They are building a unique sailboat in Varberg: "It is unsinkable"

7/12/2023, 2:17:22 PM

Highlights: The Association of Rustic Boats is in the final stages of completing their unique sailboat – a so-called kullasnipa. The construction has taken two years and according to the architect behind the boat it is unsinkable. The keel of the boat is filled with water, something that Björn Haraldsson calls a pneumatic keel. You pump air into the keel and push the water out, in this way the weight of the vessel can be regulated.

Out on Getterön in Varberg, the Association of Rustic Boats is in the final stages of completing their unique sailboat – a so-called kullasnipa. The construction has taken two years and according to the architect behind the boat it is unsinkable.

Broadly speaking, the keel of the boat is filled with water, something that Björn Haraldsson calls a pneumatic keel.

"It has no ballast in the form of, for example, iron or lead. You pump air into the keel and push the water out, in this way the weight of the boat can be regulated," he says.

Built in plastic-wrapped plywood

With this solution, the actual construction of the boat has been cheaper. Another factor in the price is that the boat is built in plastic-wrapped plywood – instead of wood.

– I would think that it cost about SEK 50,000, if you were to buy one it cost several 100 thousand kronor, says Göran Nordbladh, who is the association's founder.

In the clip above, architect Björn Haraldsson talks about the technology behind the boat that will be launched next week.