The essence of freedom
Advertising entrepreneur Sakari Mattila is the father of Aquador and Sakari presented some early sketches on Aquador 22 to Raimo Sonninen, Bella Boats OY founder and owner, already early in the 90’s. Raimo saw something interesting, but it was not good enough, so he contacted Rolf Eliasson. Rolf has been the designer/constructor for Nimbus many years but during 1992/1993 there was not much happening in the boat business due to the recession. Sakari and Raimo managed to convince Rolf to make the drawing for the first Aquador. The molds were made in Henån, Sweden and the first boats were built in Åbo, Finland. The first prototype was not up to standards but after some time they managed to get her right.
30 years ago, in 1995, the first model was presented to the market. Aquador 22. The model eventually became a success and during the first two years 110 boats were built.
Shortly after, another model was developed, Aquador 26. Aquador 26 was exposed to the market 1997 and the similarities with Nimbus was huge. Nimbus even filed charges against Aquador for trademark infringements. The model 26C was soon changed to 26HT and has since then been a classic model later replaced by 27HT and 28HT. Aquador 26DC was also developed and produced in Finland.
In the 1998, production was moved to Ireland, taking the then unused Sea Ray factory in county Cork. During the time in Ireland another four new models were developed, Aquador 21 WA, 25 WA, 25 C and 32 C. Now the assortment was seven models. Ultimately, the move to Ireland was not a long-term solution, and the quality was not up to Scandinavian standard. In June 2000 Aquador was sold to Bella Boats OY owner, Raimo Sonninen and immediately the production was moved back to Finland again.
In the period 2002 to 2008 Aquador had a fantastic growth, and new models were continuously launched. Aquador was established as a premium brand in the market and in 2007 Aquador was recognized as the fastestgrowing shipyard in Scandinavia with 550 boats sold during the year. The Lehman crash temporarily slowed down the Aquador success story.
2009 Aquador receives another important recognition by winning the prestigious award “The Best Sport Cruiser of the Year” at the London International Boat with the model Aquador 28HT.
2010 the launch of Aquador 22C takes place and this gets a fantastic welcome on the market. It was called Mickey Mouse Caravan (“Musses husvagn”) since it was a compact yet versatile and very popular.
2013 / 2014 the popular ST models were launched. Designer Jarkko Jämsen was designing Aquador 35ST and 30ST. After almost 20 years in Bella Veneet OY ownership Nimbus Group acquired Bella Veneet OY in 2018. Aquador has belonged to the Nimbus Group family of boat brands and has since undergone a complete overhaul, making the brand more appealing to the international market.
With over 4000 boats built since the beginning, the legacy continues with the latest generation that includes the 250HT, 300HT, and in January 2025, the largest boat we’ve ever built, the 400HT. More to come in the next 30 years of Aquador history.
