marieholm if sailboat

How international is the IF?

  When Tord Sundén, the man who developed the polyester version of the Nordic Folkboot, started the construction in 1967, he called her ‘International Folkboat’. The Swedish Yachting Association was of the opinion that there was already a ‘Folkbat’ and did not accept the name.

After various discussions, in 1970, the name was changed into ‘IF-boat’. Now, at the 50th anniversary of the International Folkboat, it is interesting to see how international the IF has become. How was this anniversary celebrated in different countries?

The IF made its maiden voyage on the 5th of February 1967. Designer Tord Sundén and his sons Store and Jörgen sailed along the snow-covered beaches of Längedrag near Göteburg. That first year 27 boats were built in Marieholms Bruk. The highest production was between 1974 and 1976, in 1975 some 552 boats were built. Approximately 3500 IF’s would eventually leave the shipyard in Smälland, 3488 to be exact because the last boat, which was built in December 1984 had sail number 3488. Surely there must have been more boats built because the boat was also constructed under license in Australia.

About 2200 of the IFs built in Sweden were sold in the country itself. The rest went abroad, mainly to Germany (390), Denmark (325), Norway (135), USA (125), Switzerland (120) and Australia (100).

The IF-boat in The Netherlands.

Also in the Netherlands many IF’s were sold. In the early sixties, Ernst Jongstra heard at a trade fair that the Marieholm’s import license in the Netherlands would soon become available. He immediately travelled to Sweden to speak with the management. He does not recall how many boats he eventually imported: “it must have been hundreds”. The boats did not make their first miles over water but by rail and by road. The former importer told: “the shipyard in Sweden put the new boats in crates and on the train to Amsterdam; then near Artis zoo the boats were loaded onto a lorry and brought to Monnickendam. There, in the Gouwzee marina, the boats were launched and finally delivered to the customers. In the heydays there was a transport every week. Later on the boats were transported by road all the way from Sweden to Monnickendam”. Then in 1977, following the takeover of the Marieholm factory by Albin Marin, Jongstra discontinued the import.

At the end of the 1980s the Marieholm IF had been almost forgotten, until one of the first IFs imported in the Netherlands was offered for sale at Doornbos Marina in Loosdrecht. Pieter Hoogenbirk recalls: “I think she was from the 1970s and was painted over several times; She was now white with a light blue anti-slip deck. We were very surprised of the interest generated by the boat.” They went on to gather information in Sweden where it appeared there were many IF’s still sailing and for sale. Sweden just crept out of an economic crisis and the prices were attractive. Pieter Hoogenbirk and his business partner Leo van Velzen went to Stockholm and acquired second hand boats which they transported in big numbers to The Netherlands.

One of the buyers, Frank Jurgens, who kept his IF in the marina at Doornbos, conceived a plan to set up a club or an association for IF owners, and during the first meeting he asked to be allowed to organise sailing races. This is how the Dutch Marieholm Association came into being in 2001.

The Dutch Marieholm Association now has 243 members, most of which own an IF, a M26 or another Marieholm type. We think that half of the Dutch Marieholm owners are members of the association, and it is estimated that there are between 450 to 500 Mariehom’s in the Dutch marinas. The interest in racing the IF is growing; this year the IF’s took part in 3 different major sailing events. There is currently a core of 10 teams participating in the Winter Series held at the Kaag Yacht Club, and the IF has its own class start during the Kaag-week summer event.

The Marieholm Association celebrated the 50 th anniversary of the Marieholm IF by displaying an IF at the HISWA Amsterdam boat show in March 2017. The boat attracted a lot of interest, and many visitors wanted to step on board for a peek. In September, during the event ‘Hiswa on the Water’, an IF was on display on a prominent position in the water. At the end of June, during the summer event of the Dutch Marieholm Association, the target of gathering 50 boats was not met, nonetheless a total number of 35 participating boats was a record. The digital water sports magazine “Zilt” was also present at the summer event and dedicated an article to the IF, portraying different association members. Photographer Klaas Wiersma made a nice promotional film.

