Nordic Boats Come In From The Cold

I brace for a blast of salty spray from the open helm of a newly launched Navan S30 sport boat, but my muscles ease when all that chilly water peels away and falls back, leaving me bone dry and beaming. Watching the plumb bow slice through the early morning wind-driven chop on Florida’s Indian River was the second surprise of this sea trial. The first came as we left the no-wake zone. Pushing the throttles farther forward, I anticipated a sudden bow rise but instead came a smooth transition from slow speed to planing attitude with minimal bow rise and no obscured visibility from the helm. Did we just skip a step in traditional boat handling? I throttled back to idle so I could take off again and be sure I didn’t miss something. I hadn’t. The double-stepped hull was simply doing what it was designed to do – provide a smooth, safe, and predictable ride in sloppy conditions.

Why am I sea trialing a Nordic-style boat I’d never even heard of until a few weeks earlier? Because you’ve been seeing it and its distinctive low profile and angular lines more and more at boat shows as well as at dealerships across the country. And American boat buyers have been showing more and more interest in the design’s innovations, so much so that our nation’s largest boatbuilder, Brunswick, has joined the party, introducing its own “adventure”-style boat (as the Finns call it), and building it here. I’ve driven lots of different powerboats in my life but never one quite like this Navan (pronounced “Nav-ahn”).

When these Nordic-style boats, such as the popular Axopar 28 built in Finland since 2014, began showing up in my local waters nearly a decade ago, the straight-line design didn’t get my blood pumping like a deep-vee with loads of transom deadrise. But as I put the Navan, with its patented T-Step hull, into another ridiculously tight turn, it seemed to respond with, “Is that all you got?” It was clear there’s a lot more to this boat design than its ugly duckling profile.

Nordic Commuter Boat For The Masses

To better understand the thinking behind American boatbuilders launching new boats with cold-water lineage into the sun-loving U.S. market, let’s go back to the boat from Finland that started the emergence of niche Nordic-style boats into mainstream recreational boating here.

The original Axopar 28 was the first Nordic-style recreational boat to appear at American boat shows a decade ago. Last year, the Finnish builder introduced the Axopar 29, a foot longer, but more refined, according to Jan-Erik Viitala, founding partner of Axopar. The 29 has a higher bow for a drier ride, wider walkaround side decks, and a larger cockpit with more seating. The company’s lineup includes models from 22 to 45 feet, and last year Axopar built about 1,000 boats, according to Viitala.

Axopar boat designs maintain a narrow wedge shape with their widest point at the transom, which along with its plumb bow allows the boat to cut through the short-period chop common in the windswept bays of the North Sea instead of slamming over the top like some conventional V-hulls. The Axopar 29 has a 22-degree deadrise hull, with sharp-entry bow. An open transom design allows excess green water to run out (with no chance of inundating traditional deck drains). The hulls are also designed to be efficient because, as of January 2025, the average fuel cost in Sweden was $1.55 per liter ($6.04 per gallon).

To boost running efficiency, Axopar applies an innovative double-stepped hull with indented “notches” or “steps” that run laterally across the width of the hull bottom and create a vacuum at speed. This vacuum introduces air, which forms bubbles under the hull, enhancing lift and reducing drag. A second step further aft further reduces friction. Additionally, lower freeboard and profile height in the design reduce overall mass, and outboard power also increases efficiency by reducing onboard weight.

“The Axopar 29 feels like a sports car,” Viitala says, “but is also very stable and safe to drive with a proven hull more than capable of handling the rough stuff when needed.”

To make rough water transit more comfortable, the initial designs featured a center-oriented pilothouse to provide shelter in cold and wet conditions, with a forward-raked windshield that more effectively sheds water. Buyers can add amenities like a refrigerator, cooktop, and berths for up to four for overnighting. Pricing for an Axopar 29 with single 300-hp Mercury V-8 starts at $210,000 (including import tax and overseas delivery).

Americans Catch The Nordic Wave

American boaters have been exploring what these Nordic designs can offer. Last year, the U.S. accounted for nearly 50% of all Axopar sales, with about 700 boats across all models sold in the States. The Axopar 29 and A37 are the builder’s top-sellers.

