“Easy and safe to drive for a beginner but this boat also has a lot of functionalities and behaviour that an experienced boater will appreciate and they will instantly recognise the small things that make a good boat an even better boat” – Jan-Erik Viitala.

KEY IDEAS

The idea behind creating a smaller product was to make a boat that was accessible by a larger audience and to target a younger audience.

Viitala starts by saying that they wanted to focus on the “drivability, the versatility, the handling and also the cost-effectiveness… something that is new, fresh but also with a good price point”.

For Viitala the most important part of the project was about “the things you cannot see but that you can experience, the magic that happens that just makes a great product”.

“In simplicity, there is complexity when you start from the drawing board and say let’s make a more compact Axopar… we actually use the same amount of engineering hours as the 28 and first 37, the more knowledge you have, you want more,” says Viitala.

Jämsen added to this by saying, “For the customers, it is usually about the looks but for us, it is what is on the inside, what is in the engineering, the hull, the weight, the centre of gravity, that is what we push mostly”.

“The newest hull represents the newest technology and the newest achievement in fuel economy, handling, drivability and that really is something we care a lot about.” – Jan-Erik Viitala

DESIGN PROCESS

What is really amazing about the creation of the Axopar 22 is the proof of how far technology has come and how designers are using it today. Aivan, the company Jämsen co-founded is one of the first to really use virtual reality to design boats and this is what they primarily used when creating the Axopar 22. Of course, they also created wooden mock-ups, one of the more classical methods but taking everything virtual allowed for designers to contribute to the project from all around the world.

The team now also have access to Computer Fluid Dynamics (CFD) which gives them the ability to see how the water pressure reacts under the water and against the hull.

“The hull gives a very flat consumption so the consumption in litres per nautical mile is the same size from 10kts to 30kts.” – Jarkko Jämsen

HULL

• BIG FLAIR IN THE BOW – when the boat dips into the large waves this flare deflects the water and gives the boat more buoyancy which is helpful in the heavier seas.
• CHINES – Above the waterline is the chines which again deflect more water.
• TWIN STEPS – used to channel air underneath the water. These give a platform of air in which the boat can ride on. They are using air between the hull and the water to create air lubrication and less drag and it also helps with stability.
• PROPULSION– anything between 150hp to 200hp.

Viitala explains… “This is by far the most complex mould we have ever done, not even the 37 comes close to the complexity and this is mainly because we had 3 important benefits we wanted to bring forward to the consumer”

1. Fit into a container
2. Maximum stability we can achieve on a 22 footer – “this is what sets us apart from most of our competitors, that when you are onboard, driving or have it resting it’s very stable, it doesn’t want to roll in the sea and that has a lot to do with safety, comfort and handling and even when you take this out in bad weather, whatever wave conditions you have it’s always travelling in a balanced way.”
3. Trailerability – “We wanted it to be this size and weight so it can be towed behind a mid-sized SUV or a big-sized touring car.”

“We wanted to create that WOW sensation even in a smaller boat. The Axopar experience condensed” – Jan-Erik Viitala

FUNCTIONALITY

Don’t worry Australia, Axopar has our back. Despite only launching with the open “Spyder” model we are told that the T-Top is also available and covers the full beam of the boat so that we are protected from our strong sun and unreliable weather. This T-Top is also fitted with zippers which will completely open up for when you want some additional vitamin D.

Viitala went on to explain the purposes of the multiple layout options see below a summary of this discussion…