Vindö sailboats for sale

Buying a used Vindö: a small yard's history means checking provenance closely

A Vindö on the market carries more ownership history to untangle than boats from yards that operated continuously under one name. The builder began as Sundsandviks Båtvarv in 1926, became Nötesunds Varv AB in 1960, and after a 1980 bankruptcy was sold to three employees who renamed it Vindö Marina; a second bankruptcy in the mid-to-late 1980s brought yet another ownership change, with an operation called Windö Sweden completing the last Vindö 45s and a final model, the Vindö 995, built only in small numbers. None of that changes what a sound hull is worth, but it does mean a seller should be able to say which chapter of the yard's history built a given boat, and buyers shouldn't assume continuity of standards or hull material across the range. The range itself spans small early-1960s daysailers up through substantial offshore motorsailers and a yawl, so this isn't a marque with one consistent size or purpose -- category fit matters as much as condition.

Which era to target

Construction changed more than once over Vindö's run, and it's worth confirming a specific hull's build method rather than assuming from the model name. Vindö built in wood through the mid-1960s before switching to fiberglass -- among the original small models, the 18 was first to make that switch, in 1965, and the 30 followed the year after -- so an early 18, 22, 28, or 30 could be either construction depending on exact build year. Worth knowing too: no Vindö hull was ever molded at the yard itself -- outside contractors handled that work throughout the yard's run -- so a hull's fiberglass quality reflects the subcontractor of its era as much as the Vindö badge. The 1970s Vindö 40, 65, and 90 came after the wood-to-fiberglass changeover was complete, though the very first Vindö 40, built in 1971, was actually wood -- the final wooden hull the yard produced. On the later Vindö 45, sources disagree on hull construction: one account describes a solid fiberglass hull with external lead ballast on a fin keel, another describes a foam-cored sandwich laminate, so this is worth confirming directly on a specific boat rather than assuming either way. It's also worth confirming that a given 45 still carries the mahogany deckhouse, teak handrails, and teak cockpit trim documented on the model, since exposed wood of that scope needs its own maintenance track record.

Navigating the lineup

Vindö's lineup runs from small 1960s daysailing cruisers through substantially larger 1970s motorsailers and a yawl, with a narrower run of Lindblom-designed boats after 1980. Buyers chasing a compact coastal cruiser and buyers chasing an offshore-capable motorsailer are really shopping different parts of the same yard's history, so it's worth deciding which era and size band fits before comparing individual boats; the full model directory on this page breaks the lineup down further.