American boatbuilders have noticed the emerging new market, and at last year’s Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show, Brunswick (which owns Boston Whaler, Sea Ray, and Bayliner among its 20 boat lines), introduced its own Navan brand to the North American market after two years in Europe, where it won Powerboat of the Year honors.

Navan’s initial two models are the C30 and S30, both riding on the same Nordic-inspired hull optimized by the Brunswick design team. Essentially, one’s a cold-weather boat while the other is best suited for warmer climes. The C30 features a midships climate-controlled pilothouse while the S30 offers an open boat design with recessed center-console-style helm. Both are designed with an intentionally minimalistic feel that focuses on everything you need and nothing you don’t.

Mark Wyrick, Brunswick’s product manager for both the Sea Ray and Navan boat brands, compares the familiar Sea Ray design and styling with that of its new boat on the block like this: “Think of some of our Sea Ray models as Class A motor homes, with all the creature comforts and luxury add-ons that come along with them. Now think of a high-end recreational conversion van, like a Sprinter setup for serious overlanding. That’s Navan.”

Brunswick’s patented T-step hull design carries more beam width to the bow, while pronounced chines and flair deflect spray from the sharp-entry bow to provide a smoother, dryer ride.

“What sets the T-step hull apart is the profile of the keel design, which looks like the letter ‘T’ from the underside of the boat,” Wyrick explains. “The ‘T’ keel profile improves the handling, adding traction while cornering and keeping the boat from rolling hard over in a turn, which delivers a more pleasant ride for passengers and stability and predictability for the operator.”

That explains the secure bite I felt in high-speed turns and the “planted” feel I noticed in my sea trial. I came away thinking the Navan 30 makes for a nimble and fun-to-operate boat for new or seasoned skippers.

Modest Yet Capable

Base Navan models sell with a standard single Mercury 400-hp outboard, with options for twin engines and 600 horses that can push the 30-footer to near 60 mph. A 105-gallon fuel tank enables a range of up to 227 miles at cruising speed, and with just a 2-foot, 1-inch draft, Navans can get off the beaten track. Standard electronics include a 12-inch Simrad MFD, Mercury’s Active Trim system, and CZone switching for one-touch helm control of onboard electrical systems.

On the C30, an enclosed pilothouse provides shelter from the elements (and an aft berth), while a flip-up aft window and sliding fiberglass port and starboard doors open the space up on nice days.

The S30 has a recessed cockpit with a wraparound windshield and forward-sloped fiberglass hardtop with acrylic skylight windows. A rear bench seat is situated high enough to give passengers an open line of sight over the captain.

The biggest surprise on both models: The bench seat flips up and over, exposing a clever outdoor cooking space with sink, ice chest, cooktop, and refrigerated drawers. The 30-footers also offer a forward sun lounge with adjustable backrests, as well as a cabin with berth, enclosed head with electric flush, sink, and LED lighting. Also available is a 12-volt HVAC system that provides air conditioning and heat, optional rocket launcher-style rod holders, a tow bar for watersports, heated transom shower, and roof racks for hauling kayaks, paddleboards, bikes, and more. (Note: Roof racks are only available on the C30.)

‘Americanize’ The Design

To make this European design appealing to North American boaters, Navan designers focused on ergonomics. European boats generally have less headroom and tighter seating configurations compared to boats sold here. So the Navan designers expanded the cockpit space, making seating, overhead space, and other components generally larger and more spread out for their American clientele. Touches like quilted stitching upholstery elevate the aesthetics.

For the North American market, both the Navan S30 and C30 are manufactured at Brunswick’s Merritt Island Production facility in Central Florida, leveraging decades of boatbuilding experience from local craftsmen. As a Brunswick brand, the boats also benefit from their parent company’s extensively integrated product portfolio, meaning everything from propulsion to electronics to onboard systems all interface seamlessly.

If you’re in the market for a boat that has serious sea-handling chops, amenities to facilitate multiday adventures with ease, and features to make everything from offshore fishing to backwater gunkholing a real possibility, this style of boat deserves serious consideration. Pricing for a Navan with 300-hp black Mercury V-8 starts at $210,000