Tartan Yachts

Offering both sailing and motor yachts, Tartan Yacht Company is one of the United States’ oldest yacht manufacturers. Based in northeastern Ohio near Cleveland, the company’s yachts range between 10-18 metres in length.

History

Tartan traces its history back to 1941 when Ray McLeod Sr. purchased the Grand River Boat Works. He later partnered with Gordon “Sandy” Douglass, who introduced the Thistle one-design sailboat in 1946, to form Douglass & McLeod Inc. McLeod bought out Douglass in 1957 and in 1960, under a new partnership with Charlie Britton, the company introduced the Tartan 27 auxiliary.

The company underwent several more ownership changes and even a name change in 1990 to Fairport Yachts after Tartan was purchased by Polk Industries that year. Tartan Yacht Company today is owned by Steve Malbasa, who acquired the shipyard in July 2010. The company also acquired luxury motor yacht builder Legacy Yachts in 2010 and now builds its small luxury motor yacht models under the Legacy by Tartan nameplate.

Notable Builds

Tartan’s lineup includes the Tartan 115 and Tartan 101, as well as the Tartan 3400, 3700, 4000, 4300, 4700 and 5300.

Specialisations

Tartan Yacht Company is dedicated to offering innovative yacht designs and durable, handcrafted construction while utilising advanced technologies. Stability and durability are keywords in describing the Tartan product line. The company employs a combination of unidirectional E-glass, synthetic structural foam coring and epoxy modified vinylester resin to make hulls with outstanding strength and impact-resistance. Its hulls are resin-infused under vacuum to produce low-resin and high-fiber-content hulls.