Saare Yachts

Saare Yachts is a small Estonian sailing-yacht shipyard based on the island of Saaremaa in the Baltic Sea. Operating as Saare Yachts OÜ, the yard builds elegant cruising yachts in the 38–47 foot range, producing only about five to six complete yachts per year. The company positions itself for "individualists, experts and connoisseurs," emphasizing genuine craftsmanship, the best materials, practical equipment and close, trusting cooperation with each owner. Its owners come from 16 European countries and sail the Baltic and North Seas, the Atlantic, the Mediterranean and beyond. The shipyard traces its roots to 1991, when Saare Marine Industrie was founded in the fishing village of Nasva as an Estonian–Swedish joint venture, taking over a recently built but unused fish-processing hall for boatbuilding. From 1993 it operated as Saare Paat AS with Estonian owners, working as a subcontractor for shipyards in Sweden and Finland. A long and intensive cooperation with the Finnish Finngulf yard began in 1997; over 13 years Saare built more than 220 complete yachts of 28 to 46 feet for Finngulf, designed by the Finn Karl Johan Strahlmann. Peeter Sääsk, today managing director, joined in 1997 and rose through project-management and other roles to become CEO. When Finngulf's founder Stig Nordblad sold his shipyard and Finngulf production quietened, Nordblad and Sääsk planned a new brand for the Estonian yard. Saare Yachts has developed and built its own yachts since 2008. The yard also builds the Saare H-Boot. All Saare yachts are designed and calculated by the Finnish naval architect "Kamu" Karl Johan Strahlman, with an ideas team in Germany and the yard crew in Estonia. Construction is distinctive: hull and deck are built with vacuum infusion using high-quality vinyl ester resin, giving an osmosis-resistant hull, maximum strength and a permanently smooth surface. Saare yachts are solid and durable without an inner shell, and no two are identical. The wooden interior has been widely praised and is described as being on a level no longer found in series production. Around 30 boatbuilders, electricians, mechanics, GRP specialists and carpenters work in the yard, many of them for decades. Saare remains deliberately small: "We do not want to be the biggest, but we work intensively every day to build the best yachts." The company sells directly to owners, plans each yacht together with its customer, and documents owner voyages — such as a Saare 38 reaching the Caribbean — through its owners-report pages.

The Saare shipyard stands on the Estonian island of Saaremaa, in the middle of the Baltic Sea. The island has long been the country's boatbuilding centre, with many shipyards and supplier companies in the Soviet era and before; wooden boats and fishing vessels were built in the small fishing village of Nasva. In 1991, with the founding of the Republic of Estonia, Saare Marine Industrie was established in Nasva as an Estonian–Swedish joint venture. A new hall that had recently been built for a fish-processing company but never went into operation was taken over and used for boatbuilding. The EXCEL sailing yachts were initially built there for a Swedish shipyard. From 1993 the company was run as Saare Paat AS with Estonian owners, working as a subcontractor for various shipyards in Sweden and Finland. In 1997 a very intensive and successful cooperation with the Finnish Finngulf shipyard began. Finngulf's founder, Stig Nordblad, approached the Estonian yard, and over a period of 13 years more than 220 complete yachts from 28 to 46 feet were built in Estonia for Finngulf. The designer of these yachts was the Finn Karl Johan Strahlmann. In the same year, Peeter Sääsk, the current managing director, joined the company as an IT consultant; through project-management and further positions he became CEO of Saare Paat AS. Elve Maripuu, the accountant, has been with the company from the start, and Priit Puppart, now product manager, joined in 1996. When things quietened down for Finngulf yachts after Stig Nordblad sold his shipyard, Nordblad and Peeter Sääsk planned a new brand for the Estonian yard. Saare Yachts has developed and built its own yachts since 2008. The yard also builds the Saare H-Boot. All Saare yachts are designed and calculated by the Finnish naval architect "Kamu" Karl Johan Strahlman, working with an ideas team in Germany and the yard crew in Estonia. The yard is located on Saaremaa, the fourth-largest island in the Baltic; the name Saaremaa translates as "island land," so a Saare yacht is described as one's own personal island. Kuressaare on the island hosts a vocational school for boatbuilders and a department of the technical university for ship and boatbuilding. Around 30 boatbuilders, electricians, mechanics, GRP specialists and carpenters work in the yard, many of them for decades: Kalle Joevere, head of carpentry, since 2005; Janek Aedmäe, head of composites, since 1998; and first mechanic Ivo Jöevere since 2006. Saare Yachts OÜ remains a small shipyard. In the 38–47 foot size range it can build only about five to six sailing yachts per year. The company states it does not want to be the biggest but works intensively every day to build the best yachts. Its owners come from 16 European countries and sail on the Baltic and North Seas, the Atlantic and the Mediterranean. Owner voyages are documented on the company's owners-report pages, including a Saare 38 that reached the Caribbean and a Saare 38.2, Ananda Dve, built in 2020.

• 2020

  Saare 38.2 "Ananda Dve" built; later documented sailing north in the owners report.

• 2008

  Saare Yachts begins developing and building its own yachts under the Saare brand.

• 1997

  Intensive cooperation with the Finnish Finngulf shipyard begins; Peeter Sääsk joins the company.

• 1993

  Company continues as Saare Paat AS with Estonian owners, subcontracting for Swedish and Finnish shipyards.

• 1991

  Saare Marine Industrie founded in Nasva, Saaremaa, as an Estonian–Swedish joint venture; takes over an unused fish-processing hall for boatbuilding.

Boutique, craftsmanship-led builder of individually planned, high-quality cruising sailing yachts for discerning owners.

• Saare 38

  Cruising sailing yacht; one owner example reached the Caribbean.

• Saare 38.2

  Cruising sailing yacht; an example, Ananda Dve, was built in 2020.

• Saare 41

  Cruising sailing yacht in the yard's 38–47 ft range.

• Saare 47

  Cruising sailing yacht in the yard's 38–47 ft range.

• Saare H-Boot

  Classic H-boat also built in the Estonian yard.

1. 1Saare Yachts - Saare Yachtssaare-yachts.com
2. 2history of the shipyard - Saare Yachtssaare-yachts.com
3. 3About - Saare Yachtssaare-yachts.com
4. 4Owners report - Saare Yachtssaare-yachts.com
5. 5Saare Yachtswikidata.org