ACU-150 & ACU-400 product recall
Find out more
Marcus Bäckman, Nordic Manager for Raymarine provides us with his personal tips and insights into enjoyable family boating, the Scandinavian way.
Monday - 01 July 2024
Marcus Bäckman is the Nordic Manager for Raymarine, and overseas all activities in the region. He lives lives in Kirkkonummi, just outside Helsinki, but his boating adventures take place in the scenic Inkoo archipelago.
Always intrigued by this beautiful area, and the secret to successful family boating, we asked Marcus some questions about his water-based days out with his family...
What does a typical day on the water look like for you? From home to harbour, dock to destination, and back again: What is the routine?
"90% of my boating is 'family boating”' Usually we, my wife Annica and our three sons Oscar (14), Jesper (12) and Jonathan (9) start by travelling by boat to our cottage on an island located in the Barösund area in the Inkoo archipelago, 50 kilometres west of Helsinki.
At the cottage, we drop our weekend groceries, prepare the sauna for the evening, and make sure everything is ready for when we come back after a day on the water. Then, we head out on the water, for the day with the banana boat, fishing rods and beach kit."
What boat do you have, and why did you choose this model?
"We mainly travel to the island with a Sea Fox 216dc - a slightly modified American sportfishing boat to suit Nordic family 'boat commuting', fishing and fun. I chose the boat because of the robustness, layout and size. This is not a typical Scandinavian 'commuting boat', but it is very wide, which creates a huge open space for carrying everything from groceries to building materials, and a five person family with friends! The boat offers good protection against water and wind for all passengers.
We also use a Walker Bay RIB boat and a Kawasaki jet ski for water sports, and a Walker Bay dinghy for sailing in the neighbourhood of the cottage."
What are your Top Ten must-take items and accessories for a family day on the water?
"Fishing rods, banana or donut to tow, Bluetooth speaker, cooler with refreshments and food to barbeque, sun lotion, petanque, snorkel diving sets, a frisbee, beach towels, diving scooter, SUP, disposable grill/sausages/mustard!"
Where is your favourite destinations? What makes them so special?
What is your favourite piece of Raymarine tech onboard?
"We are quite light on tech onboard due to the type of boating. We could however not live without our Lighthouse charts and Element HV that we have on the SeaFox. This offers fantastic chart plotting and a really good all-round fishfinder that satisfies even the a more hardcore sport fisher.
On the jet ski we use our good old Dragonfly, and an AXIOM Gen1 on the Walker Bay. All fantastic units, but I really love the Element due to the simplicity."
