Naantali Boat Show enjoyed a sunny weekend

The boating season on the Archipelago Sea — one of Finland’s busiest and most popular boating regions — was opened in traditional fashion in the Old Town harbour of Naantali, where the Naantali In-Water Boat Show attracted a large audience. During the sunny boat show weekend, more than one hundred different boats were on display in the harbour area.

The recipient of the Archipelago Sea Award was also announced at the show for the ninth time. This year, the award was presented to Saaristomeren Taimen – the Archipelago Sea Trout Association – a volunteer organisation working to restore the endangered sea trout population of the Archipelago Sea.

The Naantali Boat Show has become a long-standing tradition, having been held for the first time in 2010. This was 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. 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,” says Jarkko Pajusalo, CEO of Finnboat.

A very busy weekend at the show

Weather has a major impact on the popularity of an outdoor event, and this time Naantali enjoyed warm and sunny conditions. As expected, Saturday was the busiest day of the show. Jukka Rantala, the long-time host of the Naantali Boat Show, estimated 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,” confirms Henri Jokinen, CEO of Finnish boat dealership Astrum Vene. Visitors who came to the show by boat were particularly interested in the walkaround pilothouse boats on the company’s stand: the Sargo 31, Sargo 36 and Quarken 35 Cabin.

Astrum was pleased with the results of the show. “For us, even Friday got off to a good start. Sargo attracted a good level of interest, and we also received a healthy number of requests for quotations for the Quarken models,” Jokinen says.

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,” Jokinen says.

Practical commuter boats for the archipelago 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.

The company’s stand focused on products manufactured and represented by the Brandt Group: Silver, TG, Alukin, Faster and Terhi boats powered by Honda outboard engines.

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. Models attracting attention included the Alukin C650, TG 6.1, the seven-metre Silver SeaHawk Cabin and the eight-metre Silver Condor Cabin.

“Silver in particular has made a strong entry into the archipelago commuter boat market with its new cabin boat models,” Kouki says.

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,” Winqvist says with a laugh.

Five AMT boats were on display on the stand of Wicmarine, a boat dealer based in Inkoo on Finland’s south coast: the AMT 210 DC daycruiser, the new AMT 175 Pro Fishing designed for lure and casting anglers, the open-bow AMT 190 BR bowrider, and the approximately five-metre console boats AMT 165 R and AMT 150 R, which are popular as versatile boats for summer cottages and leisure use.

“We are quite satisfied. Compared with the Helsinki Boat Afloat Show, which has a more sales-driven character, Naantali has a very different and more relaxed atmosphere. Even so, our stand attracted visitors who were genuinely interested in boats,” Winqvist says.

Customers came from across Finland’s coastal region

For Jarmo Tiainen of Nautione, a used-boat brokerage based in Naantali, the show took place on home waters. Although a significant share of the company’s used-boat inventory can also be found at the Naantali pontoons outside the event, the show is attractive from a boat broker’s perspective.

“The Naantali Boat Show clearly broadens our customer base. People interested in boats come here from all along the Finnish coast, from Kotka in the east to Vaasa on the west coast. It gives us a broad cross-section of customers and many valuable contacts,” Tiainen says.

According to Tiainen, the large Finnmaster T8 daycruiser was one of the standout products of the show. Larger cruising boats from the 2000s also attracted interest among visitors considering the purchase of a used boat.

“Used boats are attractive and affordable, but the boating industry’s biggest challenge at the moment is weak consumer confidence in the economy,” Tiainen says.

Teppo Siltala of marine equipment retailer Nautikulma says the timing of the event at the start of the boating season serves boaters well as they prepare and complete their onboard equipment for the summer.

“For us marine equipment retailers, the timing of the Naantali Boat Show is good, even though the audience includes many people other than boaters,” Siltala says.

For Oikea Konekauppa, a Finnish machinery and leisure equipment dealer, Sea-Doo personal watercraft were the main products at the Naantali Boat Show. Jussi Jalonen, who runs Oikea Konekauppa, was satisfied on Monday while recovering from the long show weekend: 153 people took part in test rides, even though the strong winds on Sunday meant the water-based program had to be suspended.

“It was worth taking part, although this morning I have been completely drained. The weather was on our side, people were out and about in a good mood, and there was a real buzz around the show. There was plenty of interest and many promising sales leads. Through the test rides, new people were introduced to the sport,” Jalonen says.

• In 2027, the Naantali Boat Show will be held on 28–30 May. The event takes place one week before the end of the Finnish school year.
• The next Finnish boating industry event will be the highlight of the boating summer: the Helsinki in-water Boat Show Uiva Flytande will take place on 13–16 August.