In April, Peter Whiting, managing director of Seattle Yachts announced that his company had acquired the assets and brands of Tartan and Legacy Yacht. Seattle Yachts is a Tartan dealer and had several orders for new boats in the works. But, Tartan was having trouble finishing them.
Whiting remarked, “Look, it’s no secret that Tartan-Legacy had fallen onto some hard times of late and was struggling despite having a healthy order book and some nineteen boats in process on the production floor. We could see that, with some needed recapitalization and the infusion of some heavy-duty boat building management talent, we could restore the brands to their historically strong positions in the market. We also felt that would ultimately be to the benefit of everyone, including current and future customers, other Tartan-Legacy dealers, and, of course, ourselves, who had significant investments at stake, not to mention the 45 some people who work in the operation.”
The plan is to move the build operation to a new, more modern facility and to bring in new boat building talent to streamline the processes. Tim Jackett, Tartan’s in-house designer and 40-year Tartan veteran, will remain with the company to ensure seamless continuity and the continued Tartan-Legacy culture of quality and customer service.
So, once again in its storied 60 years of building cruising and race boats in Ohio, Tartan rises again from the ashes like the Phoenix of mythology. For all American sailors and cruisers, this is great news. Tartan Yachts is an American treasure.
If you have a Tartan story you would like to share with CC readers, send it to me in a Word doc: george@bwsailing.com
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