"Helmi"
Helmi is no ordinary boat — she is a piece of Nordic craftsmanship with a soul. Built in 1971 on the island of Krakö, Finland, she was handcrafted from mahogany by local master boatbuilders whose reputation for quality still resonates today. The Kröko name is a quiet symbol of excellence in wooden boatbuilding, born on the rugged edges of the Baltic archipelago.
After decades at sea and land, Helmi is now undergoing a complete and thorough restoration by the Swiss Performance Yachts in Tallinn, carefully brought back to her full and mych better glory with both respect for her origins and an eye to modern functionality. The restoration took place 8 months.
At the heart of Helmi lies a powerful 130 HP Volvo Penta engine, fully overhauled and optionally paired with duoprop drive for improved efficiency and control. She is being fitted with numerous upgrades — electrical, navigational, and practical — to ensure she returns not only as a classic but as a fully capable vessel ready for new adventures.
With her elegant lines, rich mahogany hull, and Baltic heritage, Helmi is a rare combination of beauty and performance. She is being prepared to return home — to glide once again across the open waters of the Gulf of Finland and the northern Baltic Sea, where she belongs.
In 2025, Helmi got full refurbishment. The list of works that were done is exhaustive. During the period of October 2024 till August 2025 major investments were made into the hull, electrics and electronics, windows, interior, driving performance, etc.
The hull was not in bad shape. It used to dry out by spring and around 2 mm gaps were found between the planks. Therefore, it was decided that the hull shall be coated with fibreglass and epoxy to seal from all leaks. The leaks were most common issue throughout the season, therefore it is fairly important to address this.
The aft was refurbished and covered with fresh coat of mahogany veneer, vacuum infused to the aft mirror. The looks is exceptionally nice and all the unnecessary holes were removed.
The hull above the water line was treated with fine strips of mahogany to address the gaps, plus added more than 20 layers of varnish, to protect the one-of-a-kind looks of the hull.
The electronics was fully re-done – Marine navigation systems installed like Simrad NSX3009 chart plotter with sonars, VHF radio, AIS system, etc. This all enables to cruise around the Baltic Sea with good knowledge of where we are and where we wish to go.
The analog cockpit was replaced by mostly digital gauges provided by Veratron. These gauges enable to read and alarm all the basic indicators of the vessel (oil pressure, coolant temperature, coolant pressure, etc).
The electric system is very nice in this boat. It mainly relies on Victron Energy equipment to control and manage the system. It includes around 12 KWh of energy capacity in secondary 12V outlets, 240V outlets and 5-9V USB-C outlets. This enables full conformance in available energy for the daily use and overnight staying. There is of course primary 12V energy source for motor to operate. Additionally, there is secondary 12V system that feeds the lighting, electronics, etc.
All these are managed by Victron as I mentioned – most significant components are Cerbo GX, Multiplus II and all the shunts necessary to control the battery charging and efficiency.
The Victron system integrates perfectly to the Simrad chart plotter, therefore I have full overview about the electrics in the chart plotter. The Victron Cerbo GX has good NMEA 2000 integration, therefore it was chosen at first place.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus leo.
There are tons of other changes done to the boat to make it reliable, fast, well steered etc. I will gradually update the page.