Linjett invites you on new adventures and those who sail with us will always have a story to tell. Our boats are fast, safe and easy to sail, making them ideal for new adventures and an active yachting life. Discover how other Linjett owners are sailing away on their own large (and small) adventures with our collection of news and stories. From the 89-year-old who bought a new Linjett 34 to Mattias who built his own electrical yacht, get inspired by the Linjett lifestyle…

To commemorate the occasion Linjett celebrated with three days of festivities in August. We started by inviting all our employees to a 50th birthday party. On day two, we opened the boatyard to the public, organizing a range of activities and hosting a packed stage show. The Swedish comedian Kristoffer Appelquist invited interesting guests to a stage build by the deck of a L39! On the dock all Linjett models that have been built since the start in 1973 were on display. The Linjett Owners’ Association opened a Linjett shop and organized a quiz walk. Linjett also labelled its own anniversary beer in honor of the festivities and temporarily opened the Linjett Bar. The Swedish Sea Rescue Society, was there to show off one of their rescue boats. You could also take a test sail on a Linjett 43 and compete with RC sailboats.

In addition, there was a group of exhibitors and appreciated food trucks. For those who did not have the opportunity to be there, the party could be followed via the local radio station, Skärgårdsradion, who broadcasted live from the boatyard all day.

The third day was celebrated with Linjett owners from the Linjett Owners’ Association in conjunction with the annual Linjett Championship! You can read more about the championship below.

According to tradition, the prestigious Linjett Championship was arranged in the middle of August. We had 44 Linjetts on the starting line and 43 made it to the finish. It is fun to highlight that the victory was claimed by the smallest yacht in the fleet, Linjett 30 Querida with Johan Gustafsson at the helm. In second place was the largest yacht in the fleet, Linjett 43 Aliccia skippered by Nils Gustafsson. The bronze medal was brought home by Martin Björklund and crew on board Linjett 37 Alina – a mid-sized boat in the fleet.

The Saturday was rounded off with a traditional Swedish crayfish party and price giving ceremony – a huge congratulation to all the medalists who fought well on the course. With that we want to thank the Linjett Owner’s Association and all who helped organize the competition.

During the summer of 2022 we found out that the Linjett 39 was nominated for European Yacht of the year, an occasion worth celebrating and something that would lead to a real adventure… The nominated boats were asked to come to La Rochelle, on the French West Coast, at the end of September. This so that the jury would be able to test the nominated yachts in comparable conditions.  

Don’t Underestimate a Sprayhood 

The planning of the adventure and the search for a crew began during Linjett’s annual crayfish party in August. As the period between Orust Sailboat Show on the Swedish west coast and the date the boat needed to be in France was quite short, there was no time for a slow and leisurely delivery. The journey down started from Ellös on Orust, immediately after the boat show closed, on September 5th. A crew of five hauled in the dock lines and set course for Ijmuiden in the Netherlands, which was the first stop on the roughly 1500 nautical mile long journey onboard the Linjett 39.  

“We had periods with lighter wind, but for the most part we had nice sailing in good weather conditions with an average pressure of 16-20 knots. Of course, there were some gusts with plenty more wind, up towards of 40 knots, and during those you feel quite vulnerable on the North Sea. Especially when a real thunderstorm rolls in. We planned the trip really trying to avoid going head to wind, but we still got some quite steep reaches that kept us on our toes.” Says Robert Sagulin, who owns the Linjett 37 Merlin, and continues, “it was quite chilly at times, and then you were extra grateful that the yacht is easy to sail, so only the person driving had to be out in the wind while the rest hid under the sprayhood.” 

At noon on September 18th the crew arrived in La Rochelle, having stopped in Belgian Oostende and the French ports of Boulonge-sur Mer, Cherbourg, Roscoff and Port Haliguen for crew changes and a few steady meals with solid ground under their feet.

Meeting the Military 
After ten days in La Rochelle, it was time to start the journey home to Sweden. It was now October and the Linjett 39 was quite alone at sea, or at least the odd one out – there were plenty of traffic in terms of cargo ships and ferries. One night, somewhere off the coast Brittany, the crew faced problems with their navigation lights and became busy keeping the crowd of surrounding fishing vessels updated via VHF. Just before going through a particularly tight traffic zone, they hear on the radio “Linjett 39, Linjett 39, c’est La Marine National de France.”

They are getting called on by a French military ship. Immediately their thoughts wandered off – what could they possibly done wrong? They answered the radio call to find out that the large military ship had heard the crew’s radio communication. They answered the radio call to find out that the large military ship had heard the crew’s radio communication, and just wanted to prevent a collision as they were passing through the tight traffic zone of fishing vessels themselves.  

