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A tribute to the companies and people who have made Barche a Motore great over these 35 years allowing it to be born, grow, and become great up to this historic anniversary. In these articles the great excellences of boating tell their stories and reveal their projects, making an important contribution to the knowledge of this world, which allows us all to go to sea, in all forms and contexts.
Axopar and the boat not as a status symbol, but as the ideal means of experiencing adventures.
It is the 1980s, imagine you are less than ten years old. Boats fascinate you. Your father, when you were four, built one with which you go out every weekend to the archipelago in front of your home in Vaasa, Finland. It is summer and where you are the cruise boats parade back and forth. You are a regular presence among the docks and after some time those who sail by now recognize you. One day you ask to come aboard. You succeed. The next day you go again. So on, for a week. You end up working there, a summer job, where you have to take tourists around. That little boy’s name is Jan-Erik Viitala. Some 40 years later he would start a revolution in boating. Viitala is the founder and, today, creative and innovation director at Axopar, a brand that since 2014 has become among the most famous and popular in the powerboat world. “Before I started working with boats, 20 years ago,” he tells us, “I worked in television, following the video part: commercials, TV shows. I also took part in editing. From there my vision for the aesthetics of advertising and marketing was born. After that I went into the car market in one of the biggest companies in Finland for 9 or 10 years.”
“From here I learned the automotive approach. Modularity. With Axopar we launched a totally new concept, a new philosophy of functionality and design. And we also gave birth to a new way of thinking about the sales network. A very innovative project. But we also had the experience, and to show what we had done and what we had learned in the past, we chose this name: Aquador, XO, PARagon. The initials of the shipyards I worked with or was founder or CEO of. This was to show people that it was a new product in every way, but there was also heritage in it. Yes, because when you create a totally new shipyard it’s important to let people know both in concept and in substance it’s critical to make people feel right away that there’s someone behind it who knows what they’re talking about. Those who go to sea, after all, immediately recognize themselves.”
“No, actually with Axopar, in 2014 when it all started, we were not trend-setters. It is since 2017 that we have become a model for others. We didn’t create the company to change the powerboat world. When I decided to turn Axopar into an “adventure company” it was 2020. It was a risk because from a simple boatyard we became a very different company.”
“Yes, but it was calculated. Of course, the period was not easy, 2020 was a complicated year for everyone and the reasons are known. However, this allowed us to make an important leap in quality and stand out from everyone. Our strength, however, is that we are never truly satisfied. We have worked and continue to push to change, innovate, improve. Out of this work came the adventure boat, the segment we ended up creating.” Today Axopar has in its range five different hulls from 22 to 45 feet available in various declinations for a total of 13 available models plus two electric models. Despite a market-leading position in its segment, when Viitalasays they are never satisfied, he is not kidding at all. Also scheduled to arrive in 2026 is the long-awaited and new Axopar 38 range, with all the declinations to which the yard has accustomed us, introduced at the Cannes Yachting Festival 2026. As was already the case with theAxopar 29, heir to the first 28, the 38 will be an evolution of theAxopar 37, the yard’s best-seller.”
The two ranges will coexist, at least initially, with the 38 bringing as its dowry an implemented hull to improve planing entry, a new step design and, above all, an increased on-board livability entirely devoted to the comfort of on-board guests. There will be more interior heights, increased habitability of the cabins, but also of the deck. For the first time, folding bulwarks, now a must-have for this kind of boat, will be introduced on an Axopar. The substance, however, will be what the yard has accustomed us to over the years: no electro-hydraulic movements or weighting of any kind. A simple and practical system in line with the “less is more” principle that should make the enjoyment, but also the management of the boat as simple as possible. The first examples will be officially presented to the general public at Boot Düsseldorf in January 2026 and will follow the Sun-Top, Cross-Cabin and CCX declinations as already seen for the 29-foot range.
In this period, i.e., since 2014, Axopar has produced a total of about 7,500 boats, impressive numbers that show how this shipyard is appreciated worldwide and has created in its own way a market that was not there before. Another strong point is that this shipyard is not only capable of building and selling units that people like, but of conveying a lifestyle on the water that appeals and is trend-setting without being categorized as mere “fashion.” A bit like the Volkswagen van, it goes beyond a simple means of transportation to become emblematic of and synonymous with a sporty, young, and appealing way of experiencing the sea.
“For me,” Jan-Erik Viitala continues, “boating can be a way of life for many. My mission is to get as many people on the water as possible. The reason I personally moved into adventure boating is because it was a style of boating that was not “covered” in the past. There will always be traditional boats, because many people are used to going a certain way. But for those who want different ways, there is room. We will also see this between now and the next 10 years, depending also on the opportunities that technology will be able to offer.”
Learn more: cortelottimarine.com
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