About us
A small studio with a shipyard mindset.
Calmhaven Marine Design was founded in Dartmouth, England, on a simple observation: the best-looking yacht is worthless if the yard can't build her. So we design backwards from the mould.
Our story
Eight years, twelve countries, one way of working.
We started in 2017 with two workstations and a single refit commission. Word travelled the way it does in this industry — across pontoons and boatyards — and within three years we were styling new builds for shipyards in the Netherlands, Italy and the Gulf.
Remote delivery was never a compromise for us; it was the point. Without a showroom to fund, every pound goes into senior designers and computing power. Owners review their yacht inside the 3D model every week, and yards receive geometry that lofts first time.
Today Calmhaven is a team of nine — stylists, naval architects and visualisation artists — delivering around a dozen projects a year, from 12-metre day boats to 50-metre custom yachts.
+8
Years
+12
Countries
+90
Projects
ELLIOT MARSH
FOUNDER & PRINCIPAL DESIGNER
Founder
Elliot Marsh
Elliot trained as a naval architect in Southampton and spent six years in Dutch superyacht yards before founding Calmhaven — half that time on the shop floor, watching his own drawings become steel, aluminium and glass.
"I draw every line twice," he says. "Once for the owner, once for the man with the torch. If the second version doesn't work, the first one was just decoration."
He still reviews every surface the studio issues — and still answers the studio phone.
What we believe
i.
Buildable is beautiful
A design that fights the yard will be value-engineered into mediocrity. We resolve structure early so the beauty survives contact with reality.
ii.
Remote, but present
Weekly model reviews, same-day answers, site support on call. Distance is a timezone to manage, not an excuse to disappear.
iii.
Yours, not ours
Your name goes on the transom and your files stay with you. We take no supply margins and no credit we didn't earn.
Work with us
Meet the studio before you commit.
A first conversation costs nothing and commits you to nothing — just direction for your project.
Start project discussion