In this publication17 photos · 3 videos
Ideas I picked up at Düsseldorf Boat Show 2026
Context
17–18 January 2026 saw Grigory, Sergei, Nikita and me at Düsseldorf’s huge show. Outwardly, familiar. Sixteen giant halls: handmade wooden kayak paddles to multi-deck superyachts with champagne at the entrance. The one thing that changes annually is how your legs feel.
New boats, new ideas
Owning a fifty-year-old yacht dispels illusions. Factory condition long gone. Everything breakable broken; obsolete things removed. New technology fitted carefully, or less so, where never intended. Season with limited funds. My interest in new boats is practical: what’s normal now, and what can I painlessly borrow?
Beneteau First 36SE
Beneteau’s First 36SE felt thoughtfully designed for maintenance as well as speed.
GRP sole boards close tightly, opened with bright red textile tabs bonded on. Perforated-plywood aft berths lift out for sail storage. Engine access all round, flexible lamp for engine or berth, silicone opening for a fire-extinguisher nozzle. Fridge recessed in the worktop, covered by foil-insulated fabric fastened on. Fabric doors and cupboards with cardboard backing and magnets. Deep netting in aft lockers separates stored things from wiring and hoses.
Some ideas seem so logical they may migrate onto an old Finnish boat I can access.
Hallberg-Rassy 370
At Hallberg-Rassy, like leaving Dad’s workshop for a laboratory. Perfect assembly, no play, uncompromising materials.
Carpets fastened to the sole. Simple, reliable. Pull-out galley worktop. Berth backrest lifts to the deckhead on a thin cord for sleeping space. Stainless chafe strips where ropes meet gelcoat. White acrylic hatch above the heads: light without lost privacy.
A strong urge to copy it all aboard. An urge needing a careful budget-and-reality review.
Race boats and racing
Grigory found every Mini 6.50 at the show. Stem shapes, main sizes, removable running backstays, Seldén CX furler and NKE instruments. Discussed racing use. Talks from SailGP teams and Vendée Globe skipper Pip Hare. Good for heads and legs alike.
(Continued below)
#notes
(Düsseldorf Boat Show 2026, continued)
Equipment and surprises
My main equipment-hall target: Epifanes. While Grigory talked with Premium Ropes, I showed peeling waterline-paint photos and said AI had suggested two-part paint. The representative calmly said trusting AI would bring me back with the same photos next year. Simpler advice: raise the waterline five centimetres. Perhaps the yacht was now so well equipped her centre of gravity lay lower than under the previous owner.
At Garmin I asked why search-and-rescue insurance had been withdrawn for German residents. It might save a life and a lifetime paying its rescue bill. No answer, but a support number.
One startup offered a mop, gas spring and sander holder for about €300. I wished them luck. More impressed by the Open Boat Project. Yacht hardware and software, all designs open. You can build and print a full instrument set yourself.
Things that stayed with me
The HOOK and MOOR boat hook threads a mooring line through a ring in a second. I spent almost the whole journey home mentally replaying its mechanism, trying to model a printable version.
Also a universal adhesive for plastic, wood, rubber, paper and metal. Apparently, the part breaks before the bond. I worried dropping a jar might cause consequences out of all proportion.
And an extraordinarily beautiful stove by Tiny Stove. I stood asking about price, installation and servicing much longer than planned. Perhaps one day it will warm cold, damp evenings aboard.
#notes
Context
17–18 January 2026 saw Grigory, Sergei, Nikita and me at Düsseldorf’s huge show. Outwardly, familiar. Sixteen giant halls: handmade wooden kayak paddles to multi-deck superyachts with champagne at the entrance. The one thing that changes annually is how your legs feel.
New boats, new ideas
Owning a fifty-year-old yacht dispels illusions. Factory condition long gone. Everything breakable broken; obsolete things removed. New technology fitted carefully, or less so, where never intended. Season with limited funds. My interest in new boats is practical: what’s normal now, and what can I painlessly borrow?
Beneteau First 36SE
Beneteau’s First 36SE felt thoughtfully designed for maintenance as well as speed.
GRP sole boards close tightly, opened with bright red textile tabs bonded on. Perforated-plywood aft berths lift out for sail storage. Engine access all round, flexible lamp for engine or berth, silicone opening for a fire-extinguisher nozzle. Fridge recessed in the worktop, covered by foil-insulated fabric fastened on. Fabric doors and cupboards with cardboard backing and magnets. Deep netting in aft lockers separates stored things from wiring and hoses.
Some ideas seem so logical they may migrate onto an old Finnish boat I can access.
Hallberg-Rassy 370
At Hallberg-Rassy, like leaving Dad’s workshop for a laboratory. Perfect assembly, no play, uncompromising materials.
Carpets fastened to the sole. Simple, reliable. Pull-out galley worktop. Berth backrest lifts to the deckhead on a thin cord for sleeping space. Stainless chafe strips where ropes meet gelcoat. White acrylic hatch above the heads: light without lost privacy.
A strong urge to copy it all aboard. An urge needing a careful budget-and-reality review.
Race boats and racing
Grigory found every Mini 6.50 at the show. Stem shapes, main sizes, removable running backstays, Seldén CX furler and NKE instruments. Discussed racing use. Talks from SailGP teams and Vendée Globe skipper Pip Hare. Good for heads and legs alike.
(Continued below)
#notes
(Düsseldorf Boat Show 2026, continued)
Equipment and surprises
My main equipment-hall target: Epifanes. While Grigory talked with Premium Ropes, I showed peeling waterline-paint photos and said AI had suggested two-part paint. The representative calmly said trusting AI would bring me back with the same photos next year. Simpler advice: raise the waterline five centimetres. Perhaps the yacht was now so well equipped her centre of gravity lay lower than under the previous owner.
At Garmin I asked why search-and-rescue insurance had been withdrawn for German residents. It might save a life and a lifetime paying its rescue bill. No answer, but a support number.
One startup offered a mop, gas spring and sander holder for about €300. I wished them luck. More impressed by the Open Boat Project. Yacht hardware and software, all designs open. You can build and print a full instrument set yourself.
Things that stayed with me
The HOOK and MOOR boat hook threads a mooring line through a ring in a second. I spent almost the whole journey home mentally replaying its mechanism, trying to model a printable version.
Also a universal adhesive for plastic, wood, rubber, paper and metal. Apparently, the part breaks before the bond. I worried dropping a jar might cause consequences out of all proportion.
And an extraordinarily beautiful stove by Tiny Stove. I stood asking about price, installation and servicing much longer than planned. Perhaps one day it will warm cold, damp evenings aboard.
#notes
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