M/S Tähti start

Motorboat Tähti was built in 1922 - probably at the Valkosaari shipyard near Helsinki. Boat was designed by Andrée & Rosenqvist and the original owner was Edvin Koiso, a known businessman in Tampere. After Koiso the boat was owned by Harald Erlander. The boat was not used after the Winter war (1940) , until Raimo Rajala bought the boat and repaired it to its former glory during the last six years. Local newspaper Aamulehti made the boat a small celebrity writing about the repairing and conserving efforts. Because of the public interest, most of the missing metal parts were found this summer and are now going to be put on their original places at the boat. The boats engine is Andros model L41 (24 hp 1200 rpm).

Same kind of boats were used by the Finnish government during the early years of the Finnish prohibition (known in Finland as Kieltolaki, meaning "ban law" 1919-1932). Unfortunately the alcohol smugglers used even more faster, powerful and seaworthy boats.


Sound recordist: : Teemu Ahola
Video recordist: Kimmo Kestinen
Photographer: Heikki Mikkonen