Our Boats
We row boats designed by Ruud van Veelen. These boats are relatively light, seaworthy, and beautiful with their traditional Finnish “church boat” design. They offer greater stability than the narrow racing shells that Americans usually associate with sliding seat rowing. This makes them great for beginners, and perfect for taking out on the choppy open water where we live here on the coast of Maine. Experienced sliding seat rowers will appreciate the fact that on calm waters in capable hands, these boats can fly across the water at up to 8 knots. We love that they’re also perfect for row-camping adventures, being able to easily cruise along at 3.5-5.5 knots and carry all your camping gear. They are our favorite way to explore Maine’s coast! You can read our detailed review of the Savo 650D, featured in Small Boats Magazine.
Norppa and Mursu chillin’ during a break on an island-hopping trip along the Maine coast
Norppa
(Finnish for ringed seal)
Savo 650D
Norppa was the first Savo Leigh ever rowed, and it was love at first sight. She is 21’ long and 52” wide (though much narrower at the water line). Norppa is an example of Puuvenepiste’s classic racing double, in the 4-strake design, without any modifications.
Mursu
(Finnish for walrus)
Savo 650D - Modified for Expedition
Mursu was the original Savo 650 “E”. Dameon worked with designer Ruud van Veelen and boat builder Walter Baron to take the Savo 650 double and make it stronger and safer for expedition rowing. Mursu has successfully thru-rowed the Maine Island Trail from Kittery to Lubec (260 miles), and has completed the Race to Alaska (750 miles) twice. In addition to the decked over bow and stern, the hull is strengthened in key areas with oak and fiberglass, making him (yes, Mursu is a boy) a little heavier and a whole lot more rugged.
Merisusi
(Finnish for seawolf)
Savo Quad
Merisusi is our newest boat, custom-designed by Ruud van Veelen and built by our own Dameon Colbry. A stretched version of the Savo doubles, her 32’ 9” of length provides room for four rowers and a coxswain, plus all the gear they’d need for multi-week trips. Merisusi gives us even more excuses for coastal adventure rowing by enabling us to travel long distances even faster, with more friends! She is also an excellent boat for learning sliding seat rowing as a group, or training for team events. Like Mursu, she has been designed with expedition needs in mind, and is extremely sturdy, buoyant, and full of storage space.