The origin: Sweden Sweden still has the largest fleet. According to a video on the website of the Swedish Sailing Federation there are around 1800 IF’s still sailing. The IF was recognised in Sweden as a one-design class already in 1970, and races with forty boats were no exception back in the 1980s. Marek Janiec is the chairman of the Swedish Federation which bundles four regional associations, with a total of 442 members and 345 measured racing boats. The regional associations organise competitions and lectures, the federation provides the website, knowledge database and the magazine ‘Medvind’. Since the Scandinavian languages are related to each other and each can read each other’s language, the Danes and the Norwegians participate in ‘Medvind’, the magazine is therefore trilingual. The regional associations are located on the west- and east coast of the Bothnia Gulf (the northern part of the Baltic Sea), and along the southern tip of Sweden. The competition is organised regionally. The championship, where only measured boats can participate, changes in turns. The Marieholm MS/AC 20 has its own active organisation.

Two IFs were on display at the Stockholm Boat Show in March 2017. The Sjöhistoriska Museum displayed the partly restored S1, being the boat with which Tord Sundén made its maiden sailing trip, and the Swedish Federation was there with a boat in racing trim (see MarieTeam 2016 and elsewhere in this magazine). There was a promotional flyer, and the Swedish version of the ‘Practical Boat Owner’ magazine issued a special glossy booklet on the IF. Videos and activity announcements were made available on a dedicated page of the new website. The main event was the Swedish championship with a festive dinner, where some members of the Dutch Marieholm Association were invited as special guests.

Norway and Denmark The Norwegian IF club exists since 1971, and has 112 members; this makes it the biggest keel boat association in Norway. According to chairman Morten Mero, there are about 350 IFs sailing in Norway. The association is very active is invited by king Harald to participate in the royal regattas. The Norwegian’s championship took place in August in the Oslo’s bay, and it was all about the IF’s anniversary, with 26 participating boats.

In Denmark the IF is sailed as one design class as from 1973-1974; there are 300 boats and the association has 115 members. The yearly championship was sailed in August in Præstø (Southeast Seeland), and there have been no specific activities for the IF’s anniversary.

The German IF Association has 146 members, of which 10% are supporters, family members and people who have sold their boats. In 2017 39 boats took part in the national competition. The competition is divided in three regions: Berlin, Baltic and Lake Constance. The points scored in the various regional races count towards the competition. According to a rough estimate by chairman Martin Meyer there are around 200 Marieholm’s in Germany, the majority of which are in the lakes nearby Berlin.

In Lemkenhafen, on the Baltic Sea, the anniversary was celebrated with a regatta together with the skerry cruiser class of the ‘Rank und Slank’ organisation. There were 19 IF’s present, including one from Sweden and one from Denmark. There were 6 more boats registered which didn’t show up due to bad weather conditions. The magazine Yacht wrote an article on the IF and the regatta. Back in 1967, this magazine published a sailing test that was very important for the success of the IF.

United Kingdom, Australia and United States of America

The British fleet is concentrated in St. Mawes’s Yacht Club in Cornwall. In May 2017 six boats competed in the Championship, along with two other sailing classes.

In the list of the Australian Folkboat Association are 144 boats: 6 M26s, 1 IF and the other boats are Nordic Folk boats or similar Stella’s.

In the USA the boat is well known and there are some IF’s and M26’s to be found for sale, but there is no association as such.

Afterthoughts

Of the 3,500 boats built, we can roughly estimate some 3,000 to 3,100 still are sailing. After 50 years that seems unbelievable. The figures show a promising picture and say something about the quality of the IF.

Most of the boats still sailing are concentrated in Sweden, as there they have the best knowledge about the boats, and innovations arise because of the intense racing activities. The Dutch Marieholm Association is a serious party, with 240 members and a growing competition segment. It is impressive how important an association and knowledge exchange are. In countries where 10 to 20 years ago there were boats but no association, the boat has now disappeared from the scene.

This spring an IF with Czech Republic flag was spotted in the port of Terschelling. Given the current prices it is no surprise that the boats ‘disappear’ towards the Eastern European countries. Should we, like Sweden in the late 80s, worry about the loss of our ‘heritage’? Is the time ripe for an International Folkboat organisation? And how do we keep the IF in the spotlight?

