Brand

Flipper

Flying Since 1968

Flipper is a motorboat brand that originated in Finland. According to the brand's own history, a new boatyard, Na-Boats, began operating at the end of 1966 in a 250-square-metre industrial building by the Vikom ferry landing in Nauvo, in the south-western archipelago. Its first Flipper was a 3.6-metre rowing boat, the Lill Flipper, named after the dolphin in a 1960s television series. The first motorboat, the Flipper Weedo, followed in 1968, and the 450 HT family boat of about 1970 is described as the brand's breakthrough. The Flying Flipper racing catamaran appeared in 1969, the stepped-hull 570 HT in 1974, and the 640 HT of 1981, the first Flipper with an inboard engine, was built in more than a thousand units. A second Flying Flipper, launched in 1984, won the diesel class of the Round Britain race that year. Ownership changed several times. At the end of 1986 a controlling interest in Flipper-Boats was sold to Rapala, and in June 1990 the business passed to Siltala Yachts. In autumn 1992 Flipper was bought by Bella-Veneet Oy of Kuopio, the builder of Bella boats, which used the brand to open markets in Central Europe and the United Kingdom. Under Bella-Veneet the range included cabin cruisers such as the Flipper 999 and 787 (both 1995), and a 6-metre platform introduced in 1999 produced the 630 DC, OC, CC and HT. Bella-Veneet built larger Flipper models at a second site in Larsmo (Luoto). Brunswick, owner of Mercury, became a minority shareholder in Bella-Veneet in 2003, and Flipper boats were thereafter rigged for Mercury engines. The range was renewed in the early 2010s; the brand states that ten new models were introduced between 2012 and 2014. The 2014 range was built around outboard engines and grouped into Sport Console (600 SC, 640 SC), Day Cruiser (600, 640, 670 and 760 DC) and Sport Top (600, 640, 670 and 880 ST) models. In November 2018 Nimbus Boats Sweden AB acquired all shares in Bella-Veneet Oy, bringing Flipper into the Swedish Nimbus Group alongside Bella, Aquador and Falcon; Brunswick sold its stake in the same transaction. After deciding to close its small-boat production in Kuopio, Nimbus Group agreed in January 2025 to sell the Bella and Flipper small-boat inventory, moulds and production equipment to Cremo AB, part of the Swedish family-owned Intaga group, based in Torpa near Varberg. Cremo received full rights to use the Flipper brand under a multi-year licensing agreement with an option to acquire it at the end of the period. The larger Flipper 900 DC and 900 ST were excluded: Nimbus was to keep building them at Larsmo under the Flipper name for a transition period, with the stated aim of later selling them under its Aquador brand. Production of the smaller models moved to Cremo's factory in Chojnice, Poland. As of 2026 the Flipper website is operated by Cremo Boats AB and lists the 650 DC, 700 DC, 800 DC and 900 DC day cruisers and the 900 ST sport top; the 2026 range brochure covers the 650, 700 and 800 DC with Mercury outboard packages. A September 2026 press release announced a facelift of the 650, 700 and 800 DC for the 2027 model year, with styling that draws on the Flying Flipper, updated CE conformity, and the tagline "Flying Since 1968". It states that Flipper boats are now built at Cremo's plant in Poland.