Bilge Treasures 

“We were chased by a mean low-pressure system, so we decided to push to sail longer stints rather than stop as planned. We were never starving, and thanks to the Linjett being so simple to sail we didn’t struggle to power through, but we had not really planned our food supplies for the situation and the alternatives on the menu became less and less inspiring for every nautical mile sailed… 

I remember waking up hungry as a wolf sometime during the afternoon. We were somewhere outside Dover and the guys had sailed through lunch – the sea state was pretty rough; nobody had felt inspired to go down to cook anything with the uninspiring things that were left. I decided, despite the sea state, to go on a treasure hunt to see if there was anything that could be turned into at least a half decent meal. I hit the jackpot: I found both a stray bell pepper, and an onion that had weaselled its way down into the bilge. Together with a can of tuna and some other finds, it turned in to a real treat of a meal. I am certainly not a master chef and don’t quite know what hit me, but I managed to whip up a tasty dish that really heightened the morale onboard” recounts Karin Modigh.  

On their way out of a port in Holland, the crew got acquainted with the Dutch coast guard. What could they possibly want? Firstly, the coast guard were highly sceptical towards the crew’s decision to head out in the rough weather that prevailed. But, since the crew still seemed quite determined to leave Holland, they began to inquire about the purpose of the journey. As they finally accepted the crew’s explanation of a delivery trip, they were then curious about the vessel that the crew sailed. When they heard the name Linjett 39, the counter question came rapidly: “Is it a new model?!” Way to know your boats! A gold star to the Dutch coast guard from Linjett.

A Proper Sea Trial 
After 3,300 nautical miles sailed, they crew were once again back at home at the Linjett Yard. “I can say with great confidence that the boat is both seaworthy and an exceptional blue ocean cruiser – what a sea trial!” Says Robert laughing. Laughter was certainly the theme of the trip, “We had a fantastic and jovial atmosphere on board, it was a fun adventure to experience, and we got plenty of nice sailing together. The cherry on top was, of course, that the Linjett 39 went on to win its category in Düsseldorf.”

The full crew was a total of ten sailors: Christian Josefsson, Joakim Lagner, Johan Nordström, Karin Modigh, Lennart Pilfalk, Martin Björklund, Mats Dahlbäck, Per Oskarsson, Robert Sagulin and Thomas Bindzau. Linjett would like to extend a huge thanks to the entire crew, without you none of this would have been possible.  

“Have you purchased a longer extension cord?”

“Do you know where the charging units are in the archipelago?”

There were plenty of friendly jokes from his colleagues at Rosättra Boatyard when 45-year-old boatbuilder Mattias Wenblad decided to equip his own new yacht with an electric engine.

“I’ve known for some time that I was going to build my own Linjett 34, but the decision of what type of engine to have would keep me up at night,” said Mattias, who knew he wanted an electric engine that was climate smart and energy efficient.

“We currently have no major experiences with electric engines, so we were really looking forward to Mattias’ project,” says Markus Gustafsson, CEO of Rosättra Båtvarv AB. “Being climate smart and looking at sustainable solutions is essential going forward, so this was a great way to learn from the process.”

With no one to ask for solid advice of discuss solutions with, it took Mattias nearly a year-and-a-half before he did a test tour in August 2019: “What was immediately noticeable was the silence,” said the father-of-three. “It’s a strange feeling when you know that the engine is running, but you cannot hear it like you are used to.”

With a distance range of 30 nautical miles at five knots, planning ahead is important with an electric engine. “It’s essential to plan your sailing: where you start, where you are going, what weather is expected etc. All those things did not matter with a diesel engine, but with an electric you can recharge the engine when sailing and the propeller can be tilted to spin by aqua dynamics to provide up to 1.4 kW during sailing.” Another useful support is to motor sail and use the sails when moving under engine: “it becomes a kind of hybrid, sail + engine.”

The electric motor is a similar size to a robotic lawnmower and sits on top of the drive. Where a regular engine would be traditionally be located, there is now a battery bank of 100kg, and while Mattias admits the electric motor is a more expensive installation, he feels the benefits outweigh the price: “You never have to think about saving electricity on board and you feel good about being climate smart. It was the right decision and I am very happy I chose the electrical engine.”

The Shogun 50 is a unique, custom designed yacht built by Rosättra Boatyard during 2019. The Shogun 50 is a competitive 50ft racer-cruiser, suitable for the Swedish archipelago with its shallow and narrow waters. She is a boat that can be easily handled by a two for ordinary sailing, yet fully able to sock it to the hot competition in the Gotland Round Race fully crewed. Designed by Oscar and Håkan Södergren, the Shogun 50 is a yacht with 50 feet of sleek, aggressive lines, built as a full carbon racer with an attitude. She is a yacht of Swedish expertise in modern technology, produced by leading suppliers in the Swedish Yacht industry.

As much as Shogun 50 is fast and a joy to sail, she is a model of extraordinary design. Function, aesthetics and form are decisive features in their own right, designed together for perfect harmony. The inverted bow gives the hull a longer waterline and increases performance. It’s designed with spray rails that limits the water on the deck, but also works as steps for the bowman when working on the bowsprit. Both the spray rails and the inverted bow are also a matter of contemporary design. The advanced lines of Shogun make a yacht with a strong, personal character.

