As the mild winter is turning into spring, the boaters start to plan the upcoming season. But what exactly happens out there on the sea and in the archipelago? Boating as an activity sounds simple: one starts the engine or sets the sails, and drives to the horizon. Related activities include fishing, swimming, eating and, for many, beer drinking. However, like with most hobbies and activities, the details are much richer than this and there are plenty of stereotypical boating concepts out there. To better understand these concepts, one needs to understand that there are different kinds of boats. Hence, here comes “Leisure boats 101”.
Based on my vast three years of experience, I have sketched a three-dimensional theoretical framework to classify different boat types and related boating concepts. First comes the source of power, fuel or wind? It makes a fundamental difference if the boat is primarily moved by an engine or by sails. Second, related to the first one, is the speed of the boat. Third, equally important, is the size of the boat and the living circumstances: by this, I mean if there is an inside cabin, if the crew can sleep or have dinner inside the boat, etc. While the spectrum of alternatives is wide for the last two, let’s assume for simplicity that there are i) motor and sail boats, ii) slow and fast boats, and iii) small boats without a cabin (for some four persons) and large boats with nice inside conditions (for, say, eight people). This gives eight possible combinations but some of them are non-existing or non-interesting: in the context of this blog text, there are no fast sail boats (small or large) and no small and slow motor boats. This leaves us with small and large sailboats, fast small motor boats, large slow motor boats, and fast and large motor boats.
Perhaps the most common boat type in Finland is a fast and small motor boat, which is generally used for moving from A to B, A being some sort of service point and B being a summer cottage. In addition, these boats can be used for day trips, or multi-day trips combined with camping or sleeping at a guest house. This is also a lethal boat type: a typical boating accident is death by drowning due to peeing from a small boat – under a heavy influence of alcohol, of course.
Typical small motor boat
As for sailboats, freely translating from Finnish, in contrast to going somewhere with a (motor) boat, one just goes into a sailboat. This is to emphasize the experience of sailing, in contrast to simply driving to a special place - this place being the highlight of the trip. So if small motor boats are used for quick trips in the archipelago, sail boaters spend some four to twelve hours out on the sea daily. Sailboats are also best boats for harsh weather and making long distance legs. When anchored, sailors prefer peaceful (even isolated) islands and marinas. While in a harbor, as opposed to drinking and partying, they concentrate on next day’s trip planning, fixing things on the boat, nature walks, and healthy boat dishes. It is easy to spot the crew, especially the ones that sail with a big sail boat, because they have ridiculously expensive and functional clothes on them. Then again, if your boat costs 200k, you can probably affair a jacket that costs a thousand.
A small(ish) sailboat and, perhaps not very apparent from the photo, a large (and very very) expensive sailboat
Smaller sailboats are used by normal (i.e., not necessarily rich) people, and so are some motor boats. A very common motor boat in the Finnish waters is a large but slow motor boat, which resembles a sail boat in some ways: traveling takes time and the attitude, in general, is to enjoy the trip (it would not really make sense not to try enjoying it, because it takes sooo long to get anywhere). Differences to sail boat are i) loud noise made by (the often 40-years-old) engine, ii) non-dependence of the weather, and iii) less trouble with the driving, compared to all hassle with sails. Large-but-slow motor boats are often designed for convenience (i.e., the deck is for sunbathing, not for ropes, handles or other sailing gear), as long as fast traveling is not seen as a convenience factor.
Last come the big and fast motor boats, or yachts. With these things, both fixed and variable costs are astronomical, and thus, it is important to show off in big marinas. In yachts, the crew looks posh, the drinks are cold, food is eaten in a restaurant, and being on the sea is mostly a nuisance. The faster one reaches the next harbor, the better.
A slow and large motor boat and a fast and large motor boat
As a conclusion, consider a typical summer holiday on a boat. For a small-fast-motor boater, it’s hanging out in a cottage and meeting friends and relatives here and there, making occasional boat trips quick and easy. For a small sailboat or a big-and-slow motorboat owner, it is a few weeks in the Finnish archipelago with a moderate budget and slow pace. Some nights are spent on bigger marinas, some on quiet islands alone or with few other boats. For a big sailboat, it’s either the same as with the small sailboat (with some updates, such as better food and beverages, and occasional golf tour here and there), or a longer trip to Sweden, Germany, or the Netherlands, for example. For a yacht owner, the summer holiday means day trips, hanging on the boat (anchored), and inviting friends over.
So, different boats imply different ways of boating and require different mentalities and cash reserves. But feel free to disagree with the stereotypes presented above!