....]

The Hickman Sea Sled and Boston Whaler

The Hickman Sea Sled and the Boston Whaler When Albert Hickman launched the first Sea Sled in about 1913, she was revolutionary. A lightweight box which flew across the top of the water using an (also revolutionary) surface piercing propeller. Compared to the narrow and heavy boats of the day, the “sled” was stunningly fast.[.....]

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