• Year: 1950's
• Make: Saab

Saab Boat

In the summer of 2014, we became owners of a SAAB-made dinghy. We got it from a good friend from Varmdo. It had been in use for many years. Her father bought it new sometime between 1950-1955. Dad had been talking about it. The boat was painted in three layers both on the outside and inside. We removed all color layers because we wanted the aluminum color again.

Some hardly know that SAAB made boats. Others have heard of it. However, there are not so many left today.

I have been in contact with the SAAB owners association in Linkoping and got to see some old pictures and information.

Here is some information from SAAB Memories No20.

ODD SAAB PRODUCTS

SAAB Tries Boats / Tanneforsskola

“Saab in its third element” once announced a newspaper column. It occurred in 1947 and mentioned that SAAB had been building boat.

The boat project was taken up at the beginning of the year 1946, says Kort Sjogren, who made the construction drawings for the boats.

The lines had been laid out by Olle Ljungstrom. Two types were made, a utility boat for 7-8 people and a dinghy for 3 people. Both boats were built in light metal with mahogany seats and unobtrusive (flotation) tanks.

The prototype boat was completed while the ice remained and was tested for that purpose in Tanneforsskolan’s swimming pool. Later, most of the tests in Stangan were done at the Waterworks.

The boats were assembled in a hall and a total of about 40 people were employed in the production. A total of 250 were made, of which 150 were dinghies.

The boat which was tested in the winter was sold to Africa. Among the people in Sweden who have a SAAB dinghy is the manager of Uno Ranch, Gothenburg. The matter is noteworthy because the dinghy complements the Ranch Manager’s holding of Saab products. He also owns a SAAB car and a SAAB Sapphire.

The SAAB Boat was an attempt to expand as a manufacturer and employer. As other products required labor, the project was closed down before production reached any large scale. The last SAAB boat was sold in the summer of 1948.