The activities for the IF’s 50th anniversary were therefore a good promotion, even though not all targets were met; for example, the event did not attract much attention from water sports magazines as we hoped. Fortunately we have other ways to achieve our goals: raise enthusiasm in young people, gain visibility in the racing circuit, create beautiful photo and video material for social media and, finally, our own magazine, the MarieTeam; share it with everyone for reading. Yet, the best promotion is you, the proud owner of a Marieholm. Take good care of your boat, sail her and enjoy.

Michiel Veldkamp

Board member of the Dutch Marieholm Association

Translation Franscesca Musina

Review of Marieholm IF

Basic specs.

Sailing characteristics

This section covers widely used rules of thumb to describe the sailing characteristics. Please note that even though the calculations are correct, the interpretation of the results might not be valid for extreme boats.

What is Capsize Screening Formula (CSF)?

The capsize screening value for Marieholm IF is 1.72, indicating that this boat could - if evaluated by this formula alone - be accepted to participate in ocean races.

The immersion rate is defined as the weight required to sink the boat a certain level. The immersion rate for Marieholm IF is about 115 kg/cm, alternatively 647 lbs/inch. Meaning: if you load 115 kg cargo on the boat then it will sink 1 cm. Alternatively, if you load 647 lbs cargo on the boat it will sink 1 inch.

Sailing statistics

This section is statistical comparison with similar boats of the same category. The basis of the following statistical computations is our unique database with more than 26,000 different boat types and 350,000 data points.

What is L/B (Length Beam Ratio)?

SA/D (Sail Area Displacement ratio) Indicates how fast the boat is in light wind: - Cruising Boats have ratios 10-15 - Cruiser-Racers have ratios 16-20 - Racers have ratios above 20 - High-Performance Racers have ratios above 24 Sail-area/displacement ratio (SA/D ratio): 9.77

Maintenance

If you need to renew parts of your running rig and is not quite sure of the dimensions, you may find the estimates computed below useful.

This section shown boat owner's changes, improvements, etc. Here you might find inspiration for your boat.

Do you have changes/improvements you would like to share? Upload a photo and describe what to look for.

We are always looking for new photos. If you can contribute with photos for Marieholm IF it would be a great help.

If you have any comments to the review, improvement suggestions, or the like, feel free to contact us . Criticism helps us to improve.

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Following the worldwide success of the original wooden Nordic Folkboat, it was natural that the Swedish Yard of Marieholm Bruk should commission designer Tord Sunden to redesign the boat for fibreglass construction. The International Folkboat appeared in 1969 and became known in Europe as the Marieholm IF Boat. The designer very wisely retained the time tested sea kindly lines and used the new method of construction to achieve a more graceful profile, more interior space and a larger sail area for better light airs performance.

Her sailing credentials are superb. As one would expect from a Scandinavian designed and built boat she is a very capable heavy weather boat and has an exceptionally good performance in light airs. With her long keel, fine lines and 7/8 rig she is well balanced and can sail hands off!

Hull measurements are 26 feet overall length, 6 feet 7 inches beam, draught 3 feet 9 inches and a displacement of 2.1 tons.

During the period 1969 to 1977 over 3,000 Marieholm International Folkboats were built and there are active racing fleets in Sweden, Norway and Denmark. The UK fleet is concentrated at St Mawes and we are endeavouring to enlarge the fleet as and when boats become available.

Click here to visit the IF Boat Association website

For more details please contact the Class Captain,  Alan Macklin

Last updated 18:59 on 18 January 2024

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UK IF-Boat Association

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Official website of The British Marieholm International Folkboat Association 

About UK IF-Boat Association

The uk association.

Following the worldwide success of the original wooden Nordic Folkboat, it was natural that the Swedish Yard of Marieholm Bruk should commission designer Tord Sunden to redesign the boat for fibreglass construction. The International Folkboat appeared in 1969 and became known in Europe as the Marieholm IF Boat.

The association was set up by members of St Mawes sailing club to promote IF-Boat racing in the area.

We love these beautiful boats so we aim to encourage all IF-Boat sailing in the UK.

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If-boats in the uk.

Blog of upcoming events in the UK.

We always have an eye out for IF-Boats spotted in the UK. Here's the ones we know about. Feel free to send us photos and we can include them here.

