These days, yachts are usually designed on a computer, but not at the Rosättra shipyard north of Stockholm. There, the designs are still created traditionally using a small model. Only when senior shipyard employee Mats Gustafsson is happy with the moulds does he saw the boat into pieces, remove the frames and enlarge everything in order to build a prototype.
This is then sailed by the shipyard family and further optimised. If everything fits, negative moulds are approved and series production can begin. This is not the quickest way to create a new model, but it is undoubtedly a customised one. No wonder that special ships are created in the process.
We were able to test sail the shipyard's smallest model in its home waters. The detailed test will appear in one of the next issues.
Hauke Schmidt
Test & Technology editor
Hauke Schmidt was born in Hanau, Hesse, in 1974, but moved to the coast at the age of an Opti and grew up sailing dinghies and tall ships. School and semester breaks were used for extensive Baltic Sea cruises. During and after his oceanography studies in Kiel, he took part in various international research trips to tropical and polar regions. The focus was on ocean currents and their influence on climate change. Eventually he was drawn back to his home coast and to YACHT. He completed a traineeship there and has been working as an editor in the Test & Technology department since 2009. His core tasks include equipment and boat testing, as well as practical topics relating to electronics, seamanship and refits. As a passionate DIY enthusiast, he loves to spend his summers on the water with his family and winters working on his boat
