The history of the pleasure boat

1720

The world’s first pleasure boat club

The history of Cork stretches back to the 6th century and it was here, in this idyllic city on the south coast of Ireland that the first sailing club in the world, The Water Club of the Harbour of Cork, saw the light of day in 1720.

This was a club for the real crème de la crème, those who had free time and plenty of money.

Image: "The great pioneers" by Peter Monamy 1738. Sailing yachts from Water Club of the Harbour of Cork 1720.

1765

Early archipelago regattas

The secretive Arla Coldinu Order is formed in Stockholm. This is a society that is said to have its roots in an order of seafarers from the Mediterranean that was founded in the Middle Ages. Its prominent and often blue-blooded members began taking part in what were known as squadron regattas in the archipelago in the 1760s. In practice, these involved recreational tours in large.

Image: The fortress of the Arla Coldinu Order in Lilla Essingen/Stockholm 1786. C.W: v. K. [Public domain], by Wikimedia Commons.

1830

The first Swedish sailing club

The Swedish Yacht Club was formed 110 years after the establishment of the world first sailing club, The Water Club of the Harbour of Cork. It was formed by rich bourgeoisie in Stockholm who were interested in competitive sailing. In 1878, the club changed its name to the Royal Swedish Yacht Club (Kunliga Svenska Segelsälskapet, KSSS).

In the second half of the 19th century, a large number of different yacht clubs were formed in Sweden, from Kristianstad to Luleå. In the 1890s, the first club for "the man in the street" was formed. Normal working people were building their own boats or buying old working boats that they converted to recreational boats.

Image: Sandhamn in the Stockholm archipelago. The picture is from 1898 and not from the establishment. Photographer: Frans G Flemming. The Maritime Museums photographic archive.

1873

Carl Smith, "Om båtar och båtsegling" (On Boats and Sailing).

In the 1870s, much of the recreational sailing that took place involved parties consisting of members of the upper class going out in boats that were handled by hired crew. They enjoyed each other's company, held dinners and received a fantastic natural experience on the house. Some were also involved in competitive sailing.

Naval officer and boat builder Carl Smith wanted to change this. In 1873, he published the book "Om båtar och båtsegling". The book provided advice about long-distance sailing, purchasing boats, the care, furnishing and equipping of boats, etc. Smith wanted sailing to be a hobby for the masses, not just a few. This is a time when ideas about how Swedes have to get to know their country and get out into nature are prevalent and Smith saw the sailing boat as an excellent means to do just that.

Image: Carl Smith. Photographer: Erik Boström. The Maritime Museums photographic archive.

1890s

The motor boat appears in Sweden

While visiting Germany, Sune Amilon, managing director of the foundries in Surahammar and Hallstahammar, purchases a small boat with an internal combustion engine, manufactured by the world-renowned engineer Gottlieb Daimler. Amilon brings the boat home in 1890.

AB Mekaniska Verkstaden Vulcan in Norrköping soon begins building boat engines in Sweden and boats fitted with these are displayed for the first time at the Gothenburg Exhibition in 1891.

But the motor boat is definitely not an immediate success. The name "internal combustion engine" is worrying to many, both normal people and insurance companies. Motor boats are developed and gradually become better and better, and as they do, the interest in them for both recreational and commercial purposes grows. In 1900, the first motor boat is registered in the Royal Swedish Yacht Club.

Image: Drawing of a motor boat by Emil Smith for AB Mekaniska Verkstaden Vulcan in 1891. The Maritime Museums archive.

1929

A best seller in the archipelago

The philosopher Erik Jonson goes out into the Stockholm archipelago on his motor boat. Over the course of several years, he collects a mass of information about the best routes for small boats. The nautical charts of the archipelago at that time were based on old measurements (as they often still are), they lacked a great deal of detail and were far from reliable. Jonson devotes a great deal of work to correcting errors that he finds on the nautical charts. In addition, he meets people who live in the archipelago and gathers a sound bank of knowledge about things like islands, harbours and where to get the best natural experiences.

The result of these expeditions is the book "I prickade och oprickade farleder" (In marked and unmarked channels), published in 1929. This becomes a best seller that greatly increases public interest in the archipelago and recreational boating.

Image: View over the archipelago of Sandhamn, 1930. Photographer unknown. The Maritime Museums photographic archive.

1929

The camping boat

The legendary shipbuilder C G Pettersson designs Sweden's first camping boat. This is the first type of boat that is mass produced in Sweden and several tens of thousands, in various variants and with different constructors, have been built over the years. The camping boat is an open boat with a windscreen, side windows and usually an outboard motor. As it is mass produced, the price can be kept down at a reasonable level and even those who do not have a particularly fat wallet are able to buy a motor boat.

Image: The camping boat. Photographer: Gunnar Langborg. The Maritime Museums photographic archives.

1938

Holidays for all

In 1928, the leader of the Swedish Social Democratic Party, Per Albin Hansson, launched his vision of the Swedish Welfare State and ten years later, all employees in Sweden are given the right to at least two weeks' holiday. There were groups of workers who had the right to holidays long before the Holiday Act of 1938, but when the vast majority of the population is given two weeks' holiday, this gradually becomes a great step forward for recreational boating.

Image: Photographer unknown. The Maritime Museums photographic archive.

A classic is born

The first Folkbåt (People's Boat) was launched on 23 April 1942. It is built at the Arendal ship yard in Gothenburg and soon becomes a big seller and a classic of the welfare state. It is a simple, seaworthy sailing boat for the whole family, it has berths and is relatively cheap to manufacture. The Folkbåt is now one of the most prominent symbols of Swedish recreational boating.

Image: Photographer: Oscar Norberg. The Maritime Museums photographic archive.

1960s

The plastic revolution

The first plastic boat was manufactured in the United States at the beginning of the 1940s, but it is only two decades later that it makes its breakthrough in Sweden. When it does, it does so with a vengeance; plastic boats become a bit hit with Swedes and huge numbers are sold.

It is easy to understand this success; plastic boats are cheap, durable and require very little maintenance. Between 1971 and 1974, the number of recreational boats in Sweden increases from 500,000 to 600,000, thanks greatly to plastic.

Image: The plastic motor boat Fjord from 1969. Photographer unknown. The Maritime Museums photographic archive.

1974

The pleasure boat inquiry

The Swedish Government Official Report "Pleasure boating – society and pleasure boats" (SOU 1974:95) is published. This calls, for example, for municipalities to devote substantial resources to pleasure boating. The inquiry proposes measures including sea sense training in schools, improvements to weather reports and nautical charts and the expansion of harbours.

Image: Family onboard the Albin 25 Smygen. Photographer: Eric Carlstedt. The Maritime Museums photographic archive.

2010

Sweden among the countries with the highest density of recreational boats in the world

Pleasure boating is now deeply rooted in the Swedish public consciousness. In our country, there is approximately one pleasure boat for every eight adults, placing Sweden at the absolute top of all the countries in the world. About one third of Swedes use a pleasure boat every year. What was primarily an exclusive pastime for the rich upper classes in the early 20th century has become a mass movement.

Image: Pleasure boats in port. Photographer: Anneli Karlsson, The National Maritime Museums. The Maritime Museums photographic archive.