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Marieholm International Folkboat 26

• Thread starter TwoDaysOff
• Start date Mar 4, 2012
• Brand-Specific Forums
• Other Sailboats

I am the proud new owner of a 1976 26' Marieholm International Folkboat. She's a charity case to be sure. A full hull restoration will be necessary (interior and exterior). I have not seen any posts concerning this particular yacht and Marieholm is not listed in the brand specific forums. Anyone here own or ever owned one of these beauties? I am about to embark on a long wonderful journey with this boat and would love to have as much external input as is possible. I will have it hauled out this coming week to start the restoration which will begin with the bottom. Any advice concerning cleaning, stripping and re-painting? Any and all input will be appreciated.  

A few "before" photos...  

Attachments

Congratulations. I'm going to assume you are going to strip the old bottom paint and apply multiple barrier coats before you apply a new bottom paint. Don't be in a hurry to complete the bottom. Strip the old paint and wait as long as you can before applying a barrier coat. By the looks of the project this may work in your favor. This will allow the hull to dry out as much as possible. For health reasons, don't spend too much time in the cabin. That stuff growing on the interior can kill you. Here is a link to some effective ways of killing mold. http://blackmold.awardspace.com/kill-remove-mold.html#bleach Good luck with the project and keep us posted. Photos are great.  

Merlin Clark

I'd clean her up, do the bottom, ditch all the soft goods (hold all the bad smells) or try to clean the cushion foam and covers for reuse, make sure she is sail-able and use her while you refurbish. Check the rig (including where the chainplates mount), thru hulls, keel bolts, hardware, running rigging and anything else that could cause calamity if it failed. Head Mistress Peggy Hall can tell you about an enzyme that will kill bad odors in soft goods. Covers can be dry cleaned if still worth it. Enamel paints work fine for interiors and exterior grade fir plywood is also good for interior work if you need to go that far. If the gelcoat isn't ruined, I'd bring it back rather than paint. I had to paint as mine was shot. I wouldn't bother with barrier coating unless there is evidence of osmosis. My boat is 45 years old this year and spent her life in the water with no blisters nor barrier coat. The blister phenomenon has to do with the quality of the labor and builders being tight fisted with resin during the wet out of the fiberglass when they lay up hulls. Good website: http://www.solopublications.com/sailmarieif.htm Cool boat!  

Thanks for the advice. The link on mold killing seems very helpful. I have the Marieholm IF page bookmarked. Thanks. I do have a question about removing mold from teak, which I would like to bring back to its natural beautiful. The info on the mold killing link did not mention specifically the best way to kill mold on wood which will be subsequently clear finished. Due to the expense of replacing my teak interior, I would prefer to remove it, refinish it, then re-install it after demolding and refinishing the interior of the hull. As usual, any advice will be much appreciated.  

Wood bleach (oxalic acid) might work. http://woodzone.com/Merchant2/articles/wood_bleach.htm Edit: If you're talking about the teak bulkheads, you could strip th veneer, soak down the plywood with bleach and re-veneer. Their are a number of companies that sell exotic wood veneer. I covered a couple of ugly bulkheads with Luan plywood (doorskin) (on my last boat) which is pretty this (3/16"?) and inexpensive. It doesn't match teak but offers enough contrast to look nice with teak trim. This is available at the box stores (home depot, etc) and pretty cheap.  

The importer used to live in Oxford, MD. She has passed away but there was quite the fleet in the Chesapeake Bay. I have raced them a lot and that one has been in New Orleans since about 1980 or so. The owner is a member of the Southern Yacht Club. The name of the boat is Carpe Diem. He as kept the boat in excellent shape. We managed to win a few races there as well. However from the photos, I can see that what you need to do applies to anyboat. Check clickbert.com/IFBoat/. The sit is no longer maintained but it is very comprehensive including names of other owners and specifications, parts, etc. There is a large fleet in S.F. including the older wooden lapstrake ones. Also a very large fleet in Sweden.  

Cayennita said: The importer used to live in Oxford, MD. She has passed away but there was quite the fleet in the Chesapeake Bay. I have raced them a lot and that one has been in New Orleans since about 1980 or so. The owner is a member of the Southern Yacht Club. The name of the boat is Carpe Diem. He as kept the boat in excellent shape. We managed to win a few races there as well. However from the photos, I can see that what you need to do applies to anyboat. Check clickbert.com/IFBoat/. The sit is no longer maintained but it is very comprehensive including names of other owners and specifications, parts, etc. There is a large fleet in S.F. including the older wooden lapstrake ones. Also a very large fleet in Sweden. Click to expand

rhythmsurfer

Could sanding not get rid of the mold?  