Shogun 50s designer Oscar Södergren comments. ”With Shogun 50, we wanted to smooth out the boundary between hull and deck. We drew them as one unit. When looked at, the boat should be seen as a whole. Still, some parts want to break loose. We have allowed the superstructure to do that, with a shaded portlight along the entire side and a shade-edging above. The coach roof is sort of suspended on top. We have let hull and deck come together in an organic form, a form that floats all the way to the transom. We have smoothed out the shearline.”

Project manager was Daniel Gustafsson at Rosättra. ”In this project we had a close connection with experienced carpenters, project management, designers and the customer. It is important to guarantee an optimal balance of performance, feeling and weight,” he says about the close multi-party cooperation behind the Shogun 50.

The jury’s motivation for the Sailboat of the Year – Offshore Cruisers

“To like Linjett 43 is to like classic, quality and timeless yacht design. The boat offers speed as well as and stability for both home waters and long journeys. Above all, the dazzling blend of tradition and innovation shows that Rosättra’s way of building high quality yachts works well. Large for its 43ft, modern in its style, well-designed interiors, great sailing abilities and on top of it all, equipped with a lifting keel that can withstand grounding is impressive. In addition, Mats Gustafsson’s yacht designs are always beautiful to look at, and Rosättra’s goal to build perfect yachts in every manner has been accomplished with a design that offers plenty boat for the money. The new Linjett 43 is perhaps the most interesting and most innovative cruiser-racer this year, and a great example of what Swedish boat yards are capable of.”

Båtmässan Göteborg & Maringuiden behind the award  Årets Segelbåt

The innovative keel construction on the Linjett 43 has been tested and the results are impressive!

The new Linjett 43 has an unusual and innovative retractable keel which is new-in-its-kind and was tested during the summer of 2015. Through a clever construction, the keel is kept fully fixed without flexing sideways or longitudinally during sailing (even through tough upwinds of around 40 knots). The keel was then tested by running aground at different speeds over 20 times at a depth of two meters on a rocky sea floor. The crew experienced all the groundings were controlled and surprisingly “soft.” During the most crucial five groundings, the speed was about 8 knots and the “impact” still felt quite soft even at this speed according to the test crew.

“The Linjett 43 weighs nine tons and at the hit, the keel of 3.5 tons gets pushed upwards-backwards into its keel drum by the impact. The movement of the bulb is almost 70 cm backwards to reduce the force of the impact”, says Markus Gustafsson, CEO of Rosättra Boatyard.

Most of the “shock” appeared to come from the keel itself when it jumps back down into its keel drum (which is hidden in the yacht’s saloon table), after the boat bounces back from the ground. A hydraulic piston allows the helmsman to raise and lower the keel between a depth of 2.45 – 1.90 cm, taking about in 30 seconds. The retractable keel allows the yacht to have a combination of great sailing performance AND the accessibility to the many shallow areas in the archipelago.

“After the test, the yacht was completely intact. Inside and outside, we could find no structural damage or cracks on either the keel construction, bulkheads or interiors. The only evidence of the groundings were marks on the keel itself and a few on the damping zone in the keel drum,” continues Markus Gustafsson. “Rosättra Boatyard is pleased with the good result and the keel will be available as an option for the Linjett 43.”

“I want to order a Linjett 34, but it must be ready before the birds leave in April,” said Anders Parrow to the Rosättra Boatyard in the autumn. Not an unusual order to make, until the team realised the client would soon be turning 89 years old!

Already an owner of a Linjett 35 and friend of Mats Gustafsson for more than 40 years, this was the first time Anders Parrow had started talking about getting a boat that was easier to handle. Having spent years on the water, a man of his age should have stopped sailing a long time ago… but instead he wanted to do the opposite:

“Of course, Rosättra was a bit surprised when I told them I wanted a new yacht, but I have given this a lot of thought over the past year,” said Anders. “It doesn’t worry me that people might think I am a bit crazy. For me, the idea of ​​being without a boat was hard to accept, therefore I came to the conclusion that I just needed a yacht that was easier for me to sail.”

In order to satisfy Anders’ unique customised needs, plenty of modifications had to be made on the yacht. One of many were changes to the cockpit to allow Anders to sail with his wheelchair, and Mats was ready to design a boat that would work. Anders followed the production of his boat on-site with interest and would visit once a week from his home in Uppsala to the east coast off Norrtälje to watch it taking shape at Rosättra. He enjoyed being a part of the process and after 80 years of sailing, he was able to put those years of experience into practical action.

“Just to think about the boat every day makes me happy. What is the point of having money in the bank really? In the end it was an easy choice”, says Anders who has recently returned from his premiere tour joined by his beloved April birds.

Meanwhile at Rosättra, the “Parrow Effect” is taking over the yard with more 70-year-olds looking to add on more years to their sailing like Anders.