Scandinavia sailboats: a Polish shipyard behind a Scandinavian-sounding name
Despite the name, Scandinavia Yacht is not a Nordic builder. It is a Polish shipyard, founded in Skarżysko-Kamienna, and "Scandinavia" functions as a brand name rather than a claim of origin. Buyers encountering a Scandinavia-badged sailboat should read the name as marketing, not geography: the boats are conceived, engineered and built in Poland, and sold into a European market that spans well beyond Scandinavia itself.
Origins and ownership
Scandinavia Yacht was founded in 2006 in Skarżysko-Kamienna by Michał Kiersnowski, and its first model, the Scandinavia 26, premiered the following year. In 2011 the company relocated and expanded its production plant, a move it says allowed it to build four units simultaneously — a scale shift that separates the yard's early years from the operation that followed it. A change of management in 2024 introduced a new development and expansion strategy, though the shipyard's own account goes no further than describing that strategy's arrival.
The designers
Two design credits anchor the lineup. The Scandinavia 35, the largest boat the yard builds, was designed by the Marc Oliver van Ahlen studio — a straightforward, in-house-commissioned credit named on the builder's own model page. The Scandinavia 650 Cruiser carries a more layered story: Scandinavia's own site credits it to Jerzy Pieśniewski, and Pieśniewski's own design archive confirms the connection independently — but lists the hull under his pre-existing "Skippi 650 cruiser" design, naming Scandinavia Yachts simply as the builder. In other words, the boat marketed as the Scandinavia 650 Cruiser is a build of a design Pieśniewski had already created, not a commission Scandinavia originated. His site even refers to the racing edition of the same hull under a dual name, "Scandinavia (Skippi) 650 cruiser," in a 2020 item about it winning the Warsaw Championship for cabin yachts.
Construction through the eras
Scandinavia's own account of its construction practice centers on process as much as materials: a CNC machine for precise component machining, and, later, an extension of the model offer to include electric motors and solar panels as part of a broader shift toward ecological options in sailing. The flagship 35 is built to CE category A safety standards, which the builder markets as suitable even for ocean voyages. The 650 Cruiser's lifting keel, paired with a lifting genoa and bowsprit arrangement, lets it move between shallow lagoons and deeper water. For owners sourcing parts, the yard names its main component suppliers directly: Vetus, Volvo Penta, Mazuria, Aura-Giers, Sail Service, Parker Poland and Skaut.
Lines and generations
The lineup's shape has changed at least once in a documented way: the original Scandinavia 26 was discontinued and replaced by an improved Scandinavia 27, a generation boundary rather than a simple model refresh. The 27's own specifications describe an exceptionally stable hull with a vertical bow and a solid margin of safety, a wide hull with high sides, and a wide, deep cockpit built for dry sailing, over a fibreglass hull on a fin keel. The smaller Scandinavia 30, by contrast, is built around a slim silhouette with large windows worked into the structure. The 650 Cruiser and its Skippi lineage sit apart as the yard's dual-purpose, shallow-draft design, while the 35 tops the range as the flagship, positioned by the builder as a choice for its most demanding customers.
Who Scandinavia is for
Scandinavia Yacht describes its own trajectory in confident terms: more than 400 yachts sold, and recognition gained in European markets including Germany, the Netherlands and Switzerland. It presents its yachts regularly at the Boot Düsseldorf Boat Show, which it describes as one of the largest yacht fairs in the world. Set the marketing language aside and what's left is a small Polish yard building a compact range — from the 27/30 pair through the shallow-draft 650 hull to the flagship 35 — for buyers who want a European-built cruiser without assuming, from the name alone, where it came from.