Mark for that woven glass with the mold growing in it. I am thinking there was carpet over it...Try Kiltz. It may add a little weight but may work. I am sure they have some "marine" version that is more expensive. Tony  

carib sailor

Congratulations I bought a 1979 Marie Holm IF last August 2011. I removed all the teak veneer interior and floor covering. Most of it cleaned up very well with teak cleaner and bleach, excluding the companion bulkhead. I was able to replace that with marine grade 1/2" African Sapelle. It matches the teak veneer in the rest of the boat very well. The floor covering came from Defender Industries. Both items improved the interior greatly. If your interested I'll send you some pictures. Mine has a Volvo inboard which required major work(head milled, new rings). That work is completed, the engine runs well and I nicknamed it African Queen(a one banger). You didn't mention if your boat is inboard or outboard. I'll be happy to share with you anything that could help you during your restoration. Good luck with your refurbishing.  

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Marieholm 26

The marieholm 26 is a 26.25ft fractional sloop designed by tord sundén and built in fiberglass by marieholm boats (swe) between 1976 and 1987., 260 units have been built..

The Marieholm 26 is a moderate weight sailboat which is slightly under powered. It is very stable / stiff and has an excellent righting capability if capsized. It is best suited as a coastal cruiser.

Marieholm 26 for sale elsewhere on the web:

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• Sailboat Guide

Marieholm 26

Marieholm 26 is a 26 ′ 2 ″ / 8 m monohull sailboat designed by Tord Sundén and built by Marieholm Boats between 1976 and 1987.

Rig and Sails

Auxilary power, accomodations, calculations.

The theoretical maximum speed that a displacement hull can move efficiently through the water is determined by it's waterline length and displacement. It may be unable to reach this speed if the boat is underpowered or heavily loaded, though it may exceed this speed given enough power. Read more.

Classic hull speed formula:

Hull Speed = 1.34 x √LWL

Max Speed/Length ratio = 8.26 ÷ Displacement/Length ratio .311 Hull Speed = Max Speed/Length ratio x √LWL

Sail Area / Displacement Ratio

A measure of the power of the sails relative to the weight of the boat. The higher the number, the higher the performance, but the harder the boat will be to handle. This ratio is a "non-dimensional" value that facilitates comparisons between boats of different types and sizes. Read more.

SA/D = SA ÷ (D ÷ 64) 2/3

• SA : Sail area in square feet, derived by adding the mainsail area to 100% of the foretriangle area (the lateral area above the deck between the mast and the forestay).
• D : Displacement in pounds.

Ballast / Displacement Ratio

A measure of the stability of a boat's hull that suggests how well a monohull will stand up to its sails. The ballast displacement ratio indicates how much of the weight of a boat is placed for maximum stability against capsizing and is an indicator of stiffness and resistance to capsize.

Ballast / Displacement * 100

Displacement / Length Ratio

A measure of the weight of the boat relative to it's length at the waterline. The higher a boat’s D/L ratio, the more easily it will carry a load and the more comfortable its motion will be. The lower a boat's ratio is, the less power it takes to drive the boat to its nominal hull speed or beyond. Read more.

D/L = (D ÷ 2240) ÷ (0.01 x LWL)³

• D: Displacement of the boat in pounds.
• LWL: Waterline length in feet

Comfort Ratio

This ratio assess how quickly and abruptly a boat’s hull reacts to waves in a significant seaway, these being the elements of a boat’s motion most likely to cause seasickness. Read more.

Comfort ratio = D ÷ (.65 x (.7 LWL + .3 LOA) x Beam 1.33 )

• D: Displacement of the boat in pounds
• LOA: Length overall in feet
• Beam: Width of boat at the widest point in feet

Capsize Screening Formula

This formula attempts to indicate whether a given boat might be too wide and light to readily right itself after being overturned in extreme conditions. Read more.

CSV = Beam ÷ ³√(D / 64)

Thanks to user ‘boatworks.thoreau’ for supplying corrected information on this yacht.

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