More than 100 boats were on display at Finland’s Naantali In-Water Boat Show, the second year in which the event was organised by the Finnish Marine Industries Federation Finnboat.
“We are developing the Naantali Boat Show into an increasingly important part of the Finnish boating industry’s three major annual events,” explained Jarkko Pajusalo, CEO of Finnboat.
“The year begins with the Helsinki International Boat Show in February, the boating season on the Archipelago Sea is launched at the Naantali Boat Show one week before the end of the Finnish school year and the boating summer culminates in August at the largest in-water boat show in the Nordic countries, Uiva Flytande.”
All-time visitor record
The weather played a large part in the popularity of the show, with the warm and sunny conditions drawing out the visitors.
As expected, Saturday was the busiest day of the show, with long-time show host Jukka Rantala, estimating that the event set an all-time visitor record that day.
“Saturday was the busiest day I can remember at the Naantali Boat Show in the 15 to 16 years I have been involved,” explained Henri Jokinen, CEO of Finnish boat dealership Astrum Vene.
For exhibitors, the show was positive, with boats sold and a healthy number of requests for quotations.
In addition to large Finnish-built pilothouse boats, Astrum’s stand also featured the Ryds range, shown for the first time at an in-water boat show in Finland.
“That, too, was a positive experience, and boats were sold,” said Jokinen.
Strong interest
Practical commuter boats for the archipelago also attracted interest.
“We are feeling quite positive — it was a good event,” says Mika Kouki, CEO of Bike & Boat World, a Finnish marine dealership representing several boat brands, describing the outcome of the boat show weekend.
He added that at the opening of the archipelago boating season, visitors showed strong interest in practical cabin boats designed for all-weather transport and commuting between islands, harbours and holiday homes.
Mikael Winqvist, CEO of boat manufacturer AMT Boats, also estimated that the show attracted significantly more visitors than the previous year.
“On Saturday, the boat show was absolutely packed — at one point I even started wondering how much weight the pontoon could take,” he said.
The show also saw the presentation of the Archipelago Sea Award to Saaristomeren Taimen of the Archipelago Sea Trout Association – a volunteer organisation working to restore the endangered sea trout population of the Archipelago Sea.
The 2027 Naantali Boat Show will take place on 28–30 May.
The next Finnish boating industry event will be the Helsinki in-water Boat Show Uiva Flytande on 13–16 August.
