Convenient and functional innovations, products and services for boat lovers

The 2010 Helsinki International Boat Show will once more display new products to boat lovers looking to fulfil their dreams. This time the emphasis in the new boat category will be on mid-range, practical motorboats and sailing boats. Larger yachts will of course be on display at the fair as well. The boats exhibited at the Helsinki International Boat Show provide a good picture of what's on the market and in use in Finland at the moment. Functional small boats intended for use at summer cabins will also form their own exhibition category.

The range of displayed supplies, equipment and clothing intended for boating and other aquatic hobbies has increased from the previous year's Boat Show. This is also true of the selection of inboard engines being exhibited. Increasingly light and more economical outboard motors will also be on display, as will some environment-friendly hybrid solutions.

Electronics solutions for boaters have developed further and a wide range of new applications, such as sonars and navigation devices with entirely new kinds of displays (3D screens, for example, are becoming increasingly more common), will be exhibited.

Boat-building demonstrations and new boats crafted by members of the Finnish Association of Wooden Boat Builders will attract visitors to the wooden boat section, the star attraction of which will be a fully restored 22-foot former Coast Guard patrol boat, which was made by Vator in the 1960s and is now being exhibited by a group of mahogany boat enthusiasts.

First-ever boat engine on display

The oldest item on display at the 2010 Helsinki International Boat Show dates back to 1888. The world's first combustion engine for boats was developed by Gottlieb Daimler and Wilhelm Maybach of Germany. The 462-cc motor delivers 1.1 horsepower. This engine is a true rarity as the nearest other model can be found at the Daimler Museum in Germany.

Seaworthiness inspections

Services for boaters are an important area of emphasis and information on seaworthiness inspections will now for the first time be available at the Boat Show. Inspectors authorised by the Finnish Boating Association conduct seaworthiness inspections on used boats for buyers and sellers, in addition to which they assess damages caused to boats in accidents. Overseas, the practice is to almost always inspect the seaworthiness of boats prior to the conclusion of a sale, and demand for such inspections is also increasing in Finland.

New stages erected for an increasingly comprehensive programme

Over 300 programme items will be performed on the Boat Show's stages, in addition to which presentations arranged by exhibitors at their own sections will provide useful information for anyone interested in waterborne transportation. The new programme venues include a stage in the motorboat hall, the Travel Minitheatre in the sailing boat hall as well as a new totality in Hall 3 that will provide summer cabin boaters with a wealth of useful information.

Finnish Olympic champion and Volvo Ocean Race participant Thomas Johanson will bring tidings from the seven seas to the Boat Show. Finland's most successful competitive sailor will also be promoting his just-published book Kova kierros , which will be available for purchase at the fair.

Veteran round-the-world navigator Eero Lehtinen will also be there to talk about and demonstrate his experiences of the world's oceans. He will also provide information on the ongoing Clipper 09-10 Round the World Yacht Race for amateur sailors.

All of the Boat Show's programme items are included in the price of admission. For further details on the different programme items and their schedules please go to the event website

www.venemessut.fi

 ------------------------------

The 2010 Helsinki International Boat Show, which takes place at the Helsinki Exhibition & Convention Centre on 13-21 Feb 2010, is Finland's biggest recreational event for boating and other aquatic pastimes. Some 79,452 people visited the previous Boat Show in February 2009. The Finnish Fair Corporation is organising the 2010 Helsinki International Boat Show on behalf of the Finnish Marine Industries Federation Finnboat.

The Boat Show is open from 11 am to 7 pm Monday to Friday (opening hours extended to 9 pm on Thu 18 Feb) and from 10 am to 6 pm on weekends (10 am to 5 pm on Sun 21 Feb). Tickets €13/9, family ticket €28. Admission restricted to boating industry professionals and media representatives from 10 am to 6 pm on Friday 12 Feb. The event's main cooperation partner is Volvo.

Further information about the Helsinki International Boat Show:
Finnish Fair Corporation, Communications Officer Petra Samppa, tel. +358 9 150 9380,

petra.samppa@finnexpo.fi

Further information about the boating sector: Finnish Marine Industries Federation Finnboat, Managing Director Jouko Huju, tel. +358 9 6962 1610,

jouko@finnboat.fi

World's first boat engine:

Jarmo Ratinen, tel. +358 40 500 4336