Heyman Yachts history

Heyman Yacht Design was established in 1991 by Gabriel Heyman, a naval architect, SNAME member, and later Chairman of SYR, the Swedish Yacht Designers' Association. The practice built a portfolio of custom sailing and motor yachts over the following fifteen years, from racing daysailers to bluewater expedition vessels. Celeste Yachts AB was founded separately in 2005 to produce semi-custom sailing yachts — the Celeste 36 and Celeste Thirtyseven — and the two entities subsequently merged under the Heyman Yachts name.

Production and facilities

Heyman Yachts operates from a studio in Västra Frölunda, Gothenburg, without its own shipyard. Semi-custom models are built by partner yards — hull and deck construction for the Heyman 42 PPH is handled by Ridas Yacht near Tallinn, Estonia. Custom projects are delivered through selected builders with Heyman providing design, project management, and build supervision. The studio also offers hydrodynamics consultancy and takes on interior design and rebuild projects.

Heyman Yachts fleet

Current production models are the Heyman 34 Sport, the Heyman 42 PPH — a 13.52-metre pilot house sailing yacht built by Ridas Yacht in Estonia — the Celeste 36, and the Celeste Thirtyseven, the latter two carried over from the Celeste Yachts programme. The custom design portfolio covers sailing yachts from 36 to 90 feet, including pilot house cruisers, a 64-foot expedition sailing yacht, and centre cockpit sloops, alongside power projects from 29 to 53 feet. Design work has also been carried out for other yards and industry clients.

Design and features

Heyman Yachts occupies a specific niche: a design practice with genuine naval architecture and hydrodynamics capability that also produces a small number of semi-custom hulls under its own name. The Scandinavian design sensibility is consistent across the portfolio — clean profiles, pilot house configurations suited to northern European conditions, and an emphasis on seakeeping over speed.