Why building Norse boats in Sicily?

As a Norwegian boat builder of North European style boats it would seem natural to establish a workshop in Norway....

But the level of costs there is very high, both for labour, tools and machinery, materials and suitable workshop facilities. As well, the Norwegian climate has long and cold winters, a big drawback for work like glueing, painting, testing boats on the water, etc. - which are large parts of the boatbuilding processes. This would make for a very short season of activity.

Sicily has one of the lowest cost levels in western Europe, which makes us very competitive in pricing our products, as most boat-builders of these kind of boats are located further north in much more expensive environments. The climate in Sicily is ideal, with very short and mild winters. Being an island Sicily has a prevailing maritime culture, making it easier to find skilled workers, materials and equipment for our trade.

We will also not hide the fact that our Norwegian owner/founder/manager/"fix-man", Helge Kristiansen, has been living in Italy for the past 12 years, speaks Italian and loves Italy!

As we specialize in building boats that are easily transportable, the best, cheapest and easiest way to bring your new boat home is by simply placing your boat on a boat-trailer behind your own car, and off you go driving home. If this is not feasible for you, transport costs by truck, railway or ship will be reasonable, given that size and weight will be optimal when the boat is in "transport mode".

Self-building

An important part of our set-up is the rarely seen option of offering our customers the opportunity of participating in building their own boat.

They will save money, learn about boat building with tuition and use of our workshop and equipment, and really get to know their new pride - their own new boat. At the same time, the stay in exotic Sicily offers an experience of beautiful environment, fabulous food and wine, interaction with friendly locals and much more. We can also assist in finding accomodation for your stay, at lower prices than you would normally find as a "common" foreign tourist.

After completion and equipping your boat, we recommend strongly that you spend some days sailing in Sicily before taking your boat home. It has a beautiful seascape with great beaches, seaside villages and towns and smaller islands to explore!

You might also like to avail yourself of a few hours of tuition by us at sea, to learn to handle your boat and rigging, if you are an inexperienced sailor.