THE STORY OF ZIPWAKE

View of a flat wave behind a boat equipped with Zipwake at open sea.

Zipwake may have been launched in 2014 in Gothenburg on Sweden’s rugged west coast, but the company was born on the other side of the world. In Freemantle, Australia.

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Chuan Shan boat -Dynamic trim.

The year was 1994

Niclas Olofsson – with a PhD in hydrodynamics and a head full of ideas – was visiting the shipyard in Freemantle on behalf of KaMeWa, his employer at the time. That’s when he saw two 30-meter monohull ferries sitting idle in the water. He asked why and was informed that the Chinese company which had ordered the ships refused to take delivery because they couldn’t make the minimum speed of 28 knots.

He told the shipyard he had an idea that might solve the problem. After a day’s hesitation, the shipyard figured they had nothing to lose so they might as well listen to the crazy Swede. He suggested welding an improvised interceptor blade across the ship’s beam. The result: the ferries passed the speed limit and an idea saw the first light of day.

Zipwake - automatic trim control.

EIGHT years later

In 2002, Niclas co-founded Humphree and launched his interceptor concept onto the commercial shipping market. But he had a bigger vision. He wanted to offer the ultimate affordable boating experience to weekend sailors, sports fishing enthusiasts, basically anyone who enjoys spending time on the water.  So, he founded Zipwake AB in 2015. The company delivered its first interceptor system to a happy couple from Gränna – Sweden. In addition to payment, Niclas got a big hug. “Thank you for giving us a brand new boat.”

Since then, there have been some 50,000 deliveries to customers all over the world, with many more in the pipeline.

What of the future?

Zipwake is growing rapidly. Today, the company has distributors in 34 countries, serving customers on every continent while also offering the market’s widest range of interceptor designs. Niclas Olofsson concludes on an optimistic note, “We have a great product, which more and more boating enthusiasts are discovering each year. And when you consider that there are some 30 million recreational boats around the world, and most of them would be greatly improved by installing a Zipwake system, you could say we are only at the beginning of our journey.”

Welcome to Zipwake and the most comfortable boating experience you’ll ever have.

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